One Voter’s Evaluation of the North American Ultrarunner of the 12 months Awards – iRunFar

The “UltraRunning Journal” North American Ultrarunner of the 12 months Awards, which have been awarded since 1981, are arguably essentially the most prestigious awards in North American ultrarunning. In an effort to qualify, runners should both be from North America or reside there.

For the previous 16 years, I’ve been honored and privileged to be a part of the panel of voters that selects the award winners. This yr, I believed it could be enjoyable to check my poll with the precise award winners and supply some evaluation and commentary.

Right here is the ultimate prime 10 listing for feminine North American Ultrarunner of the 12 months:

1. Katie Schide (U.S., lives in France)
2. Courtney Dauwalter
3. Rachel Drake
4. (tie) Emily Hawgood (Zimbabwe, lives within the U.S.)
5. (tie) Megan Eckert
6. Courtney Olsen
7. Mary Denholm
8. Leah Yingling
9. Hannah Allgood
10. Marianne Hogan* (Canada)

*Included within the remaining prime 10 and never on my poll.

Marianne Hogan waves to the gang after profitable the 2024 Swiss Canyon Path 111k. Hogan was the one lady included on the “UltraRunning Journal” awards listing who was not on the creator’s listing. Photograph: World Path Majors

Right here is the highest 10 from my poll:

1. Katie Schide
2. Courtney Dauwalter
3. Courtney Olsen
4. Rachel Drake
5. Mary Denholm
6. Tara Dower**
7. Megan Eckert
8. Hannah Allgood
9. Leah Yingling
10. Emily Hawgood

**Included in my poll and never within the remaining prime 10.

Katie Schide was topped feminine North American Ultrarunner of the 12 months. Photograph: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks

In evaluating the feminine outcomes, a couple of issues popped out at me:

• On my poll, I had Tara Dower in sixth place, and the panel didn’t have her within the prime 10. My guess is that I gave important weight to Tara Dower’s Appalachian Path quickest recognized time (FKT), whereas different voters didn’t. FKTs have lengthy been a problem to the panel. On the one hand, we’re instructed to not embrace them in our deliberations, however, however, it’s my perception that we can’t keep away from contemplating them as a part of a runner’s whole physique of labor.
• Attributable to my together with Dower on my poll, I didn’t embrace Marianne Hogan — she was eleventh on my listing. Hogan was the one runner on both listing that in the end made the highest 10 and was not on my poll.
• After the highest two, Katie Schide and Courtney Dauwalter, my listing differed so as from the panel in each house on the listing. For instance, Courtney Olson completed greater and Megan Eckert completed decrease on my poll than within the remaining awards, whereas Rachel Drake and Emily Hawgood each completed greater within the remaining awards than they did on my poll.

Tara Dower after setting an total supported quickest recognized time on the Appalachian Path. Photograph: Pete Schreiner/@schreinertrailphotography

Right here is the ultimate prime 10 listing for male North American Ultrarunner of the 12 months:

1. Hayden Hawks
2. David Roche
3. David Sinclair
4. Rod Farvard
5. Eli Hemming
6. Caleb Olson
7. Jim Walmsley
8. Harry Subertas (Lithuania, lives within the U.S.)
9. Ben Dhiman (U.S., lives in France)
10. Ihor Verys (Ukraine, lives in Canada)

Hayden Hawks (U.S.) lets out a yell in celebration on his technique to win the 2024 CCC. Hawks was topped male North American Ultrarunner of the 12 months. Photograph: iRunFar/Kirsten Kortebein

Right here is the top-10 from my poll:

1. Hayden Hawks
2. David Sinclair
3. David Roche
4. Ben Dhiman
5. Eli Hemming
6. Rod Farvard
7. Haroldas Subertas
8. Caleb Olson
9.  Ihor Verys
10.  Jim Walmsley

David Sinclair on his technique to profitable and setting a course file on the 2024 Speedgoat by UTMB 50k. Photograph: Nils Nilsen

As on the ladies’s aspect, a couple of issues jumped out to me when evaluating my poll to the ultimate awards:

• I flipped the Davids. I gave the second-place nod to David Sinclair due, largely, to the competitiveness of the races he ran. The panel, conversely, went with David Roche in second. I think this was due largely to Roche’s unbelievable Leadville 100 Mile course file — which additionally gained “UltraRunning” Journal North American Efficiency of the 12 months — and maybe additionally as a consequence of a slight bias on the a part of the panel towards longer distance races. All of Sinclair’s races have been within the 50k to 50-mile vary, whereas Roche had two world class leads to the 100-mile distance.
• Whereas I had all 10 of the eventual award winners on my poll, I solely voted for 2 within the locations that they in the end occupied — Hayden Hawks in first and Eli Hemming in fifth. For all the others, they have been in several spots. It appears my largest misjudgements have been putting Ben Dhiman fourth whereas he finally acquired ninth, and putting Jim Walmsley tenth whereas he finally acquired seventh.
• I feel with this yr’s awards, on the boys’s aspect particularly, we have now seen the perimeter occasions change into normalized. Each Haroldas Subertas’s and Ihor Verys’s inclusion on this yr’s prime 10 says to me that the yard ultras, the Barkley Marathons, and the 200 milers of the world are actually formally within the combine, and never simply stunt races as they have been seen to be only a few years in the past.
• All the males are path targeted and the ladies are extra blended. On the ladies’s aspect, you’ve got Megan Eckert and Courtney Olsen, who excelled on the observe and the roads, whereas there may be no one within the males’s prime 10, on both my poll or with the general winners, who raced totally on the highway and observe. It’ll be attention-grabbing to see how this evolves within the coming years.

Ihor Verys wins the 2024 Barkley Marathons on his first try. Photograph: Howie Stern

John Medinger, the previous writer and proprietor of “UltraRunning Journal” who presides over this annual train says, “Every year we discover ourselves evaluating apples and oranges (or, as one voter put it: apples versus oranges versus pineapples versus bananas. And perhaps kumquats!) How does a quick 50k stack up in opposition to a stellar six-day run? A quick highway time versus a tricky mountain run? Whereas these variables will inevitably inject a level of subjectivity, simply attempt to be as analytical and goal as you possibly can.”

And, on the finish of the day, that is all for enjoyable anyway. Till subsequent yr!

Bottoms up!

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Name for Feedback

• What’s your tackle these awards for 2024?
• What would — or did — your poll learn?