Badger Mountain Challenge: Spokane runner posts top time in 100-miler
Spokane’s Brandon Benefield posted the top overall time in the signature 100-mile race at last weekend’s Badger Mountain Challenge.
The 35-year-old crossed the finish line just after midnight Saturday, clocking in at 17 hours, 32 minutes, 46 seconds to post the third-fastest winning time in the seven years of the race.
Evgeny Sotnikov of Victoria, British Columbia, was second in 18:15:53, with another Victoria runner, Jerry Hughes, finishing third in 18:37:42.
Jess Mullen of Seattle won the women’s race in 22:32:29, the eighth best time overall. Van Phan of Maple Valley was 24 minutes behind; it was another 5 1/2 hours before third-place finisher crossed the line.
Full results are available at http://ultrasignup.com/results_event.aspx?did=28196.
In the 50-mile event, Mark Hammond of Salt Lake City took home top prize with a time of 7:34:50, 31 seconds ahead of Nathan Stroh of Klamath Falls, Ore. Bothell’s Genia Kacey-McKnight topped the women’s field in 8:55:56, good for eighth overall. Stephanie Gundel of Seattle was 7 minute back in second place.
Pasco’s Taylor Farnsworth won the 50-kilometer race — the longest of Saturday’s events — in 4:37:33. Seattle’s Stuart Baker finished second, but more than 1 hour, 22 minutes behind. Anja Goetzinger of Spokane finished fifth overall but won the women’s race in 5:08:19, more than an hour ahead of Valerie Nussbaumer of Hood River, Ore. Dana Cadwell of Pasco was third in 7:09:00.
Matt Rock of Billings, Mont., won the 15K in 56:51, while Kennewick’s Kyle Paulson just missed a sub-hour mark by seven seconds. Clinton Purdy-Cordova of Richland was third (1:04:40).
Richland’s Briana Butler won the women’s 15K in 1:09:47, eighth overall. Connie Morgan of Ellensburg was second in 1:10:26.
The “stick to it” award goes to 55-year-old Daro Ferrar of Richland, who was on the 100-mile course for more than 31 1/2 hours — an entire day plus nearly all of an eight-hour shift at work.
The “age is just a number” award is destined for Gunhild Swanson, a 72-year-old woman from Spokane who finished the 50-mile race in 11:20:47, seventh overall among the 17 women runners and 31st among all 50-mile competitors.
Top finishers
100 MILE
MEN’S OVERALL: Brandon Benefield, Spokane, 17:32:46; Evgeny Sotnikov, Victoria, 18:15:53; Jerry Hughes, Victoria, 18:37:42.
20-29: Sotnikov; Brendan Thompson, Moses Lake, 19:28:51; Andrew Heath, Gig Harbor, 22:40:59. 30-39: Benefield; Hughes; Gabe Wishnie, Redmond, 18:58:56. 40-49: George Orozco, Seattle, 21:18:58; Wes Ritner, Colorado Springs, 21:49:34; Christphe Fiessinger, Bellevue, 23:22:54. 50-59: Bruce Kellogg, Shoreline, 25:18:45; Ray Siegrist, Poulsbo, 29:24:58; Joel Hopkins, Kennewick, 30:00:01. 60-69: Greg Spike, Echo, 29:39:41.
WOMEN’S OVERALL: Jess Mullen, Seattle, 22:32:29; Van Phan, Maple Valley, 22:56:11; Anne Crispino-Taylor, Portland, 28:21:59.
30-39: Jennifer Schwegler, Snohomish, 29:03:22. 40-49: Mullen; Phan; Hideko Opperman, Redmond, 28:36:44. 50-59: Crispino-Taylor; Deby Kumasaka, Edmonds, 29:31:38; Trena Chellino, Marietta, Ga., 30:23:59.
50 MILE
MEN’S OVERALL: Mark Hammond, Salt Lake City, 7:34:50; Nathan Stroh, Klamath Falls, Ore., 7:35:21; Michael McNeil, Omak, 7:50:11.
U-20: Barrak Blakeley, Terrebonne, Ore., 9:48:25. 20-29: Justin Mejia, Reno, Nev., 8:30:06; Tyson Stuart, Battle Ground, 9:37:21; Brandon Roberts, Aloha, Ore., 12:14:39. 30-39: Hammond; McNeill; Christpher Mahoney, Seattle, 7:57:06. 40-49: Stroh; Kevin Gustafson, Prosser, 8:17:54; Stephen Mazurkiewicz, West Richland, 9:03:45. 50-59: Daniel Hansen, Richland, 10:19:15; Berton Keith, Austin, Texas, 11:31:12; Rob Smith, Victoria, B.C., 14:27:08. 60-69: Mark Chamley, Hood River, Ore., 11:55:20; Lee Plourde, Wenatchee, 12:26:20; Karl Jansen, North Vancouver, B.C., 13:10:40.
WOMEN’S OVERALL: Genia Kacey-McKnight, Bothell, 8:55:56; Stephanie Gundel, Seattle, 9:02:52; Suzanne Johnson, North Vancouver, B.C., 9:16:13.
20-29: Siloam Chong, Vancouver, Wash., 11:16:17; Rebekah Lee, Marysville, 12:07:25. 30-39: Gundel; Johnson; Jennifer Worth, Portland, 9:24:25. 40-49: Kacey-McKnight; Christine Strom, Cary, N.C., 11:31:11; Lisa Wood, Bellevue, 12:52:07. 50-59: Susan Glesne, Mt. Vernon, 14:22.08; Kuniko Minehara-Votaw, Psaco, 15:01.46. 70-plus: Gunhild Swanson, Spokane Valley, 11:20.47.
50K
MEN’S OVERALL: Taylor Farnsworth, Pasco, 4:37:33; Phil Rock, Enumclaw, 4:46:49; Andrew O’Connor, Seattle, 4:52:41.
20-29: Farnsworth; Stuart Baker, Seattle, 5:59:38; Sebastian Dirringer, Portland, 6:05.58. 30-39: O’Connor; Peter Hawkins, Richland, 5:17:36; Roger Sandberg, Pullman, 5:21:24. 40-49: Dave VanMiller, Tacoma, 4:59.47; Malachi Schram, West Richland, 5:16.27; Dallen Ashby, Clarkston, 5:21:15. 50-59: Rober tWilson, Port Orchard, 6:04.47; James Guerrero, Lakewood, 6:35:11; Paul Cornish, Seattle, 7:06:27. 60-69: David Painter, Richland, 6:30:10; David Elsbernd, Salem, ore., 7:13:12.
WOMEN’S OVERALL: Anja Goetzinger, Spokane, 5:08:19; Valerie Nussbaumer, Hood River, Ore., 6:10:35; Dana Cadwell, Pasco, 7:09:00.
20-29: Goetzinger; Cadwell; Tanya Gallagher, Vancouver, B.C., 7:39:37. 30-39: Nussbaumer; Colleen Rice, Bellingham, 7:27:33; Nichole Burmester, Marysville, 7:51:29. 40-49: Dawn Winters, Mercer Island, 7:19:08; Tracey Robinson, Port Orchard, 7:22:59. 50-59: Christina Gomez, Pasco, 9:18:04. 60-69: Judy Loy, Vancouver, Wash., 8:55:28.
15K
MEN’S OVERALL: Matt Rock, Billings, 56:51; Kyle Paulson, Kennewick, 1:00:07; Clinton Purdy-Cordova, Richland, 1:04:40.
U-20: Everett Welling, West Richland, 1:50:44; Daniel Welling, West Richland, 1:51:42; Micah Borders, Spokane, 2:42:27. 20-29: Paulson; Purdy-Cordova; Michael Tupper, Richland, 1:07:35. 30-39: Rock; Samuel Morris, Richland, 1:10:50; Spencer Shelman, Spokane, 1:11:39. 40-49: Eric Smith, West Richland, 1:07:04; Nathan Hansen, Richland, 1:08:25; Greg Romaniuk, West Richland, 1:10:56. 50-59: Scott Lea, Richland, 1:11:09; Ken Walters, Spokane, 1:26:51; Tony Sako, West Richland, 1:29:34. 60-69: Dale Fuller, Pasco, 1:38:12; Chris Newbill, Richland, 1:40:03; Al Abramson, Richland, 1:41:40. 70-plus: Gary Vanarsdale, West Richland, 1:37:06; Dick Dowd, Pasco, 1:59:15; Ray Warner, Benton City, 2:05:19.
WOMEN’S OVERALL: Briana Butler, Richland, 1:09:47; Connie Morgan, Ellensburg, 1:10:26; Sara Schiriac, Bend, Ore., 1:14:52.
U-20: Bethan Tufford, Burbank, 1:20:44; Riley Hake, Moses Lake, 1:51:46; Isabella Cohen, Richland, 1:56:03. 20-29: Morgan; Schiriac; Rachel Fowers, Kennewick, 1:16:33. 30-39: Butler; Rosa Holt, Stanfield, 1:16:03; Nicole Lee, Vancouver, Wash., 1:16:70. 40-49: Laura James, Walla Walla, 1:17:57; Lori Porter, West Richland, 1:19:02; Samantha Reed, West Richland, 1:22:17. 50-59: Sonia Tonnemaker, Royal City, 1:19:04; Nancy Hess, Richland, 1:20:31; Robin Walters, Spokane, 1:27:38. 60-69: Natalie Sandberg, Moses Lake, 1:41:31; Joan Anderson, Kennewick, 1:44:37; Dorothy Hammons, Kennewick, 1:59:32. 70-plus: Linda McGlothern, Kennewick, 2:53:48; Evelyn Painter, Richland, 2:57:18; Carol Gurwell, Richland, 3:00:54.
View the original article on the Tri-City Herald.
Badger Mountain Challenge Participants set to take over Badger Mountain
Local hikers who frequent Badger Mountain might want to give popular trail system a day off on Saturday.
The seventh annual Badger Mountain Challenge is set to take over the hill this weekend, with the 50- and 100-mile races beginning Friday, and the 50-kilometer and much more popular 15-K slated for Saturday morning.
The 50- and 100-mile races start at 7 a.m. Friday, and runners will spend just a fraction of the race on Badger Mountain. The course then heads to Candy Mountain before running south along Interstate 82. Runners head west at Jacobs Road, climbing McBee Ridge and heading out to Chandler Butte before looping around to retrace the course. The 100-milers do this twice.
Last year’s 100-mile winner, Gabe Wishnie of Redmond, finished in 19 hours, 16 minutes, 59 seconds, crossing the line at 2 a.m. More than 70 racers are entered for the big race, 75 for the 50-miler.
The 50-K (31 miles) traverses mostly the same course as the longer races but cuts out a loop in the McBee area. Nearly 65 are slated to take part in this race.
The popular 15-K race (9.3 miles) has nearly 500 entries and, aside from the start, sticks to Badger Mountain.
All races begin on Shockley Road in front of the Bethel Church. The 50-K race starts at 7 a.m. Saturday, with the 15-K hitting the trail at 8 a.m.
Proceeds from the event benefit Friends of Badger Mountain, Washington Trails Association, Girls on the Run and Team in Training.
Read the original story at the Tri-City Herald.