At the 2024 Canyons by UTMB 100k, Rod Farvard had a breakout performance to win the men’s race and Katie Schide (U.S., lives in France) ran an absolute stormer to win for the women.
While this year marked the event’s 10th edition, if there’s anything we’ve grown to understand, change is constant at this race. With significant course changes in many editions, this year was no different. Starting at China Wall, a trailhead located in the mid-foothills of the Sierra Nevada, the race traveled roughly east to west — with some deviations — to finish in downtown Auburn, California. Runners traveled an overall downhill trending course, still with a stout 10,600 feet of climbing over the course of 63 miles.
A chunk of the middle of the course traversed the famous Western States Trail, and included some of its iconic parts, such as the Devil’s Thumb climb, a stiff climb that finishes passing a thumb-looking rock; the Deadwood Cemetary, a historic cemetery; and Cal Street, an almost-20-mile, mostly downhill, and mostly a gloriously runnable piece of real estate.
The men’s leaders in the early going of the 2024 Canyons by UTMB 100k. Photo: UTMB/Howie Stern
The race started at 5 a.m. local time on Saturday, April 27, under clear skies, with mild temperatures and relatively dry air predicted all day. This was perhaps a welcome reprieve for runners, as the region had seen significant rainfall in the prior days.
This race held lots of competitive appeal in that it was the last Western States 100 Golden Ticket race ahead of the 2024 event, where the top 2 women and men earned entry into the race.
The event was also a UTMB World Series Major, meaning the top 10 men and women secured entry into the CCC at the UTMB World Series Finals, which will be held this August in Chamonix, France.
2024 Canyons by UTMB 100k Men’s Race
The men’s race went out en masse, with around 20 men within 2 minutes of each other at the first aid station at Deadwood 1 (16k). Leading this loose pack were Petter Engdahl (Sweden, lives in Norway), Rod Farvard, and Adam Peterman. By Deadwood 2 (29k), the second aid station, Engdahl and Farvard still led together, again with a long line of men trailing tightly, at least 10 of them within 2 minutes, including Peterman.
Engdahl and Peterman were running on strong comeback stories, with Engdahl having suffered broken bones with surgery last fall in a bike crash, and Peterman returning after at least a year off due to serious injury. Each would avenge these career complications with finishes today, Engdahl on the podium and Peterman in 14th.
And Farvard, like so many men, was hunting one of those Western States 100 Golden Tickets; with 3 prior attempts at that race, he’d only topped out as high as 11th place, clearly less than his potential.
Among the early near leaders through the first 30k also included Stephen Kersh, Tracen Knopp, Preston Cates, and Drew Holmen.
Michigan Bluff (38k) saw some more of the same, with Engdahl and Kersh leading the train and most of the same men following very closely. Though there were some 6 men right there, Farvard technically beeped into the checkpoint in third place.
The village of Foresthill, 48k into the race, marked something of a transition point in the race where the runners head out of the race’s higher country, and down to the lowest terrain of the Sierra Nevada. The competition was also transitional in Foresthill as it was here where eventual men’s champ Farvard arrived in the lead in 4:13:43, with Kersh about 20 seconds back. Another 2 minutes brought men’s second and third place, Holmen and Engdahl.
From there on, Farvard would not yield the lead. At 61k, the Cal 2 aid station, he passed at 5:16:19 elapsed. This time Kersh checked in a little over a minute back. Here, Holmen was holding in third, 2 minutes off second, and Makai Clemons had now moved into fourth position, another 2 minutes back from third place. But it was still any man’s race, with a spread of less than 13 minutes between first and ninth places.
At Driver’s Flat (76k), Farvard held tight to his small but solid lead, passing through in 6:33:33. This time, Holmen had moved into second place, 3 minutes behind the lead. Kersh was right there, though, 30 seconds off Holmen.
For the race’s final quarter, Farvard added bits of distance between he and second place, passing through the final two aid stations, Mammoth Bar (88k) and Confluence (94k), with respective 5- and 7-minute leads. Rod Farvard looked totally elated to cross the finish line, winning the men’s race in 8:44:30. He gladly accepted the Western States 100 Golden Ticket.
Rod Farvard winning the 2024 Canyons by UTMB 100k. Photo: UTMB/Howie Stern
Behind him, Holmen ran a super steady last 25k, and built a meaningful enough gap on the rest of the field, passing through the 88k and 94k aid stations some 6 and 4 minutes ahead of third place, respectively. When Drew Holmen crossed the line to take second in 8:51:09, he tossed his pack and collapsed to the ground, clearly using most of what he had in him for that performance. After some finish-line contemplation, Holmen declined the Golden Ticket, which meant it would roll down to third place.
But who would be the third-place finisher? As we know, ultimately, Engdahl. After sitting in fifth place as late as 88k, he surged to move up two spots when he passed the 94k aid station. Petter Engdahl’s excellent ultra pacing led him to take third in 8:55:31. He was eager to claim the second men’s Western States Golden Ticket.
Having run a hugely consistent race, Makai Clemens finished fourth in 8:57:38. Stephen Kersh, after pushing the men’s race pace earlier, found himself in fifth at 9:05:56.
2024 Canyons by UTMB 100k Men’s Results
- Rod Farvard – 8:44:30
- Drew Holmen – 8:51:09
- Petter Engdahl (Sweden, lives in Norway) – 8:55:31
- Makai Clemons – 8:57:38
- Stephen Kersh – 9:05:56
- Tim Tollefson – 9:19:09
- Kevin Vermeulen (Switzerland) – 9:35:21
- Matt Seidel – 9:42:04
- Ryan Raff – 9:42:05
- Brandon Gardiner – 9:46:49
The 2024 Canyons by UTMB 100k men’s podium (left to right): 2. Drew Holmen, 1. Rod Farvard, 3. Petter Engdahl. Photo: UTMB/Jacob Banta
2024 Canyons by UTMB 100k Women’s Race
The start of the women’s race couldn’t have played out more differently from the men’s. Katie Schide (U.S., lives in France) took the women’s race out, created a gap early, and ran on. By the first aid station at Deadwood 1 (16k), Schide had already built a gap on the field, some 2.5 minutes. She grew that gap by the second aid point at Deadwood 2 (29k) to nearly 9.5 minutes.
Schide, with too many accolades to mention, was second at last year’s Western States 100 and has her eyes on the prize of that race this year. Undoubtedly, this race was a critical step in her preparations for this year’s edition.
Mary Denholm featured prominently in podium position over the first 30k, having passed through 16k in second place and 29k in third place. Denholm is a 2-time Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier with a 2:36:28 marathon PR, who was basically debuting in trail racing.
EmKay Sullivan was the other women’s pace pusher over the first 30k, assuming the second position around 22k and never looking back. Sullivan has loads of strong trail race performances to her name, with all of them at shorter distances than this one. Among the many women seeking that Western States 100 Golden Ticket, she clearly wanted it. She dropped from the Black Canyon 100k, another Golden Ticket race, only 2 months ago.
Also among the mix for the women over the first 30k were Addie Bracy as well as Australians Anna McKenna and Stephanie Auston.
By Michigan Bluff (39k), Schide led by about 11 minutes. Sullivan remained Schide’s closest chaser, with Denholm in third place, just under 13 minutes off the lead.
Ten kilometers later, at Foresthill (49k), the Schide Show was officially in full force, with her arriving at 4:25:14 and with more than 21 minutes of real estate to the next woman. Sullivan and Denholm maintained their second- and third-place positions, around 2 minutes apart from each other. Behind Denholm was also some decent daylight, with fourth-place Bracy coming through about 10.5 minutes after third place.
Schide was truly ablaze at Cal 2, the 61k, some two-thirds of the way down Cal Street, running through in 5:31:21. There, she’d also cracked the overall top 10. Due to a lack of women’s coverage in the live stream as well as issues with Sullivan’s tracking devices, we don’t have her split at Cal 2, but she was in second place here. Denholm was the next woman through in third, 65 minutes off the lead.
At Driver’s Flat (76k), Schide was now picking her way through the men’s top 10, passing in sixth overall in 6:50:38. For the record, that’s 17 minutes back from the men’s leader three-quarters of the way through a trail 100k — some insane running. Schide’s lead in the women’s race would only grow over the race’s final quarter, and she remained in sixth place overall at the finish line. At Mammoth Bar (88k) and Confluence (94k), she led by 44 and 46 minutes respectively.
Ultimately, Katie Schide was the runaway women’s victor in 9:10:10. It’s safe to say that things are looking really good for Schide’s second attempt at the Western States 100 this summer. With her automatic entry based on her top-10 finish last year, the 2 Western States 100 Golden Tickets would roll down to other women.
Katie Schide winning the 2024 Canyons by UTMB 100k. Photo: UTMB/Howie Stern
Sullivan’s race for second place never wavered. At 88k and 94k, she held a respective 7- and 9-minute gap over third place. EmKay Sullivan cruised over the finish line to take second in 10:01:26, cautiously accepting the Western States 100 Golden Ticket, as it would mean yet another big step up in distance.
Behind Schide and Sullivan, the race for the women’s top 10 was anything but set in the race’s final 25k. Denholm, the debut trail racer, ran into problems en route to Driver’s Flat (76k), relinquishing her podium position. At the time of this article’s publishing, she’s not showing an official DNF, but she certainly has.
As the women’s positions fluctuated, it would be Anna Kacius who emerged into the third position by 88k and who would hold it until she finished in 10:24:37. Kacius has about 3 years of ultrarunning under her belt, with top finishes including seventh at the 2022 IAU 100k World Championships, and fourth at the 2023 Black Canyon 100k. She narrowly missed a Golden Ticket by 1 position at that latter event. This time, she was golden, graciously accepting that Western States 100 entry.
Careth Arnold finished fourth in 10:38:42, after moving up into that spot before the 94k aid station. Anna McKenna rounded out the women’s top 5, crossing the line in 10:43:31.
EmKay Sullivan taking second at the 2024 Canyons by UTMB 100k. Photo: UTMB/Howie Stern
2024 Canyons by UTMB 100k Women’s Results
- Katie Schide (U.S., lives in France) – 9:10:10
- EmKay Sullivan – 10:01:26
- Anna Kacius – 10:24:37
- Careth Arnold – 10:38:42
- Anna McKenna (Australia) – 10:43:31
- Laura Hansen – 10:45:32
- Erin Clark – 10:52:16
- Marta Wenta (Poland) – 10:53:14
- Jade Belzberg (Canada, lives in the U.S.) – 11:00:02
- Arden Young (Canada) – 11:08:04
The 2024 Canyons by UTMB 100k women’s podium (left to right): 2. EmKay Sullivan, 1. Katie Schide, 3. Anna Kacius. Photo: UTMB/Jacob Banta
