Holly Brooks and Anna Widman ran the fastest women's times in the history of the Resurrection Pass 50-mile wilderness run Saturday, a day that produced a number of memorable performances.
Brooks, a two-time Olympic skier from Anchorage, turned in an extraordinary effort to win her debut in the trail run that goes from Cooper Landing to Hope.
She made the journey in 7 hours, 46 minutes, 40 seconds. Her win came two weeks after she placed second in her Crow Pass Crossing debut.
Ten minutes behind Brooks was Widman, a Soldotna runner whose time of 7:56:14 is the second fastest by a woman in the 20-year history of the race.
Until Saturday, only one woman had cracked the eight-hour mark -- Julie Udchachon, whose 2002 victory beat that barrier by 16 seconds (7:59:44).
Saturday's other winners were all from Anchorage -- Matias Saari in the men's 50-miler, Laura McDonough in the women's 100-miler and Laron Thomas in the men's 100-miler.
Runners get no aid during the race, which follows the route used by early gold miners to reach mining claims along Turnagain Arm. These days the trail is a national recreation trail maintained by the U.S. Forest Service.
Saari, a Resurrection Pass rookie but one of Alaska's top mountain runners, blew away the field in the shorter race, posting the second-fastest time in history.
His 6:21:49 is second only to the 6:10 run by Juneau ultramarathon king Geoff Roes in 2007. Placing second to Saari was Erik Johnson (7:36:41), who had a slim three-minute margin over third-place Sam Severin (7:39:39).
The win was the second in eight days for Saari, who won last week's Matanuska Peak Challenge.
The 50-mile races began at 6 a.m. Saturday. By then, the 100-mile runners had already been at it for 15 hours. The 100-mile race, a roundtrip trek between Hope and Cooper Landing, started at 3 p.m. Friday in Hope.
Thomas became the fourth champion to complete the longer race in less than 20 hours. He finished in 19:25:23 and was more than a half-hour ahead of runner-up Joseph Nyholm (20:31:06).
Placing third overall in 23:27:43 was McDonough, who won the women's division by more than three hours.
It was the eighth 100-mile victory for McDonough, who also owns two victories in the 50-mile race.
Resurrection Pass Ultra Runs
Top 3 finishers
Women's 50 mile – 1) Holly Brooks 7:46:40, 2) Anna Widman 7:56:14, 3) Dana Fjare 8:03:35.
Men's 50 mile – 1) Matias Saari 6:21:49, 2) Erik Johnson 7:36:41, 3) Sam Severin 7:39:39.
Women's 100 mile – 1) Laura McDonough 23:27:43, 2) Heather Dean 26:46:51.
Men's 100 mile – 1) Laron Thomas 19:25:23, 2) Joseph Nyholm 20:31:06, 3) Matt Soule 24:29:43.
Resurrection Pass champions
50 miles
Men
1996 -- Harry Johnson 7:36:05
1997 -- Carl Johnson 8:14:51
1998 -- Robert DeVelice 7:49:25
1999 -- Jeff Arndt 7:50:45
2000 -- J.T. Lindholm 7:25:10
2001 -- J.T. Lindholm 6:59:55
2002 -- J.T. Lindholm 7:00:28
2003 -- Kimball Forrest 9:21:21
2004 -- Mark Newell 9:02:59
2005 -- Adam Muhr 8:25
2006 -- Frank Cahill 8:47
2007 -- Geoff Roes 6:10
2008 -- Alex Henry 6:59
2009 -- Jessie Berwald 7:43
2010 -- Brian Glaspell 7:56
2011 -- Greg Veltkamp 8:21
2012 -- Dugan Greenwell 7:53
2013 -- Drew Harrington 7:20:07
2014 -- Allan Spangler 6:22:03
2015 – Matias Saari 6:21:49
Women
1996 -- Lois Bettini 10:26:36
1997 -- Lois Bettini 10:00:29
1998 -- Patricia Munz 9:46:00
1999 -- Pam Richter 8:57:50
2000 -- Patricia Munz 8:26:10
2001 -- Patricia Munz 8:26:08
2002 -- Laura McDonough 8:46:13
2003 -- Julie Udchachon 8:17:19
2004 -- Julie Udchachon 7:59:44
2005 -- Britta Maas 9:08
2006 -- Noelle Brassard 8:53
2007 -- Gail Taylor 8:21
2008 -- Eeva Latosuo 9:09
2009 -- Amy Schlenk 9:04
2010 -- Karen Williams 9:42
2011 -- Crystal Hudak 8:35
2012 -- Laura McDonough 8:36
2013 -- Stacey Buckelew 9:27:15
2014 -- Sara Sayre 8:39:12
2015 -- Holly Brooks 7:46:40
100 miles
Men
2003 -- Eliseo Marquez 20:48:45
2004 -- Jeffrey Bannish 21:47:35
2005 -- Eliseo Marquez 23:19
2006 -- Brook Kintz 21:22
2007 -- Jeff Arndt 20:33
2008 -- Geoff Roes 17:33
2009 -- Eliseo Marquez 22:45
2010 -- David Johnston 21:12
2011 -- David Johnston 19:22
2012 -- David Johnston 20:06
2013 -- Tony Covarrubias 25:16:24
2014 -- Dugan Greenwell 18:57:40
2015 -- Laron Thomas 19:25:23
Women
2003 -- Monica Scholz 22:06:36
2004 -- Karen Williams 24:29:23
2005 -- Laura McDonough 22:45
2006 -- Laura McDonough 22:14
2007 -- Laura McDonough 21:57
2008 -- No women entered
2009 -- Laura McDonough 21:58
2010 -- Laura McDonough 22:29
2011 -- Laura McDonough 21:51
2012 -- Diana Burbank 25:47
2013 -- Laura McDonough 22:06:35
2014 -- Shawn McTaggart 22:01:36
2015 -- Laura McDonough 23:27:43