Anchorage runner Scott Clemetson won the inaugural ultramarathon race Sunday at the annual Big Wild Life Runs, which attracted more than 2,000 runners.
Clemetson won the 49-kilometer race through Anchorage, covering a little more than 30 miles in 3 hours, 52 minutes. He was the only runner among 92 ultramarathoners to break the four-hour barrier.
Marathon victories went to a pair of California runners. Amjed Aboukhadijeh, a former UCLA runner from El Dorado Hills, topped the men in 2:45:43, and Christina Knapp of Santa Barbara won the women's race in 3:17.07.
Aboukhadijeh beat Anchorage runner Ryan Cox by 18 seconds. Knapp, who placed 12th overall, enjoyed a nine-minute margin over women's runner-up Alicia Eno of Worcester, Massachusetts.
A field of 293 finished the 26.2-mile marathon, with another 15 competing in the marathon walk and 67 teams competing in the marathon relay.
The half-marathon was by far the day's most popular race, boasting 884 finishers, 588 of them women.
South High wrestling coach Tom Ritchie beat UAA All-American skier Lukas Ebner by more than a minute to take the men's victory in 1:13:40. Anchorage's Anna Dalton picked up her third women's half-marathon win of the summer in 1:24:53, a time that placed her fifth overall.
The 5-K race, which drew 652 runners, featured a duel between Girdwood's Ryan Davis (first in 16:42) and Anchorage's Christopher Towle (second in 16:47). Third place went to four-time Olympic skier Kikkan Randall, whose time of 17:31 put her more than two minutes ahead of any other woman.
A limited field of 35 competed in the mile run, held Saturday. Jerry Perkins triumphed in 4:37.7, with Denali Foldager winning a competitive women's race in 5:18.3.
SEE FULL RESULTS: 2014 Big Wild Life runs
Alaska Dispatch Publishing