Sports

Photos: 2014 Big Wild Life Runs

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.

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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

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