Sean Riedel and Lotti Brinks win the Way Too Cool 50K on Western States ground
Riedel ran 3:37:19 and Brinks 3:51:42, sixth overall, on the single-track course out of Cool, California, where the first eight men broke four hours.
Photograph: The Middle Fork of the American River from the Quarry Trail in Auburn State Recreation Area, near Cool, California, by Shannon1, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsWay Too Cool is the race that opens the California trail season. It runs out of Cool, a small town above the American River canyon east of Sacramento, on about 98 percent trail, most of it single track, with a stretch on the Western States 100 course. On Saturday, Sean Riedel won it in 3:37:19.
Riedel won by a little over a minute from Alex Gold, 3:38:49, with Connor Rosenblatt third in 3:40:54 and Robert Ressl fourth in 3:43:32. The first eight men were under four hours, which says as much about the trail conditions as the field.
Lotti Brinks won the women's race in 3:51:42, sixth overall. Ashley Brasovan was second in 3:57:37, eighth overall, and Lindsey Gonzales third in 4:08:21, also inside the top ten. Careth Arnold was fourth in 4:12:38.
The course has five aid stations and a timing mat at mile eight, with a finish in Cool. The organisers thank the Western States foundations for the trail work, which tells you which trails these are. The 10-mile race runs the same day.
Rolling hills, creek crossings, a canyon rim. The best 50K in California is also one of the hardest to get into, and the reason is the ground.
Sources: iRunFar; My Best Runs; Way Too Cool 50K.
