2021 Canyons 100k Race Preview | Last Chance to Secure a Golden Ticket!

by Chase Parnell — April 19, 2021

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This one has been a long time coming. After the collective dopamine flood we all experienced watching Black Canyon, there’s been a bit of a racing lull. But the drought ends here. Canyons is STACKED! It goes off Saturday, April 24th, 2021 at 5am (PST). I’ve followed the golden ticket races closely this year and it’s extremely evident that with each passing golden ticket race the competition has essentially doubled. I can’t imagine the confidence required to show up at the start with golden ticket dreams, knowing that when you look down the line from side to side, it’s pretty much top two or bust.

A couple notes on the course: it’s an alternate course due to covid and it’s damn hard. The course profile on AllTrails has it at 60.71 miles with 14,820 feet of gain. That’s roughly 244 feet of climbing on average per mile. The Wasatch 100 has a very similar gain per mile so we’re talking about vert similar to a burly mountain 100. No California cupcake here. And if the runners don’t get lucky with the weather, it could be real balmy out there, especially if you’re coming from a mountain town in springtime. Lastly, let it be known that from mile 41.2 to 44.2 (Eldorado Canyon), the runners will climb more than 2,000 feet. You’re either going to have legs and stay in contention, or you’re going to falter and start mentally withdrawing from all your future races.

I really wanted to make the trip down from Bend to spectate and put out some live updates but Nikki will be 37+ weeks pregnant and even the 2021 Canyons 100k wouldn’t be worth missing the birth of my third (and last) child should she pop a couple weeks early. Hopefully there will be others on the course sharing a little play-by-play.

Alright, lets familiarize ourselves with all the runners that have been training their asses off for a fighting chance. This is going to be fun.

2021 Canyons 100k Women’s Preview

Yiou Wang – I don’t think there’s a more dominant runner at the 50m-100k distances. 1st TNF San Francisco 50 miler 2019. 2nd Lake Sonoma 50 2019. 2nd Black Canyon 100k 2019. 1st Lake Sonoma 50 2017. 1st Lake Sonoma 50 2016. And it goes on and on and on. It would appear Yiou is not going to give up until she nails Western States. For whatever reason, she’s had a rough go at States: DNFs in 2017 and 2019, and a 13th place finish in 2016. Her training looks good on Strava although it sort of always looks that way; she knocks out 70-90 miles a week essentially year-round, with just a few down weeks here and there. Have to think Yiou has a great shot at a golden ticket!

Taylor Nowlin – Critical care nurse from Coeur d’Alene, Taylor seems to really excel on mountain courses, nabbing a pair of 2nd place finishes at Speedgoat 50k in 2018/19. And yet she also excels on faster courses, finishing 2nd at the Lake Sonoma 50 in 2018. The test will be the 100k distance itself as it appears she’s only gone this far once. If you take a look at her instagram, you’ll see a lot of backcountry skiing and outdoor adventuring (not to mention a lot 12 hour nursing shifts on the feet), which typically bodes well for making the leap to longer ultras; just another long day out.

Nicole Monette – Run Hard Mom Hard podcast alum (episode here) and mom of three, Nicole lives a… how do I put this, a FULL life. She hasn’t ran a ton of ultras (five on ultrasignup), but she’s won all of them but one. Nicole finished second at the Hoka Project Carbon X2 100k in a time of 7:43:18, averaging under 7:30 miles for 62 miles! She also won her debut 100 miler at the Yeti 100, setting the course record by over two hours. The x-factor will be how Nicole handles the vert. Not sure how much climbing there is around Oxford, Michigan. But the #runflatstaylow factions out there will tell you that VERT IS NOT REAL and there are plenty of flatlanders who seem to handle vert just fine based on fitness and athleticism alone, Kaci Lickteig being one of them.

Audrey Tanguy – Speaking of the Hoka Project Carbon X2 event, Audrey Tanguy of France, was the winner there, finishing just three minutes ahead of Nicole (above), so we have ourselves a bit of a rematch here. Audrey ran a very smart and tactical race to win that event and has loads of experience in mountain ultras in Europe. In 2019, Audrey won the TDS race at UTMB and finished 2nd at Lavaredo Ultra Trail in Italy. These are some of the most competitive events out there so Tanguy is clearly of world-class caliber in the mountains. That said, we’ve seen Europeans come over and really struggle on the Western States course and other similar events. Time will tell.

Leah Yingling – While Leah seems to fly under the radar a bit, she’s had some really great finishes that would indicate that she could hop in just about any race and tangle for the win. In February she raced the Black Canyon 60k and finished second, just six minutes back from Rachel Drake, who we all know is insanely fit these days. A few weeks later she ran the Bel Monte 50k in Virginia and beat the next female by an HOUR. She’s got mountain chops too, finishing 2nd at the Bear 100 and winning the Telluride Mountain Run in 2018. She’s one of many strong runners from Salt Lake City that will storm California with hopes of making a follow-up trip in June.

Kristina Trygstad-Saari – As a past resident of Bozeman, I have a little insider knowledge on just how impressive some of Kristina’s results are. Her course record of 3:40:36 at the Bridger Ridge Run (20 miles with 6,800 gain, 9,500 loss) in 2019 is a really phenomenal result. To put it in perspective, Grayson Murphy, the world mountain running champion, was in that same race and Kristina won. Coming from a collegiate and professional nordic ski background, she has the engine for just about anything. Kristina finished 2nd at the 2020 Speedgoat 50k and 3rd at the Broken Arrow Skyrace 52k. It’ll be interesting to see how she adapted her training to meet the demands of a course like Canyons. I can’t imagine the trails around Bozeman have been dry during her build-up. But maybe that’s okay, maybe she’ll pull a Kilian and come off the skis fit and ready to race!

Emily Hawgood – Alright, if Emily pulls this off and earns a ticket to Western States, I think we all need to throw her a party. She’s definitely the only one in contention to run all three golden ticket races this year. She finished a heartbreaking 3rd place at Bandera 100k and followed that up just a few weeks later with a 7th place finish at Black Canyon. And now she’ll have another crack at Canyons. And really, of the three golden ticket races, the climbing involved at Canyons should suit her. Hailing from Beatrice, Zimbabwe, she’s performed incredibly well at Ultra Trail Cape Town (2nd in 2019, 1st in 2018), a 100k course with essentially the same amount of climbing as Canyons. She also won the 2020 IMTUF 100 and the 2019 American River 50 so she has familiarity with the course and area. You have to respect her determination; it’ll be incredible if she pulls it off!

Beth Pascall – Brit with a hell of a long course resume. 5th at UTMB (2019), 4th at Western States (2019), 4th at TransGranCanaria (2018), 2nd at Madeira Island Ultra Trail (2017), 1st Montane Spine Race (2016). Beth is a very high-level internationally competitive professional with a lot of experience. The wild card is always how they’ll do coming over the pond and testing their fitness on the unique conditions and terrain of the area. Beth already has a slot in Western States so she won’t play the roll of spoiler if she finishes top-2. I imagine she simply wants to get a great tune-up race in and more experience on the Western States course. Pretty smart! Look for Beth’s endurance to prove strong in the later miles.

Abby Hall – Abby’s been at this ultra game for about five years now with pretty steady improvement. She’s a little hit or miss but that might just be because she never DNFs! Will always give props when runners suffer it out instead of pull the plug. She’s taken her licks at Leadville with two finishes between 28-30 hours, but then she popped off an 8th place finish at UTMB’s CCC and a 4th at TNF San Francisco behind just Yiou Wang, Anne-Marie Madden, and Addie Bracy. That’s some good company! Abby has a smattering of wins over the years (2020 Moab Red Hot 55k, 2018 Silver Rush 50 miler, 2017 Austin Rattler Run) but I think she hasn’t yet reached her ceiling.

Erika Hoagland – This is Erika’s turf and I imagine she wants to defend it. She’s a very localized racer: American Canyon, Way Too Cool, Canyons, Miwok, Western States, Dick Collins, Rio del Lago, REPEAT. Despite being a Covid alternate course, I’m sure she’ll know every turn out there. She’s got a ton of experience and is coming off wins at Rio del Lago 100 and Overlook 50 miler in 2019. Not much of an online presence so it’s hard to know where she’s at in this very moment, but you have to think she’ll run the race smart and maximize her performance on the day.

–Others to watch–

• Tessa Chesser – 3rd Run Rabbit Run (2019); 2nd Penyagolosa Ultra 108k (2019).
• Marina Hobson – 4th San Francisco 50/50 50 miler (2019); 15 years old!
• Eve Rebennack – 1st Leona Divide 100k (2019); 1st McDowell Mtn Frenzy 50 (2017).
• Lindsey Hagen – 2nd Waldo 100k (2019); 1st Mountain Lakes 100 miler (2018).
• Natalie Chirgwin – 2nd Peterson Ridge Rumble (2021); 1st Mount Ashland Hill Climb (2017)
• Susan Oh – 6th Bandera 100k (2021); 2nd Sean O’Brien 100k (2020).
• Alina Edwards – 7th Canyons 100k (2019); 6th Canyons 100k (2017).
• Rebecca Windell – 1st Run the Rock 50 (2020); 5th Speedgoat 50k (2020).
• Lauren Schweitzer – 5th Kodiak 50 miler (2019); 1st Leona Divide 50 (2019).
• Kathy D’Onofrio – 2x Western States Champion (1986 & 1988 at ages 21 & 23)!
• Angela Tieri – 1st Run the Rock 50 miler (2020); 1st Mt. Ashland Hill Climb (2020).
• Lindsey Ulrich – 9th Black Canyon 100k (2021); 4th Waldo 100k (2018).
• Marilee Woyth – 6th Run the Rut 50k (2019); 8th Black Canyon 100k (2019).
• Carla Molinaro – 4th Hoka Project Carbon X2 (2021)
• Kerrie Wlad – 5th Bandera 100k (2020); 3rd UROC 100k (2016).
• Nicole Buurma – 3rd Run the Rock 50 miler (2019); 9th Lake Sonoma 50 (2018).
• Katy Pieri-Mccaffrey – 1st Ordinance 100k (2020); 2nd Dick Collins 50 miler (2018).
• Sarah Correa – 1st Mount Shasta 50 miler (2020); 1st Pacifica 50k (2019).

2021 Canyons 100k Men’s Preview

Anthony Costales – Has the talent (and now experience) to win. Coming off the roads (2h 13m lifetime best in the marathon), Anthony has taken the ultra scene by storm. He won this year’s Behind the Rocks 50 miler and Moab Red Hot 55k, which he also won in 2018, taking the course record from Hayden Hawks. Anthony won the 2019 Way Too Cool 50k in 3h 17m. That said, while he’s built up an impressive resume up to 50 milers, he’ll be making his 100k debut (I believe) and he doesn’t appear to be quite as dominant on courses with lots of climbing (7th TNF San Francisco 2019; 3rd Speedgoat 50k 2020). Canyons 100k is a pretty stout course so I think he would’ve been a little more dangerous at Bandera or Black Canyon, but if he has a special day out there, there’s no doubt he has the ability to nab a golden ticket.

Avery Collins – Avery has been doing the work. He definitely wins the award for most volume during the Canyons training block, topping out at 117 miles and almost 25,000 feet of vert in a single week. Avery lives and trains in Silverton, Colorado at 9,300 feet where I have to imagine most of the trails are still covered in snow. Not sure if that’ll affect his ability to run on bomber singletrack through the foothills of the Sierras. That said, Avery did go out to Southern California in December of 2020 and lowered the 67 mile (12,300 feet gain) Backbone Trail FKT by 51 minutes. Avery should handle the climbing of Canyons well and he’s succeeded in a lot of different styles of events; from his wins on tough courses like Hurt 100 (2018) and Ouray 100 (2016) to a race more like Canyons, 6th at Western States (2017). It’ll be interesting to see how Avery runs this race; charge hard from the gun or use his strength and pick off the carnage through the course’s very difficult second half.

David Laney – Had I not listened to David’s chat with Dylan Bowman on the Pyllars pod, I don’t think I’d be so high on David’s chances here, but he really made it sound like he’s in a good place with his running right now. My suspicion is that Laney will be one of those that will rebound in a big way after taking a full year off from racing. He admits that he was sort of toasted after racing competitively essentially since he was a little kid, year after year after year. Sounds like his only big effort in 2020 was his 100 mile charity run where he managed 7:38 pace and an elapsed time of 13h 25m. I think David slayed some inner dragons and is in a better place, primed to make a splash at Canyons and maybe find his way back to States. David is another guy who has excelled in different types of ultras with a 3rd and 4th place finish at UTMB (a course will 30k+ feet of gain) but also has the ability to turn it on and wins races like the Bandera 100k (2015) and Rocky Raccoon 100 (2019).

Max King – Max is fit and showing no signs of slowing down. Just a few weeks back at the Horse Butte 10 miler, a race he runs essentially every year, he set the course record once again, retaking it from Ryan Bak. And he did it in denim shorts and a cowboy hat (see my one minute video chasing him down a switchback). As we all know, Max has traditionally performed best at 50k-50m trail ultras, and doesn’t focus as much on the 100k-100m, so this race will push him outside of his wheelhouse a bit. I also don’t think anyone would argue that Bend, Oregon isn’t the greatest training ground in the world for vert. You can get it, but you have to drive a bit. For this time of year, either out to Smith Rock or over to the west side of the Cascades, which Max did here to get his final long run in (30 miles, 6k vert). But Max King is Max King; I think he’ll get it done.

Cole Watson – Humble dude, hard to tell if he likes fishing or running more. Seems like Cole hasn’t quite nailed the big one yet. Everyone knows he has the capability to win almost any race he starts, so who’s to say that Canyons isn’t going to be the one? Cole took a big swing at the Hoka Project Carbon X2 100k but had to pull the plug due to a nagging injury. Not sure what the status is on that or really if he’s even going to toe the line since his Strava entries ended on the date of the Project Carbon X2. I remember hearing Jim Walmsley mention Cole as one that could challenge him there and gave Cole some props for this 40 mile training run at 5:48 pace. Hope he was able to roll that fitness into a block for Canyons!

Noah Brautigam – This guy seems to have the full package, climbing legs and speed. Seems to be a common theme for these Salt Lake City runners. When you live in a valley but also have a 5,000 foot climb from town, you can get pretty strong and well-rounded as an ultrarunner. Shocker! Noah toed the line with Hayden Hawks and Anthony Costales at the 2020 Speedgoat 50k and WON! He also recently won the Antelope Island 50k with a new course record of 3h 32m. Noah is stepping up the distance here so again, we’ve got a bit of an unknown as far as how he’ll manage the 100k.

Paddy O’Leary – Irish lad living in the Bay. Paddy has had big international success, finishing 6th at the 2018 Lavaredo Ultra Trail in Italy. He’s also already won Canyons 100k once, but that was back in 2016. He’s one of those crazily athletic late-onset runners who, like Dylan Bowman, actually played lacrosse before getting into running in his 20s. Somehow he pulled off a 2:20 marathon at Cal International Marathon so the guy has a lot of range. Seems like this race is a bit of a rust buster for him but he has to be in the conversation with his level of talent and experience.

–Others to watch–

• Nicolas Caruso – 2nd Crown King Scramble 50k (2021); 22 years old.
• Brett Hornig – 1st Peterson Ridge Rumble 34 miler (two weeks before Canyons!); 6th Broken Arrow 52k (2019).
• Gus Gibbs – 2nd 2019 Way Too Cool 50k (3:19); 2nd White River 50 (2018).
• Luke Garten – 1st River of No Return 108k (2019); 9th IMTUF 100 (2020).
• Peter Van Der Zon – 5th TransGranCanaria (2019); 3rd Eiger Ultra Trail 100k (2018). Swiss. Will say course was flat.
• Cody Logan – 1st Coldwater Rumble 100 (2021); 4th Rio del Lago 100 (2019).
• Drew Macomber – 5th Lake Sonoma 50 (2018); Bendite and 1st Waldo 100k (2019).
• Eli White – 1st Georgia Death Race (2020); 2nd Miwok 100k (2019).
• Geoff Vaughn – Won Quad Dipsea in 1994. He’s in!
• Matt Lenehan – 12th 2020 Houston Marathon for OTQ (2:18:09); ultra debut.
• Brady Poskin – 5th Scout Mountain 100 (2018); 1st Quad Rock 50 (2020).
• Ryan Weibel – 3rd Wasatch 100 (2019); 10th Canyons 100k (2019).
• Yew Ferrara – 6th Black Canyon 100k (2020); 2nd Tahoe Rim Trail 50 (2019).
• Preston Cates – 1st (CR) Run Lovit 100k (2021); ran Track & XC for Arkansas Razorbacks (class of 2019).
• Scott Trummer – 9th Canyons 100k (2019); 3rd Way Too Cool 50k (3h 22m).
• Benjamin Atkins – 2nd San Diego 100 (2018); 8th Black Canyon (2020).
• Jacob Huston – 6th Pioneer Spirit 50 Miler (2020); 1st Cool Moon 100 (2020).
• Grant Hotaling – 3rd Castle Peak 100k (2019); 7th Tamalpa Headlands 50k (2018).
• Eric Earnshaw – 1st Zion 100k (2020); 3rd San Diego 100 (2019).
• Paul Young – 1st Badger Mtn 50 miler (2021); 2nd Coldwater Rumble 52k (2021).
• Anthony Fagundes – 3rd 2020 Way Too Cool 50k (3h 22m); college steeplechaser.
• Guillaume Hansel – 1st Cuyamaca 100k (2019) in 2nd fastest time ever on the course.
• Robert Messi-Moyer – 8th Canyons 100k (2019); competed for Australia at 2018 IAU Trail World Champs.
• Joey Miller – “Don’t sleep on Joe Miller from IL. #CornfieldCowboys” -Coree Woltering; 1st Burning River 100 (2019).
• Bryan Kerl – 1st CR Behind the Rocks 50k (2021); 1st Bryce Canyon 50 (2020).
• Dave Stevens – 2nd Javelina Jundred (2018); 6th Run the Rut 50k (2018).
• Emmett Saulnier – 5th Bandera 100k (2019); Impressive recent week: 120 miles / 18k vert. Seems fit.

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Alright, there you have it! Please let me know if I missed someone or if you know of anyone not racing that I included and I’ll update the post.

With so many runners motivated to fulfill their Western States dreams, I have a forecast for you: epic carnage. It’s a delicate balance; if you’re aiming for a golden ticket, you pretty much have to be okay with a high level of risk. This thing isn’t going to fall into anyone’s lap. Give it a good rip and if you’re having a magical day out there, it might all pay off! Go for broke and run it into the red a little too early and it might get ugly. But that’s the way things go! No risk, no reward.

If I were a betting man, I’d put my money on Yiou Wang, Audrey Tanguy, Max King, and Anthony Costales. But that’s just me! Tell me why I’m wrong in the comments below… nicely.

Cheers to Canyons 100k! Cheers to Western States! And cheers to ultrarunning!

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