2021 Oregon Cascades 100 Preview | 100 Mile Point to Point Footrace from Bend to Sisters!

by Chase Parnell — August 25, 2021

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So apparently there’s a little fun run going on out of Chamonix, France this weekend? Not really sure, what I do know is that we have something a little bit closer to home for those of you that don’t want anything to do with spandex, hiking poles, and fizzy water.

The Oregon Cascades 100 by Alpine Running is a new 100 mile trail race spotlighting the best trails in Central Oregon. It’s a point to point route starting in the infamous Bend, Oregon and ending in Bend’s ugly step-cousin, Sisters, Oregon. That was a joke. Both of these towns are an absolute blast, nestled at the base of the Cascades and ready to provide you, your family, pacers, and crew with a good time. Guaranteed!

As far as the course itself goes, it’s a fast one. But don’t think you’re getting away with murder here, there’s still roughly 10,000 feet of climbing. That’s a decent amount and there are climbs (that I know well) that will make you really regret thinking “fast course” means “flat course”. I do agree with the race organizers that this is a great first 100 mile course, but it’s also great for more experienced ultra runners that are more runners than hikers. In fact, it’s making me wonder why I signed up for Wasatch this year instead of Oregon Cascades because this one definitely better suits my strengths!

Here’s a little bit of beta for the runners and anyone thinking about running this race: these are runnable trails. We have a lot of that buttery California singletrack in Central Oregon where you can really get into a rhythm and flow. There aren’t a ton of rocks, roots or technical sections out there. It can get a bit dusty but not that really slow sandy stuff. This course is bomber! There will be some punchy climbs but in general, the course runs the very gradually ascending southern and eastern flanks of the Three Sisters Mountains so you don’t have a lot of long steep climbs to really slow you down.

Alright, just writing this is making me think about my 2022 race schedule. Defend the home turf. Hmmmm.

Anyways! Let’s get into the competition side of things. I know this is an ultra and people just want to hold hands and be merry, but some also are coming to win this sucker. So here’s the rundown of those that might cross that finish line in Sisters first or get those coveted podium spots. Let’s go!

Oregon Cascades 100 Men’s Preview

Blake Hilty – It’s not very often that you go to ultrasignup and someone’s only result is a 100 miler. Looks like Blake finished 2nd at the Rocky Raccoon in 2020 with a really solid time of 15:28, missing the win by just five minutes. Rocky Raccoon is even “flatter” than Oregon Cascades so I’m sensing a pattern that Blake likes the runnable stuff. Looking at Blake’s Strava, the dude runs A TON. Countless consecutive 100 mile weeks, almost all of it done in Seattle proper, and most at sub-7 minute per mile pace. Blake is an attorney and past winner of the Rock n Roll Seattle Marathon. This will be interesting!

Rob Russell – I’m not entirely sure what kind of fitness Rob is bringing to the race but based on his past results he definitely has a shot at winning. In particular, his 16h 15m win at Mountain Lakes 100 stands out. That’s a similar course to Oregon Cascades so if Rob is anywhere near that fitness level, he’ll be dangerous. Rob finished 9th at Bandera 100k in 2018 and ran 6h 23m at Mt Hood 50, the 7th fastest time in the race’s 23 year history. Rob also lives in my favorite town in Oregon… Yachats. Super jealous!

Matthew Ison – If I may be so bold as to assume he goes by Matt, Matt is another newcomer to ultras but already has one really solid result to his name. In June of this year, Matt finished 2nd at the Old Cascadia 50k here in Central Oregon behind only Emmett Saulnier of Eugene who finished 12th overall at the super-competitive Canyons 100k earlier this year. So if Ison is within striking distance of Emmett, he’s legit. Now experience is not on his side for 100 miles but that’s not always required, especially after seeing that 1st and 2nd place at Leadville this year were runners making their debut at the distance. Anything is possible. After digging a little deeper, despite this being his first 100 miler, he’s no stranger to long endurance events. He comes to us from the triathlon world and has a 8h 54m full ironman to his name. Matt is a full-time endurance coach.

John Wros – John has leaned more towards mountain races with huge vert, but clearly has a lot of talent over a variety of distances. He has top ten finishes at a lot of 100s: Leadville (2014), Mountain Lakes (2014), Pine to Palm (2015), High Lonesome (2018). And he finished UTMB in 28h 14m; I know from experience how sick of a time that is. John lives in Anchorage, Alaska so maybe he’ll be relieved to not be running in grizzly habitat? I’m thinking he’ll be moving well late in the race.

Elan Lieber – Similar to Wros, Elan is a young but very experienced ultrarunner with lots of very solid results. It’ll be interesting to see how these guys stack up against those mentioned above with more speed and turnover. Elan pulled the plug heartbreakingly close to the finish (mile 85) at Western States earlier this year so maybe he’s hungry for a comeback? Elan was 8th at American River 50 earlier this year, he won the Kodiak 100 in 2018, and finished 3rd at the San Diego 100 in 2016. I imagine he has a lot of residual fitness from his build to Western.

–Also in the Mix–

Kyle Schenone – 2nd Old Cascadia 20 miler (2021); 2nd Run the Rock 50 miler (2020).

Perrin Smith – 1st Bellingham Trail Marathon (2019); 1st Mesquite Canyon 50k (2019).

Jeremiah McGregor – Bendite with local knowledge; 2nd Elkhorn Crest 50k (2020); 1st Secret Beach 100k (2018).

Matt Peharda – 2nd Wy’east Wonder 50k (2021); 1st Timberjack 30k (2019).

Chris Liebich – 1st White River 50 (2021); 1st Run Forest Run 50k (2020).

Michael Adams – 2nd Bighorn 18 miler (2021); 9th Beaverhead 100k (2020).

Lucas Cramer – Best ultrarunner in Madras? 6th Old Cascadia 50 miler (2020); 3rd Elkhorn Crest 50k (2020).

Sean Hoover – 9th Siskiyou Outback 100k (2021); 4th Mountain Lakes 100 (2017).

Jeremy Provenzola – 1st Mary’s Peak 50 miler; 3rd Mountain Lakes 100 (2019).

Eric Schwindt – 12th Wy’est Wonder 50 miler (2021); 7th Mount Hood 50k (2019).

–Special Interest–

Shout out to my buddy Jim Ruckman for putting this story on my radar. Doug Leonard is a doctor in Eugene and is running Oregon Cascades to raise money for the NICU where he works to buy equipment, which will directly benefit the staff and babies they care for. If you want to donate or learn more about this cause and see photos that might make you cry, click here to visit Doctor Leonard’s fundraising page.

Oregon Cascades 100 Women’s Preview

Christine Mosley – Well, we have the 2019 Vermont 100 champion in the field! That’s a big win! More recently, Christine has been out there doing work with five trail marathons/ultras already completed in 2021. She won the Teanaway Trail and Cougar Mountain trail marathons, finished 9th at the Backcountry Rise 50 miler and 3rd at the Old Cascadia 50 miler. With those tune-ups, Christine has to have her race day gear/nutrition/fitness dialed in and ready to go! Christine is flying south and joining us from Issaquah, WA. This’ll be fun!

Lindsey Hagen – Local to Bend, Lindsey will know this course like the back of her hand I’m sure. She has some wheels with a 2h 44m marathon time, which she used to participate in the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta. Further, if we use Mountain Lakes 100 (a similar style of 100 up near Mount Hood) as an indicator, Hagen can draw some confidence off her 2nd place finish in 2019 and win in 2018. She also finished 2nd at the Waldo 100k in 2019 so she can climb too. She raced Canyons 100k earlier this year and it looks like she had a bit of a rough one there with a 22nd place finish, although that race was very competitive so it’s hard to know. Good luck Lindsey!

Amy Phillips – With over 50 races on ultrasignup, Amy clearly has the experience to be dangerous in a 100 miler where sage wisdom goes a long way. Amy won the 2018 Rio del Lago 100 miler, a course with a similar amount of climbing as Oregon Cascades. She’s also raced on some of these trails already when she won the Flagline 50k back in 2015. Amy finished 14th at Western States in 2016 with a really great time of 22h 22m. I don’t see any real recent racing from Amy so her current fitness is a bit of a wild card. We’ll see!

Lee Conner – Lee has six 100 milers showing up on ultrasignup during 2021 alone. Maybe she’s doing more? So I’m going to go ahead and place Lee in that crazy ultrarunner category that is on a whole other level. I mean, we’re all crazy but that’s absolutely nuts. In a good way! What’s incredible too is that Lee doesn’t just finish these 100s, she’s very competitive. In June of this year she was 2nd place at the Scout Mountain 100 over in Idaho, she won the Blood Rock 100 in December of 2020, and in years past she won Cruel Jewel 100, the Chattanooga 100, Uwharrie 100, Black Hills 100, Thunder Rock 100, and the Mohican 100. That’s legend status right there. Who knows what she could pull off at Oregon Cascades! She lives in Cleveland, Ohio, the ultrarunning capital of… Ohio? Maybe? I’m making it a goal to meet this woman.

Helen Scotch – ANOTHER veteran and serious badass runner. Wow, she has finished the Arrowhead 135 mile winter ultra, the one where you drag a sled through freezing temps in Minnesota, and crazily enough she’s finished 2nd there three times. She also appears to enjoy the IMTUF 100 miler in McCall, Idaho with three finishes (2nd, 3rd, and 5th). That’s a very solid record! And wow, she lives in Bend! I had no idea. That’s the funny thing about Bend, you never know when you might bump into someone like Helen Scotch in the local pub or coffee shop.

Erika Hoagland – The battle of the vets continues. Erika rarely races outside the state of California so we should feel honored that she wanted to come sample some of Central Oregon’s finest trails. I hope she likes them! She has won the Rio del Lago 100 three times (2019, 2015, 2013) and notched a top-ten finish at Western States in 2016. The more I think about it the more I want to say that Erika might be the favorite. But I don’t know! There are lot of really strong women here. Excited to see how this shakes out.

–Also in the Mix–

Grace Chorey – 4th Echo Valley 50k (2021); 2nd Lord Hill 50k (2021).

Sophie Stiles – 4th Wy’east Wonder 50 miler (2021); 5th Run the Rock 20 miler (2020).

Marisa Toth – 2nd Ancient Lakes 50 miler (2021).

Erin Brunner – 4th Volcanic 50k (2021); 1st Badger Mountain 50 miler (2021).

Ashley Brush – 5th Bristow Trail 24 Hour Run (2021); 3rd Mary’s Peak 50 miler (2021).

Karmell Ohlrogge – At least five 100 mile finishes in the last year. Of Cleveland. Must be Lee Conner’s prodigy.

Melissa Linan – 1st Ouachita Switchbacks 50k (2021); 2nd Run Lovit 100k (2020).

Colleen Mentz – 1st Stories 30 Hour (2021); 2nd Silverheels 100 miler (2020).

Chris Brady – 4th Pumpkin Holler Hunnerd (2020) *best race name ever*; 5th Coldwater Rumble 100 (2017).

Esme Rhine – 7th Elkhorn Crest 50 miler (2021); 8th Whiskey Basin 91k (2021).

Mary Cooper – 10th Elkhorn Crest 50 miler (2021); 1st Cactus Rose 100 miler (2020).

Okay, there you have it! That’s our 2021 Oregon Cascades 100 mile race preview. The race starts this Saturday, August 28th at 6am. I will be out on the course putting out updates on social media. If you don’t already, give us a follow on Twitter and instagram and follow along on race day!

Also, head over to the Alpine Running website to check out all the course and supplemental information. And if you live in Central Oregon, pick out a spot on the course and come cheer on the runners!

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