2022 Lake Sonoma 50 Mile Preview
by Chase Parnell — April 7, 2022 — 📷: Luis Escobar
We have another race preview this week! Don’t call it a comeback but I might be getting my mojo back when it comes to writing these things. Whoop whoop! But before I dive into it, for those of you wondering, I didn’t end up making it to the Gorge Waterfalls 100k last weekend. My buddy unfortunately got hit with a gnarly stomach bug on Thursday and after many hours of not being able to keep fluids down, he pulled the plug so we decided to stay in Bend and rest up and train for our upcoming races: Peterson Ridge 20 mile for Nikki and Canyons 100k for me in 16 days… stomach drop.
Anyways, let’s dig into the Lake Sonoma 50. Nikki and I went down to this race last year when it was held in August due to Covid precautions. And let me tell you, IT. WAS. HOT. The sea of crispy grass in the photo above should be infused with green this weekend. I can’t imagine the beauty of this place in April. And the wine. Don’t get me started but I will tell you that this last year has been the year of wine for us and I 100% blame it on our trip to Lake Sonoma last year. Dangerously good.
Women’s Preview
Brittany Charboneau – TrainingForUltra put out a documentary called The Funny Runner last year following Brittany’s leap into professional running. She ran her PR for the marathon (2:33) at the Olympic Trials in Atlanta, a very hilly course. Since then she’s been tearing up the trail and ultra scene, winning the always competitive Pike’s Peak Marathon and just a few months ago the Red Hot Moab 55k with a course record time of 4:21. While 50 miles will be a new distance for her, I have no doubt she’ll be aiming to win.
Cecilia Flori – An Italian physicist living in America. She took up running not all that long ago and has proven to be one of the most talented ultrarunners out there. She finished 3rd at Tarawera 102k, 5th at Western States, she won JFK 50, and finished 2nd at Black Canyon 100k. That’s a stout resume! She’s registered for Western States so I imagine she’s using Sonoma as a tune-up for the big dance in June. Exciting!
Susan Oh – Representing Bend, Oregon, Susan is going to hate that I included her in this but because she won the Lake Sonoma 100k last year, she sort of has to be in the conversation. She is clearly suited well for this terrain, gobbles it up. She has also won the Wy-east Wonder 50 miler and finished 6th at the Bandera 100k in 2021. Lessgo Susan!
Becca Bramley – Just 26 years old, living in Colorado, Becca has shown some real potential at a bunch of tough Colorado races. She ran the Kendall Mountain Run in Silverton four times, she won the Telluride 40 miler last year, but hasn’t raced much on a course like Lake Sonoma or with this level of competition. It’ll be interesting to see what she can do in California!
Sorry, I know there are many other strong female runners but when a race doesn’t use ultrasignup, it’s tough to sift through the entries and find the contenders. Let me know who I missed!
Men’s Preview
Matthew Seidel –Â Definitely vying for the win. Earlier this year, Matt dropped a 3:24 at Way Too Cool 50k for a sixth place finish in just his second ultra. He’s only 25 years old and he’s got all the speed in the world after a great college career at Seattle U. Watch out for this guy!
Ben Koss – Veteran with lots of experience on the course. He’s a top ten guy at almost every race he attempts and he doesn’t shy away from the really competitive events. You may remember him as the guy that Justin Grunewald kicked down in the final meters of the 2021 Black Canyon 100k. Definitely worth a re-watch. Ben just ran a 54 minute 10 mile race in Sacramento so the guy can move. I think his experience will do him well this weekend.
Zach Rickenbach – I’m not 100% that Zach is running but because he lives in Bend, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. Zach is a real multi-sport guy. Skimo, mountain biking, running, etc. Not sure what kind of run fitness he’s in right now but there was a time when he was a top-ten guy at a race like Broken Arrow so you gotta keep your eye on him!
Tyler Sprague – Arizona dude should be ready for heat. Right now it’s only showing a high of 78 in Healdsburg, CA but if I were to try to run in that temperature right now, coming from Bend, I’d probably die of heat stroke. Tyler won the Mesquite Canyon 50k last year, he finished 2nd at the Mount Hood 50 miler with a time of 6:41, and had a solid 3:53 50k at the Smith Rock Ascent back in 2019.
Quick preview! Again, just hitting a few contenders. I plan on putting together a full blown write-up for the Canyons 100k in a couple weeks as we get back to a golden ticket race, and selfishly, because I’m running it and want to know who all will be throwing down on race day.
I’m a little sad that Lake Sonoma is not drawing the big names like it used to but it’s still a classic in my book. If you’ve ever been down to the area, ran on those trails, then you know they have something really special. Hope the race continues to evolve and innovate in years to come!
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