American Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Molly Seidel entered the ultra-running fray this winter, winning the Bandera 50K in Texas, outright. She also broke the course record. Seidel clocked in at 4:09:39 to win by six minutes and 10 seconds over second-place finisher Benjamin Melisi, the men’s winner.
Sunday, she raced the Black Canyon Ultra (100K) and finished fourth in a time of 8:25:13.
One of Seidel’s goals was to finish in the top three to earn a golden ticket to the Western States 100-mile run. Finishing fourth initially put her out of the running. However, Tara Dower, who finished third, was already registered. So, Seidel will now be eligible to race Western States.
The race was won by Jen Lichter in 7:57:05. Taking second was Ann Flower in 7:58:15, and Dower clocked in at 8:11:46.
The men’s race was won by Hans Troyer in 7:20:00. Taking second was Anthony Costales in 7:24:32, and third was Tracen Knopp, clocking a 7:26:45 performance.
Lichter
The 29-year-old Lichter is an alum of the University of Toledo. In 2021, she ran the California International Marathon in 2:39:09 in her debut. She then tried the 50K distance and not only won her first race, but was not sore the next day. Since 2023, she has won five ultra races and finished on the podium another two times, with one DNF.
Troyer
In 2024, Troyer finished eighth in the Black Canyon Ultra, finishing in the time of 8:03:58.
In April last year, he finished second in a UTMB event, The Canyons Endurance Event 100K. Troyer clocked an 8:27:00. The course includes more than double the elevation gain of 3750m. Black Canyon, while tough, includes 1,720m. Two months later, in June 2025, Troyer took on the Western States 100, finishing an impressive eighth over the 162-kilometre and 5790m of elevation gain route.
The Western States Endurance Run 100-mile course features a quad-busting descent of over 7000m (22,970 feet). The race begins at 1900m (6,200 feet) in Olympic Valley, California. The course immediately climbs to a high point of 2667m (8,750 ft) at Emigrant Pass before descending to the finish in Auburn at 365m (1,200 ft).
