On Friday, February 16, 49 runners will toe the line for the 2024 USATF 100 Mile National Championships at Cornerstone Park in Henderson, NV. The national championships will be part of the Jackpot Ultrarunning Festival, which will encompass most of the President’s Day weekend. The national championship will start at 8 AM Friday morning and continue for 40 hours through Saturday afternoon.
Follow along with the Jackpot USATF 100 Mile Road Championship Livestream, kicking off February 16th, exclusively on the Mountain Outpost Youtube Channel. Click the link below and set your notifications now so you don’t miss out!
USATF 100 Mile Road Championship Stream 1
USATF 100 Mile Road Championship Stream 2
Mountain Outpost YouTube
Here is a quick rundown of who is running and what to expect. As was the case last year, the race to watch will be with the 80+ group of men. David Blaylock, 81, (Draper, UT), last year’s 80-84 champion in 29:42, will be back to defend his age group gold medal. Joining Blaylock will be 2023’s second place age grouper, Ed Rousseau, 84, (Park Rapids, MN), who ran 30:09. Todd Leigh, 81, (Reno, NV) who finished 3rd in the 75-79 age group in 2022 in 35:01 and Ian Maddieson, 81 (Albuquerque, NM) who ran 37:15 in 2023 will also be among the 80-84 competitors. Rounding out the age group will be Wally Hesseltine, 80 (Lafayette, CA), who recently set the US age group 100 mile record (pending world record) at Tunnel Hill in November 2023, in 26:22, bettering the old mark by almost 3 hours.
Not to be out done, Jimmie Barnes, 85 (Gadsden, AL) will run in the 85-89 age group. Barnes recently set the world age best (M85) in both the 50 mile (14:35:00) and in the 100 mile (37:46:11).
Other notable runners to watch during the national championship on the men’s side include the 2023 100 mile national championship gold medalist Jonah Backstrom, 50 (San Francisco, CA), who ran the distance in 14:11. Backstrom moves into a new age group (50-54) for the 2024 championships. Others going for the championship title will be Nick Eiben, 29 (Issaquah, WA), who placed 2nd at the 2023 24H national championships, and Raj Pannu, 32 (Denver, CO), who recently placed 2nd in the 50 mile (to the world record holder, Charlie Lawrence) at Tunnel Hill in 5:02:01 and 1st place at Javelina Jundred 100K in October 2023 in 7:15:53. An icon in the ultra running world, Eric Clifton, 65 (Winchester, CA) will join those seeking overall and age group medals.
A late entrant, Jake Jackson (Loma Linda, CA) is coming off a win at the Coldwater Rumble 100K. In addition, he has been a two-time member of the US 24-Hour National Team and has two second-place finishes at the US 100 Mile Road Championships at the Jackpot Ultra Running Festival, 13:33:01 (2020) and 14:12:52 (2021).
On the ladies’ side, the 2023 champion is back to defend her title. Sierra DeGaff, 33 (Las Vegas, NV), who won in 15:59, also has the 2023 24-hour national championship to her name. She placed 1st at the 2023 Desert Solstice in 18:15:33. Also returning from 2023 is bronze medalist Heather Huggins, 50 (Monrovia, CA). She ran the distance in 17:09. Megan Eckert, 37 (Sante Fe, NM) placed 5th in 2023 in 22:30. Eckert ran in 9 ultramarathons in 2023, placing 1st in 7 of those races, including a 16:06 100 mile race in December 2023.
Be sure to tune in to the livestream mentioned at the beginning of this read. The weather looks great, with day temperatures in the mid-60s, cool evenings in the mid-40s, and partly to mostly cloudy skies predicted.
