Press release written by race director Tim Yanacheck. As members of USATF’s Mountain, Ultra & Trail Running Council, ATRA’s Nancy Hobbs & Richard Bolt help determine host events for national championship races including the Mad City 100K.
MADISON, WISCONSIN – National championships will be on the line for ultramarathon runners in the Mad City Ultras here on April 9. The 10th annual Mad City 100-kilometer road race has been designated by USA Track & Field Association as the 2016 championship race for that distance.
At just over 62 miles in length, competitors from around the country are expected to battle each other for over seven hours to determine the victors in the Mad City 100K.
Entered in this year’s race is the defending men’s champ, Mike Bialick of Minnesota. Bialick took the 2015 crown in a fast time of 7 hours, 2 minutes, 17 seconds. He should get strong competition from the 2013 champ, Nick Accardo of Louisiana. A trio of Coloradans – Eric Senseman, Anthony Kunkel, and Timmy Parr – are expected to be in the hunt as well.
The women’s race will be up for grabs as none of last year’s top finishers is registered this year. Traci Falbo of Indiana is the leading contender, having twice represented the USA in the world championship 24-hour run and helping the American team to first place in the world. In 2014, Falbo set the American record on the track in the 48-hour run, having run over 242 miles.
The first-place man and first-place woman will also be automatic selections for Team USA, the American team going overseas to compete in the world championship 100-kilometer race this fall.
A prize purse of $6,500 will be divided among the top six men and top six women. This will be the eighth year that USATF has tabbed the Mad City 100K as the national championship race. The Mad City Ultras course is among the most beautiful of all urban road races. The runners start and finish in Vilas Park. They follow a 10-kilometer circuit of Madison’s Lake Wingra, through residential neighborhoods, along the Edgewood College campus and Nakoma Golf Club, and through the world-famous University of Wisconsin Arboretum.
The Mad City Ultras 50-kilometer (31 miles) event is sparking new interest this year. The 50K race and the 100K race will be run simultaneously around the 10-kilometer circuit of Lake Wingra. Although this annual 50K race is not the national championship race, for the first time USATF has declared that the first-place man and the first-place woman will receive automatic berths on the USA 50K team going overseas to run in the world championship race at that distance.
Among the women to watch in the Mad City 50K will be Elissa Ballas of Illinois and Claudia Becque of Colorado. In the men’s field, two Tylers are expected to shine. Tyler Sigl of Wisconsin is on a roll, having won four of the past five 50-mile races he has run. Tyler Andrews of Virginia took 12th place in the 2015 world championship 50K, helping the USA win the Team Silver Medal.
Registration for the Mad City 100K and 50K solo races and 50K relay race is available to all runners online through the race website, http://madcity100k.com. Registration closes at midnight on April 2, 2016. Additional information is available at the race website, or contact Tim Yanacheck, Race Director, by email at [email protected].
