My personal favorites out of all these amazing feats are local guys Kevin Setnes running the 100K in 7:39:21 at age 53 (7:23 p

My personal favorites out of all these amazing feats are local guys Kevin Setnes running the 100K in 7:39:21 at age 53 (7:23 pace for 62.14 miles) and Roy Pirrung covering 138.51 miles in 24 hours at age 59. The 24-hour run by northern Ohio's Connie Gardner (145.26 miles) came within less than a tenth of a mile of being a US record. Scott Jurek, of course, still rules.

Steve
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Subject: Jurek, Kimball Named UltraRunning Magazine's Runners of the Year

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JANUARY 17, 2008

Jurek, Kimball Named UltraRunning Magazine's Runners of the Year

Scott Jurek of Seattle and Nikki Kimball of Bozeman, Montana have been voted
the 2007 UltraRunning Magazine North American runners of the year.

Jurek won Colorado's Hardrock 100 Mile in July, generally considered the
toughest of the 39 100-mile races in North America, and set a new course
record of 26:08:34 in the process. In September he raced against Europe's
finest in the 246-km Spartathlon in from Athens to Sparta, Greece, winning
the race in 23:12:14. It is the fourth time in the past five years that
Jurek has won the award.

Kimball won the prestigious Western States 100 Mile in June in 18:12:37, the
second fastest women's time in the race's 34-year history. She also won the
101.2-mile Ultra Tour du Mont Blanc, Europe's largest ultramarathon, in a
course record 25:43:45 and two of the most competitive 50-mile races in the
country, White River in Washington State and Mountain Masochist in
Virginia. Kimball easily out-polled her nearest rivals, California's
Beverly Anderson-Abbs, Anne Lundblad of North Carolina, and Oregon's Krissy
Moehl, who finished in a virtual tie for second.

Jurek's Hardrock win and Krissy Moehl's women's course record in the same
event were honored as top Performances of the Year.

In age group awards, 53-year-old Kevin Setnes' impressive 7:39:21 100 km at
the IAU Championships in Winschoten, Netherlands was honored as the top male
performance. Gunhild Swanson, who finished South Dakota's Lean Horse 100
Mile in 23:13:00 at age 63, was voted the top female performance.

A board of 21 voters from all regions of North America submitted ballots
this year. Complete voting results will appear in the March 2008 issue of
UltraRunning and on the UltraRunning website at www.ultrarunning.com.
UltraRunning, with offices in Healdsburg, California and Denver, Colorado,
covers running events that are longer than a 26.2-mile marathon. For
further information, please contact publisher John Medinger at
johnm@ultrarunning.com or call 707.431.9898.

2007 UltraRunning Magazine's Runners of the Year
(first place votes in parentheses)

Men
1. Scott Jurek, 34, Seattle, WA (9) 199
2. Karl Meltzer, 40, Sandy, UT (5) 153
3. Kyle Skaggs, 22, Ashland, OR (3) 137
4. Hal Koerner, 31, Ashland, OR 131
5. Anton Krupicka, 23, Bozeman, MT (1) 105
6. Greg Crowther, 34, Seattle, WA (2) 96
7. Akos Konya, 33, Oceanside, CA (1) 84
8. Andy Jones-Wilkins, 39, Ketchum, ID 52
9. Philip McCarthy, 39, New York, NY 42
10. Jasper Halekas, 31, Oakland, CA 32

Performance of the Year
1. Scott Jurek's Hardrock 100 Mile, 26:08:34 (7) 80
2. Scott Jurek's Spartathlon 246 km, 23:12:14 (9) 77
3. Lon Freeman's Miwok 100 km, 8:09:52 (2) 37
4. Howard Nippert's IAU 100 km, 6:49:31 33
5. Kyle Skaggs' Wasatch 100 Mile, 19:35:14 (1) 26

Women
1. Nikki Kimball, 36, Bozeman, MT (13) 223
2. Bev Anderson-Abbs, 43, Red Bluff, CA (1) 148
3. Anne Lundblad, 41, Swannonoa, NC (3) 146
4. Krissy Moehl, 30, Bend, OR (2) 145
5. Connie Gardner, 43, Medina, OH (2) 132
6. Kami Semick, 41, Bend, OR 90
7. Annette Bednosky, 41, Jefferson, NC 64
8. Devon Crosby-Helms, 25, Seattle, WA 54
9. Caren Spore, 39, Davis, CA 45
10. Suzanna Bon, 43, Sonoma, CA 38

Performance of the Year
1. Krissy Moehl's Hardrock 100 Mile, 29:24:25 (8) 95
2. Connie Gardner's Ultracentric 24-Hour, 145.26 miles (6) 87
3. Nikki Kimball's Tour du Mont Blanc 163 km, 25:43:45 (3) 57
4. Jenn Shelton - Rocky Raccoon 100 Mile, 14:57:18 (2) 51
5. Nikki Kimball's Western States 100 Mile, 18:12:37 (1) 31

Age Group Performances of the Year
Men
1. Kevin Setnes, 53, WI, IAU 100 km, 7:39:21 (7) 65
2. Roy Pirrung, 59, WI Ultracentric 24-Hour, 138.51 miles (2) 47
3. John DeWalt, 71, PA, Hardrock 100 Mile, 47:36:23 (5) 46
4. Scott Mills, 56, CA, Hardrock 100 Mile, 32:43:17 (3) 32
5. Karsten Solheim, 70, AZ, Western States 100 Mile, 29:57:38 (2)
25

Women
1. Gunhild Swanson, 63, WA, Lean Horse 100 Mile, 23:13:00 (7) 89
2. Nancy March, 59, CA, Leona Divide 50 Mile, 10:06:50 (1) 53
3. Juliane Scheberies, 73, CA, Ruth Anderson 50 km, 6:36:23 (2) 4=
1
4. Suprabha Beckjord 53, DC, Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile, 58+7:54:2=
7
(4) 35
5. Admas Beligne, 54, NY, Pioneer Trek 100 Mile 3-stage, 18:13:14
(3) 31

UltraRunning Runners of the Year
1981 =96 2007

1981 Marcy Schwam Bernd Heinrich
1982 Marcy Schwam Stu Mittleman
1983 Janis Klecker Bernd Heinrich
1984 Donna Hudson Bernd Heinrich
1985 Sandra Kiddy Stu Mittleman
1986 Sandra Kiddy Chuck Jones
1987 Mary Hanudel Charlie Trayer
1988 Ann Trason Stefan Fekner
1989 Ann Trason Sean Crom
1990 Ann Trason Andy Jones
1991 Ann Trason Andy Jones
1992 Ann Trason Eric Clifton
1993 Ann Trason Kevin Setnes
1994 Ann Trason Tom Johnson
1995 Ann Trason Tom Johnson
1996 Ann Trason Tom Johnson
1997 Ann Trason Tom Johnson
1998 Ann Trason Kevin Setnes
1999 Daniele Cherniak Mark Godale
2000 Deb Bolig Dan Held
2001 Ann Trason Rich Hanna
2002 Ann Heaslett Chad Ricklefs
2003 Nikki Kimball Scott Jurek
2004 Nikki Kimball Scott Jurek
2005 Anne Lundblad Scott Jurek
2006 Anne Lundblad Karl Meltzer
2007 Nikki Kimball Scott Jurek