Black Canyon Ultras 2024 did not disappoint for its eleventh edition. Challenging, fast and very competitive, the second race in the World Trail Majors series proved to be a firework display from the start. From a delayed start caused by snow at the highest points to the arid desert landscape, we were able to see a good bit of Arizona thanks to the amazing live footage use of drone cameras. The victories of Hayden Hawks and Rachel Drake have confirmed them as two of the best North American runners of the present time.
Snow and wilderness, this is Black Canyon Ultras 2024!
The organisers announced a two-hour delay at the start, but the reason for this was the most unexpected: snow! Yes, desert and snow. The start is at an altitude of 1200 m, as the day dawned a snow-covered landscape was revealed, and although it was not a problem for running, it was a problem for the buses that transported the runners.
Without any further incidents, the first wave of runners set off in a small, compact group that grew as the trails were reached, the male front pack consisted of 30 runners within 10 seconds.
Black Canyon Ultras is based on the Black Canyon Trail, an ancient Native American trail later used by wagons and cattle/sheep drives, the course varies from wide trails to twisting singletrack on numerous occasions and runners must be prepared to adapt to these changes.
Hans Troyer and Heather Jackson took the lead from the start. If Heather’s was predictable, Hans was more of a surprise: with only three trail races under his belt since last October he could be overlooked… but all three of those races have been wins, including the Bandera 100K just a month ago. Both faded with strong competition chasing their heels.
Rachel Drake, from Hong Kong to Black Canyon
The Women’s race was slightly more spread out during the race, but still closely fought battles ensued. After widening the gap Heather Jackson found some troubles and dropped back and a competitive pack of women was ready to chase him: Sarah Biehl, Becca Windell and Rachel Drake were in fight for the lead. Later, Rachel Drake took the lead in the back half and fought hard to win in 8:47:23, only 5 minutes later Becca Windell came through in 8:52:46 and Lauren Puretz completed the podium in 9:06:58.
Rachel run a road marathon at the end of the year, recovered to win The Third on Anta Hong Kong 100 Ultramarathon to win in Black Canyon Ultras 2024 showing her performance again on a very competitive trail race. Rachel also was planning to attend US Olympic Marathon Trials last week but decided not to do so and instead she took the win and Western States’ Golden Ticket in Arizona. The early leader and Black Canyon 2023 winner Heather Jackson finished 13th showing her determination.
Hayden Hawks, wins with course record
While Troyer was moving back Hayden Hawks emerged as the most serious contender. Split times were under course record (Anthony Costales, 7:32:50) and serious contenders as Chris Myers and Júpiter Carera were pushing Hawks to beat Costales’s time.
The men’s field was continuously close but Hayden Hawks pulled away with a ten minute lead. His last knee surgery and DNF in Western States were some of the uncertainties but Hawks cleared with style winning Black Canyon Ultras 2024, taking the course record, finishing in 7:30:18, followed in by Júpiter Carera 7:39:56 and Chris Myers 7:43:02. Hawks was 25 minutes down his 2020 winning time. All three will compete together on Western States.
Hans Troyer, leader for many miles, was finally 10th in a close sprint with Nate Jewkes. Unfortunately, Peiquan You, second in Hong Kong 100, who was in the top contenders, dropped in Table Mesa after more than 6 hours of effort.
Full results and streaming
Black Canyon Ultras 100K: Full Results
Black Canyon Ultras 60K: Full Results
Black Canyon Ultras 100M: Full Results
You can relive the streaming on YouTube’s World Trail Majors channel here.
Next race: The North Face Transgrancanaria
In just two weeks, The North Face Transgrancanaria, an iconic race on the international calendar, promises to have its best line-up ever. The 126 Km race with 6800 m of elevation will be the World Trail Majors race for that will bring together, among others, Zach Miller and Courtney Dauwalter, two of the best ultras runners of today. The race can be followed live via streaming in what promises to be the most exciting in it over 20-year history.
