Hawgood shines in endurance race

Ellina Mhlanga
Senior Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWEAN female ultra-distance runner, Emily Hawgood, made a huge impression when she came seventh at the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run.

The Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run is the world’s oldest 100 mile race.

The run starts in the Olympic Valley, California, near the site of the 1960 Winter Olympics, and ends in Auburn, California. In the decades, since its inception in 1974, Western States has come to represent one of the ultimate endurance tests, in the world.

On Saturday, Hawgood came seventh, in a time of 19 hours 13 minutes 53 seconds.

The Zimbabwean ultra-distance runner, who is also an accomplished triathlete, has always been passionate about running.

She began her journey, in ultra-events, in 2017.

And, she has proven her pedigree, in the past few years. Two years ago, Hawgood came second, at the Ultra Trail Cape Town 100 miler, in South Africa.

She crossed the finish line in 12 hours 3minutes 51.seconds. Hawgood, who lives in the United States, really wanted to run the Western States.

She gave it three shots, to get a golden ticket entry, into the race. In that process, she took third place, at the 2021 Bandera 100k, seventh at the 2021 Black Canyon 100k race and fourth at the 2021 Canyons 100k race.

British runner, Beth Pascall, won the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run title, in the women’s section, in 17:10:39. In second place was New Zealand’s Ruth Croft, who crossed the finish line in 17 hours 33 minutes 48 seconds. Croft was making her debut at the race.

In the men’s category, Jim Walmsley, came first in 14 hours 46 minutes.

It was his third consecutive victory.

He became the third man, with three consecutive wins.

The other two are Scott Jurek, who had seven straight victories, from 1999 to 2005, and Tim Twietmeyer, who won five times, three of them consecutively, from 1994 to 1996.

For almost five decades, Western States has been home to some of the sport’s most stirring, and legendary competitions.

With more than 1 500 dedicated volunteers helping, to create a one-in-a-lifetime experience, the run stirred the spirit of runners from all over the globe.