Asheville, North Carolina’s Anne Lundbald and Sandy , Utah ’s Karl Meltzer have been voted the 2006 UltraRunning Magazine’s North American runners of the year. It was the second consecutive year Lundblad was honored as the top female ultrarunner. She sped to a personal best of 7:47:18 in the IAU World Challenge 100 Km in Korea , good for sixth place in the world’s most competitive ultramarathon. It was the third straight year Lundblad led the U.S. women at the IAU 100 Km. Later in the year she won the Sunmart 50 Mile in Texas in 6:33:21, the fastest North American time at that distance in 2006, and second-best all time at Sunmart, behind only her own time from 2005.

Meltzer turned in perhaps the most prolific 100-mile season ever in North America , winning a total of six 100-mile races during the calendar year. Beginning with the HURT 100 Mile in Hawaii in January and ending with the Arizona ’s Javelina 100 Mile in November, Meltzer was a veritable tour de force, winning nearly wherever he went. The tougher the 100-mile, the more Meltzer relished the challenge. “When it is all said and done, I want to have won more 100-mile races than anyone ever has,” said Meltzer of his accomplishments and future goals.
Wome

1. Anne Lundblad, 40, NC (9) 160

2. Nikki Kimball, 35, MT (6) 154

3. Kami Semick, 40, OR 110

4. Beverly Anderson-Abbs, 42, CA 101

5. Connie Gardner, 42, OH 73

6. Darcy Africa, 31, CO 61

7. Krissy Moehl, 29, WA 59

8. Julie Udchacon, 36, AK 27

9. Carolyn Smith, 41, WI 20

10. Sue Johnston, 41, CA 1
Men

1. Karl Meltzer, 38, UT (7) 154

2. Scott Jurek, 32, WA (7) 150

3. Jorge Pacheco, 39, CA (1) 98

4. Phil Kochik, 28, WA 71

5. Hal Koerner, 30, OR 56

6. Howard Nippert, 41, VA 53

7. Eric Grossman, 38, KY 51

8. Leigh Schmitt, 33, MA 40

9. Bob Sweeney, 39, NY 30

10. Graham Cooper, 36, CA 27

Josh Brimhall, 31, NV 27

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 18th, 2007 at 10:04 pm and is filed under Industry News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.