San Juan Solstice 50 – Lake City, Colo.

Dakota Jones (Durango, Colo.), now 22 years old, turned in a stunning 7:35 finish at the San Juan Solstice 50, more than 24 minutes faster than Matt Carpenter’s previous record and 38 minutes faster than Jones’ own 2010 finish.

To put the victory into context, Carpenter’s high-altitude course records have been untouchable for a decade, some longer. His best times at Pikes Peak, Leadville 100, Imogene Pass Run, and the San Juan Solstice 50 are among the world’s best, with his Pikes Peak times unlikely to ever be broken.

In 2010 though, Jones challenged Carpenter’s 7:59 mark at the San Juan Solstice 50 for much of the day. By the finish though, the course, which boasts almost 13,000 feet of climbing and is run largely above 10,000 feet, had dropped Jones to an 8:13 finish, 14 minutes back of the course standard that dates to 2004.

That was three years ago. Since then Jones has grown into a world-class ultrarunner. He had a huge 2012, but hadn’t done much this year and didn’t even run for most of May while adventuring in Alaska.

It’s unclear what Jones has planned for the rest of the year, but a return to the Hardrock 100, where he was third last year, is unlikely given the race’s strict entry criteria. Perhaps Jones can be enticed into the Leadville 100 though. A year after Carpenter ran the San Juan Solstice 50, he ran 15:42 at Leadville, a record that still stands.

Last year’s San Juan Solstice winner Jason Schlarb (Boulder, Colo.) finished second and Josh Arthur (Crested Butte, Colo.) was third. Finish times were not yet available as of Sunday evening.

Petra McDowell (Los Alamos, N.M.), the race’s 2007 champ, again took top honors. Her 10:26 finish was three minutes faster than her winning time from six years ago. Silke Koester (Boulder, Colo.) and Emily Judd (Whitefish, Mont.) were second and third.

Full results (when available).

Ronda del Cims – Andorra

The traditional course at Ronda del Cims, in the eastern Pyrenees Mountains, is regarded as among the world’s toughest. Although heavy snowpack altered the original route, a revised course with 110 miles and 40,000 feet of elevation gain and loss is still an absolute monster. Frenchman Julien Chorier dazzled with a dominant win in just more than 28:41. For perspective on this race’s difficulty, Chorier’s 2011 Hardrock 100 winning time was 25:17.

Jared Campbell (Salt Lake City), Ty Draney (Aubrun, Wyo.), and Ben Lewis (Salt Lake City) finished seventh, eighth and ninth in 33:33. Campbell and Lewis completed the entire course together, with Draney joining them in the final 30 miles. 2012 and 2011 USATF 100-mile trail champion Dave James (Scottsdale, Ariz.) did not finish.

Eastern Divide 50K – Pembroke, Va.

Aaron Saft ran 3:45 to win the second annual race, held on a point-to-point course in southwestern Virginia. Scott Williams gave chase in 3:57 for second, with David Workman in tow at 4:10. Alison Bryant led the women’s race in 4:37. Rachel Corrigan and Natalie St. John crossed the line at 5:01 and 5:12 for second and third, respectively.

Full results.

Edited: Visit A Look Ahead at Western States for predictions on next weekend's big race.

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