Sweltering heat for the better part of 100 miles zapped the pep from many ultrarunners in the 35th annual Western States Endurance Run this past weekend.

Hal Koerner of Ashland, Ore., was not among them.

Koerner, 33, defended his 2007 title on Saturday in impressive fashion, completing the 100.2-mile ultramarathon from Squaw Valley to Auburn in 16 hours, 24 minutes, 55 seconds and#8212; less than an hour off the course record. The race returned after being canceled in 2008 due to wildfires in the area.

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and#8220;Hal ran a tremendous race,and#8221; said John Trent, media relations director with Western States. and#8220;He ran it like it was an 85-degree day, not a 100-degree day. I think it will go down as one of the great runs in the history (of the event).

and#8220;He’s truly got the race dialed in. Whatever he does in training we all need to figure out, because it seems like he has the magical formula.and#8221;

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Like many other races in the history of the event, triple-digit heat played a major role in forcing hundreds of ultrarunners to drop out. In all, 159 of the 399 starters pulled out of the race, and 46 registered runners did not make it to the start line. There were 238 athletes who finished within the 30-hour cutoff, and two who came in after 30 hours.

Trent said this year’s mild spring may have contributed to the high percentage of non-finishers, because runners did not have a large window of time for heat training.

As was the case with Koerner, however, the women’s champ powered through the heat like a machine.

Anita Ortiz of Eagle, Colo., a 45-year-old mother of four and first-time participant in a 100-mile race, captured the top spot among women and ninth place overall with a time of 18 hours, 24 minutes, 17 seconds and#8212; the fourth-fastest time ever by a woman. And that was after taking a wrong turn at the 78th mile that added about 2 miles and 20 minutes to her finish time, said Trent, calling her effort a and#8220;remarkable performance.and#8221;

Krissy Moehl of Seattle finished second in the women’s field with a time of 19:26:02, while Beverly Anderson-Abbs of Red Bluff took third in 19:53 and Nikki Kimball of Bozeman, Mont., fourth in 20:55:43.

Tsuyoshi Kaburagi of Japan crossed the finish on the Placer High School track second overall with a time of 16:52:06, and Jez Bragg of Great Britain rounded out the top-three in 16:54:26.

In a much-anticipated return after a two-year hiatus from the race, seven-time Western States champ Scott Jurek of Seattle dropped out at Devil’s Thumb about 48 miles in because of a foot injury. Jurek, who won every race from 1999 to 2005, holds the course record of 15:36:27, set in 2004.

and#8220;I think everybody there expected a battle between Hal and Scott Jurek,and#8221; Trent said.

Locally, Truckee ultrarunner Kathy D’Onofrio-Wood once again finished in less than 30 hours, placing 35th among women with a time of 29:06:22. D’Onofrio-Wood won the women’s division in 1986 and and#8216;88 and was awarded a commemorative belt in 2006 for completing 1,000 miles in Western States competition.

and#8220;She’s one of those people everybody loves to death. They’re always enthused to see such a great champ come back year after year. And she gets to the finish line every time,and#8221; Trent said of D’Onofrio-Wood, the last women’s winner before Ann Trason reeled off 10 consecutive titles from 1989-1998.

Among those who opted out of the heat were a pair of originals from the earliest days of Western States and#8212; Gordy Ainsleigh and Ken and#8220;Cowmanand#8221; Shirk. Ainsleigh, now 62, became the first human in 1974 to complete the course originally designed for horses in the Tevis Cup. Cowman, 65, was the second runner to complete the course in 1976.

and#8220;It’s always great to see them,and#8221; Trent said of Ainsleigh and Cowman, who receive automatic berths every year. and#8220;Other than Scott Jurek and Tim Twietmeyer, people get their photos taken with Gordy and Cowman most.and#8221;

Living up to his name, Trent said Cowman let out an occasional and#8220;mooand#8221; during the post-race awards ceremony.

and#8212; Tahoe Daily Tribune Sports Editor Steve Yingling contributed to this report.

Place, Bib No., Status, Time In, Time Out, Elapsed, Name, Gender, Age

1 M1 Finished 09:24pm –:– 16:24:55 Hal Koerner M 33

2 279 Finished 09:52pm –:– 16:52:06 Tsuyoshi Kaburagi M 40

3 113 Finished 09:54pm –:– 16:54:26 Jez Bragg M 28

4 21 Finished 09:56pm –:– 16:56:26 Jasper Halekas M 33

5 401 Finished 09:59pm –:– 16:59:33 Kevin Sullivan M 38

6 29 Finished 10:34pm –:– 17:34:12 Zachariah Miller M 33

7 332 Finished 10:49pm –:– 17:49:37 Leigh Schmitt M 36

8 M2 Finished 11:22pm –:– 18:22:44 Erik Skaden M 37

9 22 Finished 11:24pm –:– 18:24:17 Anita Ortiz F 45

10 79 Finished 11:45pm –:– 18:45:56 Mark Lantz M 43

11 M4 Finished 11:46pm –:– 18:46:52 Andy Jones-Wilkins M 41

12 108 Finished 11:47pm –:– 18:47:15 Victor Ballesteros M 39

13 31 Finished 12:26am –:– 19:26:02 Krissy Moehl F 31

14 M7 Finished 12:30am –:– 19:30:27 Tracy Moore M 48

15 27 Finished 12:32am –:– 19:32:08 Michael Wardian M 35

16 206 Finished 12:41am –:– 19:41:22 Karl Hoagland M 44

17 F2 Finished 12:53am –:– 19:53:14 Beverley Anderson-Abbs F 45

18 46 Finished 12:59am –:– 19:59:31 Lewis Taylor M 36

19 252 Finished 01:17am –:– 20:17:55 Cuong Kyle Hoang M 37

20 28 Finished 01:18am –:– 20:18:04 Craig Thornley M 45

21 F1 Finished 01:55am –:– 20:55:43 Nikki Kimball F 38

22 45 Finished 01:56am –:– 20:56:49 Jean Pommier M 45

23 M3 Finished 02:09am –:– 21:09:45 Graham Cooper M 39

24 247 Finished 02:09am –:– 21:09:46 Simon Mtuy M 37

25 415 Finished 02:15am –:– 21:15:58 Jed Tukman M 38

26 F4 Finished 02:17am –:– 21:17:22 Caren Spore F 41

27 435 Finished 02:18am –:– 21:18:28 Scott Wolfe M 35

28 98 Finished 02:21am –:– 21:21:16 Dan Barger M 43

29 175 Finished 02:28am –:– 21:28:18 Joseph D’Alessio M 32

30 F5 Finished 02:33am –:– 21:33:36 Meghan Arbogast F 48

31 M9 Finished 02:38am –:– 21:38:49 Jeff Riley M 40

32 82 Finished 02:41am –:– 21:41:44 Alan Abbs M 39

33 59 Finished 02:55am –:– 21:55:53 Matthew Lavine M 35

34 404 Finished 02:58am –:– 21:58:32 Kevin Swisher M 35

35 428 Finished 03:09am –:– 22:09:25 Chris Wight M 28

36 436 Finished 03:11am –:– 22:11:01 Kelly Woodke M 42

37 84 Finished 03:16am –:– 22:16:22 Klas Eklof M 38

38 292 Finished 03:19am –:– 22:19:42 John Nichols M 44

39 241 Finished 03:20am –:– 22:20:44 Eric Johnson M 25

40 39 Finished 03:29am –:– 22:29:16 Mark Godale M 39

41 396 Finished 03:36am –:– 22:36:46 Chris Stephenson M 44

42 83 Finished 03:38am –:– 22:38:28 Derrick Carr M 48

43 23 Finished 03:45am –:– 22:45:42 Eric Grossman M 40

44 44 Finished 03:51am –:– 22:51:36 Stan Holman M 44

45 90 Finished 03:52am –:– 22:52:47 Brian Robinson M 48

46 70 Finished 03:54am –:– 22:54:14 Neil M. Olsen M 41

47 256 Finished 03:55am –:– 22:55:50 Jon Kroll M 36

48 281 Finished 04:02am –:– 23:02:28 A’a ‘Pu ‘u Kiddoo M 34

49 26 Finished 04:07am –:– 23:07:20 Gary Robbins M 32

50 373 Finished 04:07am –:– 23:07:52 Chris Rowe M 39

51 43 Finished 04:10am –:– 23:10:26 Benjamin Berkowitz M 26

52 80 Finished 04:11am –:– 23:11:31 Elizabeth Vitalis F 44

53 125 Finished 04:12am –:– 23:12:05 Gabe Bevan M 36

54 14 Finished 04:15am –:– 23:15:52 Scott Mills M 58

55 182 Finished 04:18am –:– 23:18:37 Ryan Thomas M 24

56 355 Finished 04:22am –:– 23:22:50 Jeff Phillips M 38

57 378 Finished 04:24am –:– 23:24:55 Kevin Sawchuk M 43

58 167 Finished 04:28am –:– 23:28:07 Will Cooper M 46

59 363 Finished 04:30am –:– 23:30:20 Adam Ray M 42

60 395 Finished 04:32am –:– 23:32:06 Larry Stephens M 53

61 35 Finished 04:34am –:– 23:34:12 Matthew Keyes M 35

62 283 Finished 04:35am –:– 23:35:06 Ted Knudsen M 40

63 412 Finished 04:36am –:– 23:36:31 Jeff Trigg M 39

64 261 Finished 04:37am –:– 23:37:14 Jochen Horn M 42

65 219 Finished 04:37am –:– 23:37:15 Jamie Frink F 36

66 157 Finished 04:38am –:– 23:38:40 Robert Cain M 55

67 229 Finished 04:39am –:– 23:39:10 James Goodman M 37

68 49 Finished 04:40am –:– 23:40:17 Jim Scott M 49

69 136 Finished 04:49am –:– 23:49:27 Jenny Capel F 36

70 168 Finished 04:51am –:– 23:51:00 David Corfman M 46

71 312 Finished 04:52am –:– 23:52:37 Rick A. Mayo M 33

72 343 Finished 04:53am –:– 23:53:27 Mark Winkelman M 44

73 426 Finished 05:15am –:– 24:15:33 Jeffrey Welsh M 54

74 216 Finished 05:28am –:– 24:28:36 Jimmy Dean Freeman M 32

75 409 Finished 05:43am –:– 24:43:00 Bill Thomas M 52

76 320 Finished 05:44am –:– 24:44:13 Sean Meissner M 35

77 434 Finished 05:52am –:– 24:52:33 A.J. Wolfe M 35

78 52 Finished 05:55am –:– 24:55:15 Keith Blom M 52

79 325 Finished 06:06am –:– 25:06:23 Bradford Putnam M 44

80 32 Finished 06:34am –:– 25:34:16 Connie Gardner F 45

81 226 Finished 06:37am –:– 25:37:57 Kim Gimenez F 44

82 210 Finished 06:40am –:– 25:40:40 Matt Crownover M 36

83 181 Finished 06:43am –:– 25:43:54 Kevin Davis M 38

84 215 Finished 06:47am –:– 25:47:01 John Fors M 42

85 41 Finished 06:47am –:– 25:47:45 Tom Wilson M 42

86 47 Finished 06:54am –:– 25:54:29 Jerry Letendre M 47

87 347 Finished 06:57am –:– 25:57:00 Jady Palko M 36

88 218 Finished 07:04am –:– 26:04:30 Johan Fridlund M 41

89 416 Finished 07:05am –:– 26:05:10 Jerry Turk M 51

90 100 Finished 07:05am –:– 26:05:29 Dan Brenden M 58

91 376 Finished 07:07am –:– 26:07:13 Dan Rus M 42

92 393 Finished 07:11am –:– 26:11:05 Richard St Clair M 44

93 342 Finished 07:14am –:– 26:14:17 Chris O’Connor M 42

94 239 Finished 07:16am –:– 26:16:19 Thomas Jackson M 49

95 330 Finished 07:16am –:– 26:16:28 Randy Miller M 50

96 135 Finished 07:19am –:– 26:19:27 Brent Boyle M 36

97 93 Finished 07:20am –:– 26:20:59 Steve Ansell M 40

98 203 Finished 07:22am –:– 26:22:17 Stan Ferguson M 45

99 271 Finished 07:23am –:– 26:23:05 Stephen M. Itano M 50

100 128 Finished 07:25am –:– 26:25:55 Charles H. Blakeney M 46

101 118 Finished 07:26am –:– 26:26:14 David Pearson M 43

102 242 Finished 07:27am –:– 26:27:48 Chris Harrison M 45

103 208 Finished 07:28am –:– 26:28:27 Thomas D. Harper M 60

104 382 Finished 07:29am –:– 26:29:32 David Schurr M 48

105 205 Finished 07:31am –:– 26:31:19 David Messman M 49

106 394 Finished 07:37am –:– 26:37:47 Molly Starr F 30

107 398 Finished 07:41am –:– 26:41:22 Charles Stevens M 53

108 209 Finished 07:43am –:– 26:43:42 Bill Finkbeiner M 53

109 73 Finished 07:48am –:– 26:48:38 Gregory J. Holmes M 46

110 66 Finished 07:49am –:– 26:49:46 Brien Crothers M 50

111 223 Finished 07:51am –:– 26:51:43 Bill Gengler M 55

112 36 Finished 07:52am –:– 26:52:12 Leonardo Soresi M 36

113 293 Finished 07:53am –:– 26:53:51 Lori Lebel F 36

114 260 Finished 08:00am –:– 27:00:40 Charley Jones M 37

115 422 Finished 08:03am –:– 27:03:55 Shawn Wallich M 45

116 308 Finished 08:08am –:– 27:08:43 Nancy March F 62

117 262 Finished 08:09am –:– 27:09:47 Michael Huff M 42

118 153 Finished 08:12am –:– 27:12:59 Stacey Bunton F 46

119 121 Finished 08:14am –:– 27:14:06 Ryan Rivera M 33

120 147 Finished 08:17am –:– 27:17:03 Sharon Broadwell F 47

121 319 Finished 08:25am –:– 27:25:41 Glenn Meeth M 40

122 385 Finished 08:26am –:– 27:26:55 Derek Semanski M 37

123 297 Finished 08:31am –:– 27:31:11 Jerome Lourme M 48

124 78 Finished 08:31am –:– 27:31:58 John D. Muir M 31

125 296 Finished 08:33am –:– 27:33:13 Gilgert Loomis M 59

126 194 Finished 08:33am –:– 27:33:21 Jim Eckert M 38

127 420 Finished 08:33am –:– 27:33:41 Chad Long M 36

128 406 Finished 08:34am –:– 27:34:43 Steve Tanio M 48

129 192 Finished 08:37am –:– 27:37:50 Scott H. Dunlap M 40

130 127 Finished 08:43am –:– 27:43:34 Andy Black M 51

131 237 Finished 08:50am –:– 27:50:54 Michelle Halsne F 40

132 154 Finished 08:52am –:– 27:52:45 Donald Buraglio M 38

133 212 Finished 08:52am –:– 27:52:55 Allen Kuhn M 42

134 377 Finished 08:53am –:– 27:53:14 Linda Samet F 43

135 115 Finished 08:53am –:– 27:53:43 Ling-Ru Chu F 35

136 54 Finished 08:54am –:– 27:54:29 Mike Sweeney M 54

137 55 Finished 08:56am –:– 27:56:29 Diana Lundy F 55

138 423 Finished 08:57am –:– 27:57:26 Gary Wang M 41

139 267 Finished 08:58am –:– 27:58:25 Chad Hyson M 38

140 240 Finished 09:02am –:– 28:02:09 Casey Harney M 52

141 287 Finished 09:02am –:– 28:02:53 Jeff LaBossiere M 40

142 410 Finished 09:05am –:– 28:05:53 Greg Thompson M 41

143 269 Finished 09:06am –:– 28:06:22 Josh Irvan M 38

144 40 Finished 09:09am –:– 28:09:30 Alyssa Godesky F 24

145 106 Finished 09:13am –:– 28:13:59 Nick Bassett M 64

146 75 Finished 09:17am –:– 28:17:45 Ralph Richardson M 52

147 122 Finished 09:19am –:– 28:19:38 J.B. Benna M 30

148 289 Finished 09:19am –:– 28:19:38 Joe Lane M 30

149 228 Finished 09:19am –:– 28:19:54 Marian Yasuda F 49

150 254 Finished 09:21am –:– 28:21:28 Michael J. Hoffman M 48

151 437 Finished 09:22am –:– 28:22:00 Sean Workowski M 41

152 407 Finished 09:23am –:– 28:23:11 Ernest Tay M 45

153 381 Finished 09:23am –:– 28:23:22 Rena Schumann F 48

154 221 Finished 09:24am –:– 28:24:31 Chihping Fu M 43

155 253 Finished 09:27am –:– 28:27:42 Marty Hoffman M 53

156 371 Finished 09:28am –:– 28:28:31 Vance Roget M 55

157 245 Finished 09:28am –:– 28:28:52 Lori Heinselman-Craig F 41

158 433 Finished 09:29am –:– 28:29:50 David Wittman M 40

159 60 Finished 09:30am –:– 28:30:57 Barbara Ashe F 60

160 61 Finished 09:31am –:– 28:31:30 Charles Savage M 61

161 246 Finished 09:32am –:– 28:32:43 Zachary Keefer M 27

162 119 Finished 09:33am –:– 28:33:09 Elad Benjamin M 34

163 161 Finished 09:34am –:– 28:34:04 Bobby Christiansen M 51

164 77 Finished 09:34am –:– 28:34:36 Tom Wroblewski M 50

165 174 Finished 09:35am –:– 28:35:00 Flavio Dalbosco M 45

166 178 Finished 09:39am –:– 28:39:47 James M. Davidson M 46

167 189 Finished 09:39am –:– 28:39:54 Scott A. Dubrul M 40

168 50 Finished 09:40am –:– 28:40:52 Angie Pozzi F 50

169 180 Finished 09:41am –:– 28:41:04 Curtis Davis M 44

170 234 Finished 09:46am –:– 28:46:56 Paul M. Grimm M 40

171 327 Finished 09:48am –:– 28:48:05 Sandra Sendelbach-Hasse F 42

172 207 Finished 09:49am –:– 28:49:03 Karyn Hoffman F 46

173 444 Finished 09:49am –:– 28:49:50 Vineer Bhansali M 43

174 280 Finished 09:52am –:– 28:52:01 Liz Kellogg F 60

175 413 Finished 09:52am –:– 28:52:14 Eric Troska M 32

176 111 Finished 09:54am –:– 28:54:57 David Rhodes M 39

177 144 Finished 09:59am –:– 28:59:17 Gary Lukacs M 52

178 365 Finished 10:00am –:– 29:00:32 Suzie Spangler F 38

179 277 Finished 10:00am –:– 29:00:51 Melissa Johnson F 33

180 155 Finished 10:02am –:– 29:02:19 Robert Towne M 56

181 414 Finished 10:02am –:– 29:02:27 Jim Truitt M 30

182 411 Finished 10:03am –:– 29:03:11 Janet Thomson F 30

183 193 Finished 10:03am –:– 29:03:24 Lance L. Gilbert M 53

184 142 Finished 10:03am –:– 29:03:37 Heather Perry F 41

185 324 Finished 10:05am –:– 29:05:27 David Micklo M 39

186 225 Finished 10:06am –:– 29:06:01 Claire Gilles F 32

187 185 Finished 10:06am –:– 29:06:22 Kathy D’Onofrio-Wood F 44

188 362 Finished 10:07am –:– 29:07:50 Carrie Sisk F 34

189 265 Finished 10:08am –:– 29:08:52 Michael Huss M 50

190 257 Finished 10:09am –:– 29:09:00 James Holland M 32

191 388 Finished 10:09am –:– 29:09:37 Beth Simpson-Hall F 50

192 140 Finished 10:10am –:– 29:10:14 Stephen A. Bell M 54

193 123 Finished 10:11am –:– 29:11:23 Chad Kelly M 39

194 294 Finished 10:13am –:– 29:13:53 Dan Lehmann M 58

195 391 Finished 10:18am –:– 29:18:28 Bettie Smith F 57

196 196 Finished 10:19am –:– 29:19:37 Eric R. Ellisen M 48

197 350 Finished 10:22am –:– 29:22:13 Mike Pastore M 54

198 431 Finished 10:23am –:– 29:23:50 Thomas C. Williams M 50

199 360 Finished 10:25am –:– 29:25:15 Georganna Quarles F 55

200 278 Finished 10:25am –:– 29:25:36 Jeffery Johnston M 44

201 217 Finished 10:26am –:– 29:26:01 Hartmut Frenzel M 41

202 183 Finished 10:27am –:– 29:27:22 John T. Dawson M 54

203 149 Finished 10:28am –:– 29:28:12 David Bruno M 31

204 318 Finished 10:29am –:– 29:29:00 Chrissy Ferguson F 48

205 430 Finished 10:29am –:– 29:29:37 David Williams M 55

206 370 Finished 10:29am –:– 29:29:56 John Robinson M 43

207 176 Finished 10:32am –:– 29:32:16 Tim Daly M 49

208 303 Finished 10:32am –:– 29:32:50 Mike Lynch M 45

209 164 Finished 10:33am –:– 29:33:14 Dennis Connor M 48

210 337 Finished 10:33am –:– 29:33:33 Mark Nassi M 42

211 244 Finished 10:33am –:– 29:33:49 Garrett Headley M 42

212 114 Finished 10:34am –:– 29:34:06 Tamyka Bell F 28

213 159 Finished 10:35am –:– 29:35:06 Tonja Chagaris F 36

214 348 Finished 10:35am –:– 29:35:45 Mike Palmer M 55

215 177 Finished 10:36am –:– 29:36:39 Jason Dashow M 33

216 51 Finished 10:36am –:– 29:36:43 Kirk Boisseree M 51

217 249 Finished 10:37am –:– 29:37:01 Scott Henrikson M 45

218 264 Finished 10:37am –:– 29:37:47 Linda Hurd F 47

219 107 Finished 10:38am –:– 29:38:13 Marissa Walker F 41

220 131 Finished 10:38am –:– 29:38:42 Bill Hunter M 44

221 305 Finished 10:39am –:– 29:39:38 Steve Klang M 41

222 255 Finished 10:39am –:– 29:39:58 Dan Holbrook M 61

223 307 Finished 10:40am –:– 29:40:33 Glen Mangiantini M 51

224 170 Finished 10:40am –:– 29:40:34 Robert Cowan M 48

225 284 Finished 10:40am –:– 29:40:34 Peter Kosmalski M 34

226 400 Finished 10:41am –:– 29:41:04 Jeffery Su M 46

227 53 Finished 10:44am –:– 29:44:20 Ken Crouse M 53

228 418 Finished 10:44am –:– 29:44:56 Charlie Vincent M 48

229 429 Finished 10:45am –:– 29:45:39 Dan Williams M 60

230 222 Finished 10:46am –:– 29:46:20 Tommy Gallagher M 52

231 230 Finished 10:47am –:– 29:47:16 Scott Gower M 45

232 301 Finished 10:50am –:– 29:50:11 Carolyn M. Luckett F 42

233 275 Finished 10:50am –:– 29:50:14 Wayne P. Mandelbaum M 54

234 270 Finished 10:50am –:– 29:50:33 Kristina Irvin F 51

235 235 Finished 10:50am –:– 29:50:51 Pavan Kumar Ramarapu M 36

236 340 Finished 10:52am –:– 29:52:31 Mylinh Nguyen F 50

237 328 Finished 10:53am –:– 29:53:00 Christine Miller F 50

238 220 Finished 10:55am –:– 29:55:20 Gerald Frost M 53

239 259 Dropped 11:25am –:– 30:25:00 Allan Holtz M 59

240 311 Dropped 11:37am –:– 30:37:00 Andrew Mathews M 47