F30-39: Warnke Conquers the Cascades in 61 Hours

• Aimee Warnke (1st, 61:18:35) averaged 18:23/mi across 200.1 miles and posted the fastest women's split on the Spencer→Lewis River segment — the decisive move in a race-long battle for the top spot.
• Elle Jones (2nd, 65:39:09) surged from 10th among women at the opening checkpoint all the way to 2nd, fueled by the fastest women's split on Quartz→Chain of Lakes.
• Mira Brody (3rd, 83:36:12) and Ali Tanguay (4th, 87:03:30) each cracked the top-5 women's split on their standout segments, but a gap of nearly 3:30 separates them at the finish.
• Makinsie Bartholomew (10th, 106:08:06) closed out the F30-39 field in just over 106 hours — every one of these ten women finished one of ultrarunning's most demanding point-to-point courses through the Cascades.

Aimee Warnke's win was anything but a wire-to-wire cruise. She traded the second spot among women repeatedly through the early and middle checkpoints — sitting 3rd, climbing to 2nd, slipping back to 3rd, then re-establishing herself at 2nd — before finally seizing the top spot among women in the back half and never relinquishing it. Her 18:23/mi average over 200.1 miles of volcanic terrain, lava fields, and mountain ridgelines tells the story of a controlled, relentless effort. The fastest women's split on Spencer→Lewis River was the signature move that separated her from the field.

Elle Jones told the most dramatic story of the race. Starting 10th among women and working methodically through the field — 8th, then 7th, 5th, 3rd — she was posting some of the strongest segment splits in the women's race, including the fastest women's split on Quartz→Chain of Lakes. By the finish she had climbed all the way to 2nd among women, crossing in 65:39:09 at a 19:41/mi average. That's a gap of just over four hours to Warnke — significant, but earned through one of the field's most impressive climbs through the standings.

Mira Brody (3rd, 83:36:12) made her own quiet charge, moving from 26th among women at the first checkpoint up to 16th by the finish, with the 5th-fastest women's split on Klickitat→Twin Sisters along the way. Ali Tanguay (4th, 87:03:30) ran a very different race — launching from 3rd among women early before fading through the middle sections and ultimately settling in 4th at 87:03:30. Melody Wright (5th, 89:02:52) mirrored Jones's climbing arc, rising from 45th among women at the opening checkpoint all the way to 21st. Behind them, Emilee Borgmeier (6th, 94:13:56), Carly Beck (7th, 99:46:08), Rachel Murphy (8th, 101:50:20), Randi Strauss (9th, 103:57:39), and Makinsie Bartholomew (10th, 106:08:06) all earned their finishes across 44,082 feet of gain through the unforgiving Cascade wilderness.