The Western States 100, a revered ultramarathon in Northern California, brought a Minnesota state of mind to the West Coast over the weekend.
Courtney Dauwalter, 38, once an acclaimed skier and runner at Hopkins High School, was the first woman in Saturday and established a women's course record. It was her second victory at Western States, a grueling trail race that climbs and drops more than 30,000 feet between Olympic Valley and the finish line in Auburn.
Minnesota also figured in the story of the second man to cross: Tyler Green, 39, of Portland, Ore. He set a personal best, clocking in at 15 hours, 4 minutes and 9 seconds — 53 minutes better than his fourth-place time last year. (He also finished second in 2021.)
Pacers and race support, aka crewing on the trails, can be key in the world of ultramarathoning. Green is married to Rachel Drake, who grew up in White Bear Lake and also is an elite runner. She paced her husband the last several miles to the finish. There they celebrated with their 9-month-old son, Lewis.
Green also received substantial support from Justin Grunewald, who paced him between miles 62 to 94.
Grunewald and Green bonded over beers and running in 2019 after the death at age 32 of Grunewald's wife, Gabe, a former University of Minnesota running star and middle-distance national champion. Gabe led a public and inspiring life, continuing to pursue her running dreams after she was diagnosed with rare cancer, adenoid cystic carcinoma, that included a relapse in 2017.
"Having the right person who is going to give tough love and encouragement is important," Green said Monday morning of Grunewald's assist. "For someone who has gone through hard things, I respect him so much."
Grunewald reciprocated the respect in an Instagram post. Poignantly, Gabe's birthday overlapped with this year's Western States effort.
"… Since losing Gabriele I've always gotten these subtle nudges in the right direction and they have never been wrong.
I miss her every day and would do anything to be throwing her a big party for 37.
But this year, I felt like I got to throw her a party and am so grateful for all the small nudges I received over the past 4 years to make my life, the best life I could possibly have.
Happy 37 G, and thanks Tyler, for everything."
Grunewald's friendship with Green and Drake coincided with him meeting his partner (and also a top runner), Amanda Basham.
Among Green's crew at Western States were Matt Block of Plymouth, whom he befriended while both were students in Oregon; Ben Turman of Duluth, who paid for Green's first-ever entry in an ultramarathon; and Alex Lohr of St. Paul.
"There are so many characters," Green added. "For some reason, they tend to be Minnesotans."
For her part, Drake has a theory for Minnesotans' success, in whatever capacity.
"I think there is something special being from Minnesota or growing up in Minnesota that gives you a little extra oomph," she said. "I think part of it comes from the cold weather and conditions. I think maybe with that, we are brought up to look out for one another and care for one another."
