Krupicka Kruises to Another 50-Mile Win

On April 26, ultrarunner Tony Krupicka, profiled this month in my feature "Miles & Miles," added another triumph to his remarkable string of first-place finishes in major endurance races. He smoked the field in the Zane Grey 50, a steep, rocky trek through fifty miles of Arizona's Tonto National Forest.

Krupicka had a bruised foot and trouble with his "proprioceptive feedback," lost the trail entirely at one point, jumped over two rattlesnakes and negotiated a mess of downed trees on one of the most challenging fifty-milers around. Yet he still finished in just over eight hours -- ninety minutes ahead of the nearest challenger and eleven minutes off the course record. His account of the race can be found on his blog.

What's next for the Tarzan of the Plains? Possibly the Colfax Marathon (organizers are wooing, Krupicka seems undecided), then the big 100-mile Western States Endurance Run in June. -- Alan Prendergast