Ultrarunning Magazine 1/23/2002: Rich Hanna and Ann Trason, Named UltraRunning Magazine's North American Runners of the Year Rich Hanna, from Sacramento, California, and Ann Trason, from Kensington, California, have been named the 2001 men's and women's North American ultrarunners of year, by UltraRunning Magazine. Hanna is a first-time recipient, while it the 12th time Trason has been so honored in the 21-year history of the award. The pair took divergent paths to winning top honors from UltraRunning. Hanna's focus was on road ultras, highlighted by a silver-medal winning performance in the World Challenge 100 Km in France in August of last year. No American has ever placed as high in this championship race, and his time of 6:43:09 ranks among the top 10 in U.S. history. Hanna was also second in the U.S. 100 Km championships in March. While Hanna made his mark on the roads, Trason excelled on trails. Perhaps the most successful female ultrarunner in history, Trason continues to push back boundaries. Now a masters runner, she continues to win the open division in most races she enters. She captured her 12th Western States 100 Mile in June, a title among the most prestigious in the sport. Just a month later Trason captured the U.S. 50 Mile crown at the White River race in Greenwater, Washington. In the performance of the year category, Hanna's World Challenge run topped the men's list, while Deb Mattheus' second place finish in the historic Comrades in South Africa in June led the women. Mattheus, from Conifer, Colorado, clocked a speedy 6:23:04 for 89 km, good enough to place in the top 100 overall in a field numbering nearly 15,000. In a new category this year honoring the top age-group performance, the winner was 61-year-old Bernd Heinrich from Hinesburg, Vermont, who turned in a time of 6:39:55 at the Maine Track Club 50 Mile, good enough to win the race outright. A board of 15 voters from all regions of North America submitted ballots this year. Complete voting results will appear in the March 2002 issue of UltraRunning and on the UltraRunning web page, www.ultrarunning.com. For further information, please contact publisher Don Allison at publisher@ultrarunning.com or 781-340-0616. UR North American Runner of the Year Voting (first place votes in parentheses) Men ------- Rich Hanna, Sacramento, CA (8) 149 Jim Garcia, Westford, MA (3) 115 Scott Jurek, Seattle, WA (2) 100 Dave Dunham, Bradford, MA (1) 92 Chad Ricklefs, Boulder, CO (1) 89 Men's Performance of the Year ----------------------------------------- Rich Hanna's World 100 Km, 6:43:09 (11)  71 Dave Dunham's Chicago 50 Km, 2:57:29 (2)  40 Scott Jurek's Western States 100 Mile, 16:38:30  28 Women ---------- Ann Trason, Kensington, CA (3)  141 Anne Riddle, Asheville, NC (2)  131 Deb Mattheus, Conifer, CO (5)  117 Monica Scholz, Jerseyville, ONT (4)  100 Ann Heaslett, Madison, WI (1)  51 Women's Performance of the Year --------------------------------------------- Deb Mattheus' Comrades 89 Km, 6:23:04 (8)  62 Betsy Kalmeyer's Hardrock 100 Mile, 29:58 (3)  27 Ann Trason's Western States 100 Mile, 18:33:34  22 Age Group Performance of the Year ----------------------------------------------- Bernd Heinrich, 61, Maine 50 Mile, 6:39:55 40 Ted Corbitt, 82, Sri Chinmoy Six Day, 303 Miles  37 Sue Ellen Trapp, 55, Olander Park 24 Hour, 126 Miles 19 UR Runners of the Year, 1981-2000 ---------------------------------------------- 1981 Marcy Schwam, Bernd Heinrich 1982 Marcy Schwam, Stu Mittleman 1983 Janis Klecker, Bernd Heinrich 1984 Donna Hudson, Bernd Heinrich 1985 Sandra Kiddy, Stu Mittleman 1986 Sandra Kiddy, Chuck Jones 1987 Mary Hanudel, Charlie Trayer 1988 Ann Trason, Stefan Fekner 1989 Ann Trason, Sean Crom 1990 Ann Trason,, Andy Jones 1991 Ann Trason, Andy Jones 1992 Ann Trason, Eric Clifton 1993 Ann Trason, Kevin Setnes 1994 Ann Trason, Tom Johnson 1995 Ann Trason, Tom Johnson 1996 Ann Trason, Tom Johnson 1997 Ann Trason, Tom Johnson 1998 Ann Trason, Kevin Setnes 1999 Daniele Cherniak, Mark Godale 2000 Deb Bollig, Dan Held 2001 Ann Trason, Rich Hanna