Women's 100 Miles: Davis Seizes the Lead and Never Lets Go

• Alysha Davis wins in 20:04:43 (12:03/mi), posting the fastest women's split on the Beals Point→Willow Creek segment to cement a lead she'd hold to the finish.
• Top-three separated by just 32 minutes across 100 miles: Rachael Jorgensen 2nd in 20:24:53, Kaitlin Nath 3rd in 20:36:55.
• Nath's late charge on No Hands→ALT — the fastest women's split on that segment — moved her from 4th to 3rd and sealed the podium.
• Alejandra Santos, 57, finishes 12th in 24:31:21 — one of the most impressive performances in a women's field of 58.

Alysha Davis of Patagonia, AZ, ran a tactically sharp race from the gun. She entered the early checkpoints sitting 3rd among the women, then surged to the front and held it — with one brief dip back to 2nd — across the long middle miles. Her 12:03/mi average over 100 miles was the class of the women's field, and her fastest-women's-split on the Beals Point→Willow Creek leg was the decisive move that put clear daylight between her and the chase pack.

Rachael Jorgensen of Seattle made the most dramatic climb through the standings, moving from 10th at the first checkpoint all the way to 2nd by the finish in 20:24:53. She ran the second-fastest women's split on that same Beals Point→Willow Creek segment, meaning she was catching up — but Davis was simply running it faster. Jorgensen's 20-minute gap to Davis at the line tells the story: close enough to keep the race honest, not close enough to threaten.

Kaitlin Nath, also from Seattle, was the women's field's strongest finisher in the back half. Starting 13th and still 7th at the midpoint, she turned in the fastest women's split on No Hands→ALT to reel in the field and land on the podium in 20:36:55 — just 12 minutes behind Jorgensen. Jodi Reinschmidt of St. Louis Park, MN rounded out the top four in 21:25:44, running a steady race that included the 3rd-fastest women's split on Willow Creek→Beals Point 2. Alejandra Santos, at 57 the oldest named finisher in the women's field, crossed in 24:31:21 for 12th — a result worth singling out in a race this demanding.