New Zealander Ruth Croft stuns at 100 mile race debut with second place at Western States

NZ Herald

27 Jun, 2021 06:18 PM3 mins to read

Ruth Croft at the Tarawera Ultramarathon in Rotorua. Photo / File

New Zealand runner Ruth Croft has delivered a stunning performance for her 100-mile race debut, finishing second female at the Western States Endurance Run in California, US, on Sunday (NZ time).

Croft, originally from Greymouth but currently living in Wānaka, was also the ninth runner to finish overall and the sixth-fastest female to ever finish Western States, the world's oldest and most iconic trail race.

Ruth Croft (adidas) is second woman at the 2021 Western States 100 in 17:33:47. She’s also ninth overall. Here’s our pre-race interview: https://t.co/TYEvSad22a #WS100 pic.twitter.com/03LUBesNfN
— iRunFar (@iRunFar) June 27, 2021

With a time of 17:33:48, Croft was only 23 minutes behind the first female finisher, British runner Beth Pascal.

Beth Pascall (@SalomonRunning) wins the 2021 Western States 100 in 17:10:41. She also finishes seventh overall. Not to mention, she ran the second fastest women’s time in race history. Our pre-race interview with Beth: https://t.co/jcGZPejhdv #WS100 pic.twitter.com/WbSoaZzFR7
— iRunFar (@iRunFar) June 27, 2021

Spanish runner Ragna Debats was the third woman finisher and tenth overall in the race, with a time of 17:41:13, four minutes behind the Kiwi runner.

This was the first time in Western States 100 history that three women finished in the overall top 10.

It was also Croft's first time racing a 100-mile race, a whole 60km longer than anything she'd raced before.

Croft is no stranger to podium finishes, having won two 56km OCC races (part of the UTMB in Chamonix, France) and two Mont Blanc Marathons.

Earlier this year, she won the 100km race at the Tarawera Ultramarathon in Rotorua and is also a previous winner of the 85km Old Ghost Ultra near her hometown on the West Coast.

The Kiwi, who got into trail running while living in Taiwan and is now a professional runner, also came second at the World Trail Championship in 2019 and won the 2018 Golden Trail Series run.

The Western States Endurance Run is the oldest - and arguably the most prestigious - 100-mile foot race in the world.

Croft travelled to the US last month to get acclimatised ahead of race day.