Two weeks ago, Klaire Rhodes experienced the extreme disappointment of dropping out of a major running race in France.

On Sunday in Montana, the Anchorage ultrarunner accomplished an impressive turnaround by winning The Rut Mountain Runs 50-kilometer event in record time.

“I didn’t know what the course record was and it wasn’t on my mind at all, so I was super shocked when they told me I got (the record) by over 20 minutes at the finish,” Rhodes said by text. “I always worry about altitude coming from sea level, but it didn’t feel like an issue.”

The grueling 31-mile course at the Big Sky Resort near Bozeman included more than 10,000 feet of vertical gain and topped out at the summit of Lone Peak (11,167 feet).

Rhodes, the 2024 Mount Marathon Race Champion, fell and rolled her ankle coming off that technical peak. This had Rhodes concerned that her lead might shrink. Not to worry, though, as she finished in 5 hours, 45 minutes, which was nearly eight minutes faster than runner-up Jazmine Lowther of British Columbia, Canada, who also broke the previous women’s record.

“It felt like everything clicked on race day,” said Rhodes, who placed a distant third in the same race in 2023. “I didn’t intend to take the lead from the start, but just found myself there and feeling pretty comfortable, so just rolled with it! … I was able to nail my hydration and nutrition all day, which kept me feeling as good as possible.”

The opposite occurred in late August at the 35-mile OCC race in Chamonix, France, as Rhodes struggled with dehydration on an extremely hot day and dropped out after feeling dizzy and falling way off her race goals.

Rhodes had planned on spectating at The Rut because The North Face, her personal sponsor, is the headline sponsor there. Looking for redemption from OCC, she decided not just to attend but to toe the race line.

“I was motivated to put all the hard work I’d done in training all summer toward something,” said Rhodes, who earned $3,000 for the 50K win.

Once in Montana, she spontaneously tacked on Friday’s short Vertical K race and placed second.

Rhodes, 26, spent several years with partner Tracen Knopp in Reno, Nevada, but the couple has now moved back to Anchorage. She’s been building towards the success she experienced this year at Mount Marathon and The Rut.

“I do think I’ve improved over the last year, but I don’t see it as any sort of overnight success,” said Rhodes, who represented the U.S. at the 2023 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Austria. “My biggest strength has just been being able to be consistent with training day after day and year after year.”

Rhodes had plenty of Alaskan company at The Rut.

Newly retired from World Cup ski racing, Scott Patterson took on the unique challenge of The Rut Trifecta: the Vertical K on Friday, the 28K race on Saturday and the 50K on Sunday. Patterson handily won the Trifecta while placing fourth, second and third in the individual races, respectively.

“The third time up Lone Peak today was a struggle,” Patterson said Sunday after the 50K. “I spent some time wondering why I was racing all three. However, it was also a fun challenge to try and put together a good performance each day.”

Patterson, whose parents live in nearby Bozeman, was hoping to win at least one race but ran into the buzzsaws of Colorado’s Cam Smith, who won the Vertical K and 28K, and Idaho’s Michelino Sunseri, who broke the 50K record.

Anchorage dentist Chad Trammell, 40, placed second in the men’s Trifecta. He was 15th in the Vertical K, 14th in the 28K and 13th in the 50K.

Meanwhile, Denali Strabel of Anchorage/Palmer earned a spot on the podium with third place in the women’s 28K. Lars Arneson, the Alaska Mountain Runners Grand Prix champion each of the last five years, placed sixth in the men’s 50K.

All race results can be found HERE. The events were also shown via Livestream for the first time and can be viewed HERE.

In other results:

• Allie Ostrander placed ninth Saturday at the Headlands 27K, a Golden Trail World Series event in California. Former Alaskans Ali Papillon and Bodhi Gross were 35th and 44th in the men’s race on Sunday, respectively.
• At the Klondike Road Relay between Skagway, Alaska, and Whitehorse, Canada on September 6, the Anchorage team Take No Prisoners – Old and Frail earned a dominant win, finishing 76 minutes ahead of the runner-up squad. Gabe Martin, Corbyn Jahn, Jacob Kirk and Ryan Cox each ran their relay legs the fastest in the 109-mile event, which had the first three legs canceled due to a tour bus accident.
• At the 35-mile OCC in Chamonix, France, on August 29, David Norris (an Alaskan now living in Colorado) placed 23rd in 5 hours, 49 minutes; he’d been running as high as fifth place earlier on. In the women’s OCC, Kianna Wika of Anchorage placed 49th and was the seventh-fastest American in 7:50.
• At the Alyeska Climbathon on September 7, Beck Haywood was the overall champion with 12 laps in 10 hours of climbing (24,300 feet of vertical gain) while Tom Ritchie was runner-up, also with 12 laps. Julianne Dickerson, the women’s champ, and Shauna Severson each completed 11 laps.