Black Canyon 100K is tomorrow. Western States qualifying spots on the line. Female entrants include: Riley Brady (1st last year), Tara Dower (1st and course record at Javelina 100, Appalacian trail record holder), Anne Flower (50 mi world record holder), Catriona Jennings (100mi world record holder).
Predictions? Who thinks Molly will win this against these top ultramarathoners? I'll go with no. Top five maybe, but not the winner.
OK, NOW we are about to find out if Molly Seidel is an ultramarathoner. I forgot to include that Abby Hall, last year's winner of Western States is also on the starting line. Top three finishers in the Black Canyon 100K earn a Golden Ticket to this year's Western States.
Welcome to the 2026 Black Canyon Ultras livestream. The Black Canyon Ultras feature point to point 100K & 50K courses along the world-class Black Canyon Nati...
Black Canyon 100K is tomorrow. Western States qualifying spots on the line. Female entrants include: Riley Brady (1st last year), Tara Dower (1st and course record at Javelina 100, Appalacian trail record holder), Anne Flower (50 mi world record holder), Catriona Jennings (100mi world record holder).
Predictions? Who thinks Molly will win this against these top ultramarathoners? I'll go with no. Top five maybe, but not the winner.
After having won a medal in the Olympic marathon, I doubt that she’s taking ultra racing all that seriously.
OK, NOW we are about to find out if Molly Seidel is an ultramarathoner. I forgot to include that Abby Hall, last year's winner of Western States is also on the starting line. Top three finishers in the Black Canyon 100K earn a Golden Ticket to this year's Western States.
It's worth noting that Abby Hall (WSER F1) and Tara Dower (Javelina 100 mile CR) are already in WSER so the tickets will roll down if they are in the top 3-4 spots. The most likely scenario for Molly grabbing a ticket is sneaking into a ticket at 4th-5th because this a strong field. The fact that she has been dabbling in trails for a while and has a trail focused coach puts her ahead of other road to trail transitioners for me. There are a lot of fueling and cooling logistics in these warmer desert races that just aren't a part of the road scene and she is being fed good info on those aspects of the race.
While she is talented, Jennings has not really had a decent trail result yet. I'll believe it when I see it.
Flower is newish to the elite scene, but very fast and has a CR at Leadville so the trail experience is there. There is a distinct possibility that she is one of the best in the world at runnable 100 milers and capable of a podium at WSER, not enough info yet though. She is newly sponsored by Hoka as well as being an ER doctor.
From a purely selfish point of view, the 51 mile aid station is 20 minutes from house, excited to go see her. Not that anyone cares but my prediction is she wins.
She is training under Cliff Pittman and taking it pretty seriously. But all the marathon speed in the world cannot prepare someone for the fueling and fatigue issues that a real ultra presents. It is a big learning curve and I would not expect Molly to nail it the first time out. But she is going about this the right way and should do well.
She is training under Cliff Pittman and taking it pretty seriously. But all the marathon speed in the world cannot prepare someone for the fueling and fatigue issues that a real ultra presents. It is a big learning curve and I would not expect Molly to nail it the first time out. But she is going about this the right way and should do well.
Agreed. Black Canyon is way more technical and with more vert, mostly in the second half, than people realize. So I wouldn't say that this is purely a "let's see how Molly is as an ultra-runner" kind of test (per the OP). Molly running a flat, groomed 50 miler would be that. This also has an element of that because it's 62 miles, but it's particularly going to test her ability to run on winding, technical trails without getting super beat up.
As an aside, I'm thinking that she has moved to the trails/ultras for a few reasons. One of course is that she probably has a higher competitive upside in trail/ultra at this point in her career as it's hard to see her getting back to her same road fitness. Second is related in that her long history of battling an ED and the "demand" to be thin in the road world are not the same in trail/ultra. Pro runners in this world are not as lean and that's partly because of the demands of the event. Third is also related in that I wonder if the changing terrain actually is easier on her injury-overuse issues than just flat running. Fourth is that hopefully she just enjoys it and is having fun with a new challenge.
She is training under Cliff Pittman and taking it pretty seriously. But all the marathon speed in the world cannot prepare someone for the fueling and fatigue issues that a real ultra presents. It is a big learning curve and I would not expect Molly to nail it the first time out. But she is going about this the right way and should do well.
Agreed. Black Canyon is way more technical and with more vert, mostly in the second half, than people realize. So I wouldn't say that this is purely a "let's see how Molly is as an ultra-runner" kind of test (per the OP). Molly running a flat, groomed 50 miler would be that. This also has an element of that because it's 62 miles, but it's particularly going to test her ability to run on winding, technical trails without getting super beat up.
As an aside, I'm thinking that she has moved to the trails/ultras for a few reasons. One of course is that she probably has a higher competitive upside in trail/ultra at this point in her career as it's hard to see her getting back to her same road fitness. Second is related in that her long history of battling an ED and the "demand" to be thin in the road world are not the same in trail/ultra. Pro runners in this world are not as lean and that's partly because of the demands of the event. Third is also related in that I wonder if the changing terrain actually is easier on her injury-overuse issues than just flat running. Fourth is that hopefully she just enjoys it and is having fun with a new challenge.
The injury thing is a huge factor. She said in an interview that her knee issues led to a situation where she could run on trails without pain, but had pain when running on hard surfaces.
OK, NOW we are about to find out if Molly Seidel is an ultramarathoner. I forgot to include that Abby Hall, last year's winner of Western States is also on the starting line. Top three finishers in the Black Canyon 100K earn a Golden Ticket to this year's Western States.
It's worth noting that Abby Hall (WSER F1) and Tara Dower (Javelina 100 mile CR) are already in WSER so the tickets will roll down if they are in the top 3-4 spots. The most likely scenario for Molly grabbing a ticket is sneaking into a ticket at 4th-5th because this a strong field. The fact that she has been dabbling in trails for a while and has a trail focused coach puts her ahead of other road to trail transitioners for me. There are a lot of fueling and cooling logistics in these warmer desert races that just aren't a part of the road scene and she is being fed good info on those aspects of the race.
While she is talented, Jennings has not really had a decent trail result yet. I'll believe it when I see it.
Flower is newish to the elite scene, but very fast and has a CR at Leadville so the trail experience is there. There is a distinct possibility that she is one of the best in the world at runnable 100 milers and capable of a podium at WSER, not enough info yet though. She is newly sponsored by Hoka as well as being an ER doctor.