Hal Koerner sat on the grassy infield at Placer High School late Saturday night recounting the move, the tunes, and the confidence that carried him to his second consecutive victory in the Western States Endurance Run.
The 33-year-old running store owner from Ashland, Ore., overcame high temperatures to win the 100-mile race from Squaw Valley to Auburn in 16:24:55, beating runner-up Tsuyoshi Kaburagi by more than 27 minutes.
His bold move came when he and Colorado's Dave Mackey arrived at the Michigan Bluff aid station together at the 55.7-mile mark, helping Koerner open up a 19-minute lead by the time he reached Foresthill 6.3 miles later.
"I got a pump off of all the people," he said.
"I just tried to harness all that energy and go."
Koerner said a seven-hour playlist on his iPod – bluegrass, hard rock and mellow music – helped him keep any negative thoughts at bay.
"You can think and overthink, 'Who's behind you, who's ahead of you,' " he said.
"Listening to music helps me stop thinking about those things."
Koerner said his 2007 Western States victory – the race was canceled last year because of fire near the course – helped him Saturday.
"More than anything else that I could do it," he said. "A huge confidence-builder."
With temperatures rising into triple digits, the canyons in the middle of the race took their toll on some of the front-runners.
Koerner's Michigan Bluff move left him 19 minutes ahead of Leigh Schmitt and 22 minutes clear of Mackey at Foresthill.
Koerner and Schmitt looked strong as they headed through Foresthill and toward the California Trail, a 16-mile descent to the American River.
Mackey, though, looked exhausted as he left in pursuit of the two leaders.
Scott Jurek, who won seven consecutive Western States titles from 1999 to 2005, dropped out at Devil's Thumb while in fifth place.
"My heart wasn't in it," said Jurek, who set the course record of 15:36:27 in 2004. "I wasn't ready to come back.
"I needed to fire on all cylinders. It was just empty."
Will Jurek, 35, return to Western States again?
"I want to be back," he said.
Two 45-year-olds – Colorado's Anita Ortiz and Red Bluff's Beverley Anderson-Abbs – battled for control of the women's race early on before Ortiz opened a big lead, reaching Foresthill 43 minutes ahead of Anderson-Abbs.
Call The Bee's John Schumacher, (916) 326-5523.
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