The seven runners left in the Tsalteshi Backyard Ultra ѠDave Short, Zach Behney, Sean Goff, Carrie Setian, Kent Peterson, Yvonne Leutwyler and Rustin Hitchcock Ѡtake off on their fifth lap of the 4.167-mile loop Friday at 9 p.m. Runners will keep doing the loop each hour until only the winner remains. The winner gets a ticket to the Tartarus Backyard Ultra in Spokane, Washington, on July 30. There were 15 runners at the start of the Tsalteshi Backyard Ultra. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Behney wins Tsalteshi Backyard Ultra

by Jeff Helminiak
Saturday, June 11, 2022 9:48pm
Sports

Zach Behney won the first Tsalteshi Backyard Ultra on Saturday at Tsalteshi Trails just outside of Soldotna.

At the Tsalteshi Backyard Ultra, runners had to complete a 4.167-mile loop starting each hour on the hour. The event started at 5 p.m. Friday with 15 runners.

It ended when Carrie Setian turned back a little bit into her 17th loop and Behney finished that loop. Setian’s Strava account, which can be slightly off, had her at 70.03 miles and 6,342 feet of elevation gain and loss for the event. The official distance for Behney was 70.84 miles.

Behney gets a ticket to the Tartarus Backyard Ultra in Spokane, Washington, on July 30.

Also at the Ultra, Dave Short had seven laps, Rustin Hitchcock and Sean Goff had six laps, Kent Peterson and Yvonne Leutwyler had five laps, Kate Swaby and Emily Knight had four laps, Suzanne Maxwell had three laps, Joel Todd, C.O. Rudstrom and Emily Heale had two laps, and Hollis Swan had one lap.