Lawrence and Olsen set course records to win USATF 50K Road Championships

For a race that does not have a great reputation for its weather, Saturday, April 12, proved the naysayers wrong with an absolutely perfect day for the Mad City Ultras. The morning dawned a bit chilly, with calm winds, and brilliant sun. Madison, WI, was the staging area and a stellar field had assembled including the 50-mile male and female world record holders as well as several runners who had been members of previous US 50K and 100K USATF National teams.

Race start at USATF 50K Road Championships.

50K course

The Mad City 50K route is 5 loops of 10 kilometers around Lake Wingra in Vilas Park. While it would appear relatively flat, it is the back section that can test a runner as the kilometers progress with its undulating terrain.

There were 50 runners registered for the 50K USATF Championship division, more runners than have toed the line in previous renditions of this event. While there may have been favorites, no one was willing to predict who might cross the line as the national champion. Resting in the works was an automatic selection to the 2025 US 50K team that would compete in the 2025 50K world championship. Problem was that at this date the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) has failed to secure a venue for the 2025 rendition. Nevertheless, the show must go on.

Men’s race

Last year’s 100K national champion Adam Vadeboncoeur, 35 (Boulder, CO), 50-mile world record holder Charlie Lawrence, 30 (Boulder, CO), and Ian Carter, 30 (Flagstaff, AZ) who has a 2:16 marathon PR, led the race in a tight pack after the first lap running at a 5:31/mile pace. This group continued mostly together at the end of 20K, with Carter and Lawrence pulling only 20 seconds ahead of Vadeboncoeur, but all looking very strong and running controlled races. That second lap was almost a minute faster.

Lead men early on in the race.

Into the third lap, the order remained the same with the 2 leaders increasing their distance over Vadeboncoeur by a total of 30 seconds, but still a tight race where there appeared no indications of any weakness. By the fourth lap, Carter had run out of juice and dropped from the race. Meanwhile, this left Lawrence in front by about a minute, followed closely behind by newcomers to the top three Ryan Root, 30 (Boulder, CO) who had snuck into the second spot and Jeffrey Seelaus, 30 (Walpole, MA). These three were running within about 1 minute of one another.

With only a 10K remaining, Lawrence was on a mission and looked strong and focused. He would be difficult to catch. But do not discount Vadeboncoeur. He is a very experienced road ultra marathoner and knows how to run these events.

Lawrence ran an incredible last lap gaining even more time on the field behind him. He crossed the finish line in 2:49:02, breaking the previous course record of 2:51:28:42, set by Tyler Jermann in 2023, to win the 2025 50K USATF National Championship.

Charlie Lawrence for the win in course record time.

Seelaus grabbed the 2nd spot in 2:53:38, followed by Vadeboncoeur in the 3rd position separated by a mere 13 seconds in 2:53:51. But even closer was Root trying desperately to run down Vadeboncoeur, finishing in 4th, only 4 seconds behind him. As a consolation for Root, both he and Johnny Rutford, 34 (Beaverton, OR), ran qualifying times for consideration for the 2025 50K national team should there be a 2025 50K world championship.

Top men at USATF 50K Road Championships

Women’s race

Similar to how the men’s race transformed, so to did the women’s race. With an incredibly impressive line up including the current 50 mile world record holder, Courtney Olsen, 37 (Bellingham, WA), the current Mad City 50K course record holder, Lindsey Prescott, 35 (Flagstaff, AZ), and Sophie Seward, 28 (Terra Haute, IN), college professor and a 2:33 marathoner. These three women hung together for the first 30K coming through the 10K, 20K, and 30K within one second of each other. Things did not get interesting until the start of the 30K.

While Olsen remained consistent with her 6:16 pace, Seward and Prescott fell off that pace losing 45 seconds and one minute respectively to Olsen by the time 40K passed. With 10K to go, it was a matter of Olsen running consistently as Seward and Prescott may have been feeling the early fast pace. Olsen’s experience running longer road ultras of 50 miles and 100Ks may have proven an advantage as Seward and Prescott are more 50K runners. In the end, all three women surpassed the previous course record set by Prescott in 2024 of 3:21:35.

Lead women early in the race on course

Olsen crossed the finish line as the 2025 USATF 50K national champion in 3:16:45, crushing the previous record, while coming through only 50 seconds later and again running well under the 2024 course record, was Seward in 3:17:35. Rounding out the podium was last year‘s Mad city 50K winner, Prescott, bettering her 2024 time by 68 seconds finishing in 3:20:17. Allison Mercer and Emily Harrison Torrence also ran under 3:33 for consideration for the US 50K team should there be a world championship in 2025.

Top women at USATF 50K Road Championships.

In addition to the USATF 50K championship, Mad City hosted a 50K open solo race, 100K solo race, and a 50K and 100K relay, so there was plenty of action throughout the day. Along with the outstanding weather, it was just a great day to run and to enjoy spring in the Upper Midwest.

100K Winners

Winning the 100K overall was Martin Erl from Milwaukee, WI in 7:14:23.09.

Winning the 100K for women in her debut was Amber Arvidson from Reserve, NM in 8:17:16.83.

Kudos to Nora Bird and her outstanding volunteers. Together they put on a race that clearly put the athletes as their priority and did most everything to accommodate their needs, assuring best efforts. Throughout the day, I continuously observed the incredible enthusiasm and pure joy expressed by Nora and her team. Special thanks also to Roy Pirrung who was our USATF official onsite and to Gregg Hipp, USATF LDR (Long Distance Running) Chairperson. Their support and presence at this event provided additional credibility to the 50K national championship.

This recap article was written by Lin Gentling and features results from a record-setting day in Madison, WI, at the USATF 50K Road Championships on April 12, 2025. Gentling served as the USATF liaison to the event and is also treasurer of ATRA. All photos in the article provided by Steena Cirves.

Full photo album can be viewed at the following link: MadCity Ultras 2025