Hegge blazes through heat for second win at Voyageur ultramarathon - Duluth News Tribune
At the instruction of his wife, he made sure it was a quick run by turning in the fourth-fastest Voyageur time Saturday, finishing in 6 hours, 49 minutes and 33 seconds to win the race for the second time in four years. His last win came in 2012 when he finished in 7:34:52. He finished second in 2013 in 7:20:05 and seventh a year ago in 7:35:32. “I’d say this was the most difficult year because of the heat,” said Hegge, who also won the 26. 2-mile Eugene Curnow... Hermantown’s Leslie Semler was the top female runner, crossing the finish line in 8:56:10. Like Hegge, she also last won in 2012, finishing in 8:39:32 that year. She was sixth last year in 10:14:25. Semler said Saturday’s win was special because it came on the original Voyageur course rather than the revamped, post-2012 flood route. “This is my only other time running under nine hours and this is pretty close to the original course, so it’s my fastest time on the original course,” Semler said. Hegge is the sixth man to run the Voyageur in less than seven hours after fellow UW-La Crosse physical therapy student Michael Borst became the fifth person a year ago, finishing in 6:53:20 for back-to-back wins. Borst finished fourth this year in 7:22:28. Roger Pekuri was the first to do it in 1987, finishing in 6:48:05, while Scott Jurek holds the fastest time ever of 6:41:16 in 1998. “It’s definitely something you should never take for granted,” Borst... Source: www.duluthnewstribune.com
