Results and Photos
2023 Results
Photos by Fast Focus Photography NW
The 21st Rainier to Ruston Relay was held on a beautiful day with ample sunshine and blue skies on National Trails Day! We had lots of fast teams show up this year, with eight teams breaking the 6 hour mark. A 4 person male masters team, Prentice Financial Planning, set the overall course record coming in just shy of 5:09. In total, 238 teams participated in the event in 2023!
2022 Results
Photos by Fast Focus Photography NW
The 20th running of Rainier to Ruston represented a return to normalcy! The 2020 event was a small virtual running during the height of the pandemic, and 2021 saw a small but mighty in person R2R that had to be run in August due to pandemic uncertainty! The 2022 event returned to its normal date of the first Saturday in June on National Trails Day! With 240 teams participating, about 1,100 runners, the 2022 event was the 3rd largest R2R in the history of the event!
The 2021 event was anything but normal, but represented a return to an in person R2R. The event was held in late August, vs. its normal early June date. A small but mighty group participated in the event! The biggest challenge of the day was navigating a giant warehouse fire in Puyallup which closed down the entirety of Leg 9, causing runners to need to skip this leg for the entirety of the day!
2019 Results
2019 Award Winners
2019 Photos Album 1 (Start Line and First 25 miles) - Fast Focus Photography NW
2019 Photos Album 2 (Final 25 miles and Finish Line) - Fast Focus Photography NW
2019 Photos Album 3 (Exchanges and Finish Bell Stand) - Bob Rowan
The 17th running of Rainier to Ruston was one for the record books! A record 388 teams (376 teams plus 12 solo runners) made the 53 mile journey from Mount Rainier National Park to the Tacoma Waterfront, an increase of 108 teams vs. the 2018 record. In total, almost 2,000 runners participated in the event, an increase of almost 700 from the 2018 record of 1,300.
In addition to record breaking numbers, a 6 person male team from Puyallup aptly named “New Course Record” broke a long standing course record of 5:16 by making the trek in a blazing 5:13 minutes. Thank you to all runners for making 2019 the best R2R yet!
Six new course records were set in 2019:
6-person Male Open and Overall Course Record: Team “New Course Record”: 5:13
2-person Male Open: Team “Narrows Rangers”: 6:11
2-person Mixed Masters: Team “Crazy Mates”: 8:22
3-person Male Open: Team “Long Distance Relay-tionship”: 5:43
4-person Female Masters: Team “The Game is Afoot!”: 8:16
6-person Mixed Open: Team “Santos Project”: 5:39
Note: 2018 results are final. In 2018 we said a sad "good-bye" to the 50M Ultra (although we had a few brave soles fake us out and run it alone). Declining participation over the previous years was the major factor in the decision. Want it back?!? Send us a bunch of emails and promise to register...if we get 100 entrants we just might bring back the ultra.
We also decided to bring back all the Masters Divisions after our folly of eliminating them in 2017...you're welcome!
Six new course records were set in 2018. Congrats to the new record holders!
2-person Male Masters: The OGs: 7:09
2-person Female Open: Sole Sisters 2: 6:49
2-person Mixed Masters: Team Super Eliza: 12:27
3-person Male Open: I Would Like an Arnold Palmer at the Omelet Parlor: 5:58
4-person Female Open: GRRLS: 6:39
6-person Mixed Masters: Legs Miserables: 6:07
2018 Photos!
Juan: Fast Focus Photography NW
Gallery 1
Gallery 2
Bob Rowan and Jerry Gamez
https://sabrinaseher.smugmug.com/
Congratulations to the following new record holders for 2017:
3-runner Male team, The Skeleton Ran Out of Shampoo in the Shower: 6:02:56.
3-runner Female team, C-City Runners, #4: 7:03:39.
3-runner Mixed team, Strong Independent Women: 6:16:10.
4-runner Male team, #hashtag: 5:14:05.
4-runner Female team, Fierce Fast Females: 7:04:59.
6-runner Female team, 6 Shades of Grey: Sometimes you have to get dirty: 6:27:46.
6-runner Mixed team, Tarts & Farts: 6:08:52
Congratulations to the following new record holders for 2016:
2-position Open Mixed: Azian Sensationz: 6:24:47
3-position Masters Female: Twisted Blisters: 8:34:11
3-position Open Mixed: Running from Bigfoot: 7:16:47
3-position Masters Mixed: Thought We Rode Horses: 6:47:55
4-position Open Female: Running for Tyler.org: 7:08:23
4-position Masters Female: We Have The Runs: 8:20:45
A special shout out to
Support Brah! 4-position Open Female who also broke last year's record in 7:17:33
and 3's Company 3-position Open Female who missed breaking their record from last year by 18.5 seconds!
Pictures from Bob Rowan, Progressive Image
Pictures
2015 Race Results
Congratulations to the following new record holders for 2015:
3-position Open Female: 3's Company, Renton, WA: 7:30:54.5
4-position Open Mixed: Sweaty Rouples, Silverdale, WA: 5:33:49.3
6-position Open Female: Run Chicks Run, Bonny Lake, WA: 7:16:15.7
Commercial from FOOTHILLS RAILS-to-TRAILS on Vimeo. Written and directed by Bob Rowan and was produced by Johnson Video Productions
Pictures from Bob Rowan, Progressive Image
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0th Anniversary video teaser from FOOTHILLS RAILS-to-TRAILS on Vimeo. The production includes photographs by Vince Streano, was written and directed by Bob Rowan and was produced by Johnson Video Productions.
Byron Vasecka Photography did a great job taking pictures of the 2010 R2R. They really show the great area that we live in and are fortunate to be able to enjoy these great outdoors. Pictures can be viewed here.
Highlight Video from FOOTHILLS RAILS-to-TRAILS on Vimeo.
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The Rainier to Ruston is very fortunate to have Byron Vasecka travel from Spokane to photograph this great event. He has captured the spirit and enthusiasm of the race in a vivid and spectacular fashion. I hope you enjoy and purchase some of the photos in the gallery. 50 percent of the proceeds will go back to the Foothills Trail Coalition to help support the goal of completing a contiguous, non-motorized, public trail from Mt. Rainier to Tacoma. The pictures are available here.
Jason Grose has also shared his pictures with us, available here.
2010 was a breakthrough year for the Rainier to Ruston Rail-Trail Relay and Ultra when the race truly came of age. National Trails Day was celebrated by 120 volunteers and 507 participants, besting the previous record byabout 200 runners The course was attacked by 8 solo walkers and 6 teams walking 28 miles in six legs to Orting, 21 ultras running 50 K from So. Prairie to Ruston Way, and 40 ultras and 78 teams of runners going the whole 51 miles from the Tacoma Mountaineers' parking lot about 1/2 mile from the Carbon River entrance at Mt. Rainier National Park to Marine Park in Tacoma.
Highlight Video from FOOTHILLS RAILS-to-TRAILS on Vimeo.
Watch our video clips of the event! Clip 1, Clip 2, Clip 3, Clip 4, Clip 5, Clip 6, Clip 7 and some great photos on Flickr, courtesy of Byron Vasecka.
The 2009 race was better than ever as the course passed over two beautiful new trestles and more than a mile of new trail between Buckley and South Prairie. National Trails Day was celebrated by 85 volunteers and 223 participants - 7 solo walkers and 4 teams walking 27 miles in six legs to Orting, 6 ultras running 50 K from So. Prairie to Ruston Way, and 6 ultras and 33 teams of runners going the whole 50 miles from Fairfax near the Carbon River entrance at Mt. Rainier National Park to Marine Park in Tacoma.
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