Nobody passed Kyle Curtin the last 80 miles of the race, but he left plenty behind him along the way.

The 34-year-old out of Durango ran his way to 13th overall and ninth in the men’s race Saturday at the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run. He ran through temperatures higher than 95 degrees along the 100.2-mile route from Olympic Valley, California, to the finish line under the stars and stadium lights at Placer High School in Auburn, California. Curtin finished in 18 hours, 18 minutes, 31 seconds.

“I am really satisfied. It was definitely not optimal conditions out there as one of the hotter years they’ve ever had out there, and I don’t think many people were able to race as well as they were hoping to,” Curtin said. “I ran conservative in the beginning, and then nobody could pass me from Mile 20 on. I moved really fast through the final two-thirds of it, and that’s the way I like to race in these long, grinding events.

“I am always in a way better head space if I am passing people late in a race instead of struggling to hold on and trying not to fall back down the leaderboard.”

The race was won for a third consecutive year by 31-year-old Jim Walmsley of Flagstaff, Arizona. Walmsley ran at the front the entire way and finished in 14:46:01. Tyler Green of Portland, Oregon, was second in 16:11:02.

Walmsley has the Western States record time of 14:09:28 at the previous edition of the event in 2019. Western States dates back to 1974 and is the world’s oldest 100-mile trail race.

“Walmsley, it’s like he’s in another league,” Curtin said. “I don’t think anybody is surprised he’s able to run such a fast time on that course. To do it year after year, he’s definitely the (greatest of all time).”

The women’s race win went to Beth Pascall, a 33-year-old from Great Britain. She was seventh overall in 17:10:42. Ruth Croft of New Zealand was second in the women’s race and ninth overall in 17:33:48. Third went to Spain’s Ragna Debats in 17:41:13. Curtin got a first-hand look at the impressive performances all day.

“Especially where I was in the field, I saw all the women’s field pushing it,” he said. “I remember picking up my first pacer at Mile 65 or so and hoping to be picking off some of the guys, and I was with all the top-10 ladies. They had an awesome day out there to put three women in the top 10 and 15 of the top 30 overall.”

There were 20 aid stations along the route, where ice was at a premium with runners looking for any way to cool down. The course features 18,000 feet of climbing but descends 23,000 feet for a net downhill.

The run starts with a 2,500-foot climb at Squaw Valley Ski Resort. Curtin said he was surprised by how punchy the climbs and descents could be the entire way.

After running at ridgeline in the high country, runners then faced hot canyons during the middle portion of the race. Curtin said each time he would come around a switchback to a south facing exposure in the canyons, it felt like opening a hot oven.

Some misfortune may have benefited Curtin in race preparation. He planned to travel to California to finish his training for two or three weeks before the race. But car trouble kept him in Durango, where Southwest Colorado was experiencing its own staggering heat wave.

“I was stuck in Durango until the Wednesday before the race,” Curtin said. “But I was definitely thankful for the extra time. With our temps in the mid-90s or so, it felt like I could prepare a bit while hanging out at home, and I would do all of my runs in the mid- to late-afternoon when the temperatures were the highest. I felt pretty prepared for the heat.”

The reprieve Saturday came in the last third of the race along the American River, with deep crossings of the river included.

When he got to the finish line, Curtin said he felt energized by his top-10 result in his debut at one of North America’s most iconic trail running events. This year, 315 people started the race, and 208 finished, good for 66% finish rate. That was the lowest finish rate since 2009.

“This finish is definitely up there for me,” Curtin said. “To take top-10 at Western States is a lifetime running goal for myself and a lot of other people. To nail it my first time was kind of surprising and special. The field is always so deep, and this year, there were two years worth of people who had qualified. There were so many good runners out there, kind of the who’s who of ultra-running.”

With his top-10 at Western States now to add to a resume that adds to, among other accomplishments, a Tahoe 200 victory, the self-supported fastest-known time on the Tahoe Rim Trail, a third-place finish at the Run Rabbit Run in Steamboat Springs and a finish of a HURT 100 in Hawaii, Curtin is also safely in that “who’s who“ category.

Next, he will look to tackle another 100-mile event at the Hellbender 100 in August at Old Fort, North Carolina. He’s also already looking forward to returning to Western States in 2022.

But first, he is ready for some recovery time along the road back to Durango.

“I just want to thank all my friends at Tailwind Nutrition and thanks to my crew from Durango and Tennessee,” Curtin said. “I really appreciate what they did for me.”

jlivingston@durangoherald.com