On Saturday, nearly a dozen Powell area residents competed in the 25th annual Bighorn Trail Run in Dayton among tough conditions.

The race primarily runs downhill and featured four different distances: 18 miles, 32 miles, 52 miles and an ultramarathon 100-mile race.

“The weather conditions were the most difficult in the 25 years,” said Cheryl Sinclair, Bighorn Trail Run Assistant Director. “It kind of threw everything it could at the runners; it was very muddy, very difficult conditions.”

That included snow at the top of the course, fog and some rain.

This year’s Bighorn Trail Run drew around 950 participants from around the United States as well as runners from Japan, Chile and Germany.

18 Miles

In the 18-mile race, Jerry Rodriguez and Tanya Bonner of Powell competed.

“I’ve run it three times and every time has been extremely different,” Rodriguez said. “Last year was really hot, this year was really muddy, so my time was a little slower than last year.”

Rodriguez finished third out of 10 in his age group, 32nd out of 87 in the gender group and 66th out of the 242 participants with a time of 3:45:04.80.

Rodriguez said he likes the event.

“It’s very challenging, but not as challenging as some of the other races I have done,” he said. “It’s mostly downhill, which can be a challenge in itself because a lot of downhill is hard on your legs and back.”

Bonner completed the 18 miles in 3:53:48.11 for a 10th place finish in her age group, 46th place finish out of the 155 females who ran the race and 82nd out of the 242 participants.

32 Miles

Six runners from Powell competed in the 32-mile race.

Anthony Aguirre finished 15th out of the 31 in his age group, 52nd out of the 94 males and 84th out of 218 total runners for a time of 7:41.02.15.

Michael Felton finished 23rd out of 32 in his age group, 48th out of 94 males and 74th out of the 216 participants with a time of 7:25:30.96.

Shawn Hubbard finished 39th out of the 46 runners in her age group, 101st out of 124 in her gender and 188th out of the 218 competitors for a time of 9:53.18.74.

Kaela Nelson finished with a time of 9:53.22.90 to take 40th out of the 46 runners in her age group, 102nd out of the 122 female runners and 189th out of the 218 participants.

Vicki Hogen finished in 10:02:12.62 for 39th place in her age group, 105th out the 124 females and 193rd out of the 218 runners.

Sara Skalsky completed the race in 44th place out of the 46 runners in her age group, 110th out of the 124 females and 198th out of the 218 racers.

52 Miles

Jeff Rode placed second out of the four runners in his age group, 31st out of 68 males and 47th out of the 99 runners with a time of 12:50.29.21.

Ladell Merritt finished sixth out of the 22 runners in his age group for a time of 12:50:43.34. That also placed him 32nd out of the 68 male runners and 48th out of 99 competitors.

There is a cut off time for runners to finish the race and the weather and muddy trail caused slower times for some runners.

“Those who finished are extremely tough people and are to be commended because they persevered through all sorts of things,” Sinclair said.

No Powell residents competed in Friday’s 100-mile race.

“It takes a lot of people to put on an event like this,” Sinclair said. “The volunteers are awesome and I know the runners would vouch for that, too.”

A date for next year’s Bighorn Trail Run has not yet been set, but those interested can learn more at www.bighorntrailrun.com.

“It’s a great run to do if anybody has a chance to do it,” said Rodriguez. “The scenery is just amazing; it’s spectacular. I would recommend anybody who gets a chance to just take the hike from Dayton on up. It’s a beautiful hike.”

Editor's note: This version corrects the gender of one of the competitors.