Ben Benjamin at the Lean Horse 100 Mile Ultra

Scenery along the Lean Horse 100 Mile Ultra course.

On August 23rd and 24th, Ashland native Ben Benjamin completed the Lean Horse 100 Mile Ultra; an ultra that traverses an old railroad bed turned trail near Hot Springs, North Dakota. The course cuts through the Dakota's famous Black Hills.

Ben Benjamin running at the Peterson Ridge Rumble this past April. Photo by Glenn Tachiyama.

Ben, 61 years young, finished the course in 26 hours and 19 minutes. Ben is far from new to ultrarunning. Lean Horse was his twelfth 100-mile finish. Ben also completed the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning (four 100-milers in one summer) in 2005 in a combined time of 119 hours, 15 mintes and 34 seconds. Also this year, he completed the Oregon Trail Ultramarathon Series by finishing Hagg Lake 50 Kilometer Trail Run, Peterson Ridge Rumble 60K, McDonald Forest 50 Kilometer Trail Run and the Mt. Hood PCT 50 Miler. Congratulations Ben!