Results/Photos

Date: Aug. 22, 2026 Participant: Cory Torkelson #100 Race: 2026 Habanero 100 Mile Distance: 100.0 miles

Masters Champion Rallies From a Second-Half Fade to Crack the Top Ten Cory Torkelson crossed the line at the 2026 Habanero Hundred in 26:09:22, covering 97.79 miles to finish 8th overall (of 79 finishers) and 1st in the Men's Masters division. That result places him among a select group TROT's 100-mile distance produced only 198 total finishes between 2015 and 2025, a mark of just how demanding this high-noon, deep-sand Texas course has historically been. Torkelson's race was built on an aggressive opening: the first five miles clicked off at a tight 9:339:34 min/mile pace, good enough for 6th overall and the Masters lead from the gun. He held top-10 overall positions through the middle miles, climbing as high as 2nd overall by mile 28 and again near mile 33, before settling into the 3rd5th overall range through the 50-mile mark around the 10:17 elapsed-time split. The back half told a different story, with per-mile splits stretching past 20 minutes by mile 70 and into the 2528 minute range by mile 92 as fatigue and heat accumulated. Remarkably, Torkelson surged to the overall race lead at mile 9596 (elapsed time roughly 25:1825:37) before finishing 7th in that split window and ultimately 8th overall. The pacing arc here is instructive: an efficient, controlled start gave way to a pronounced slowdown after mile 55, where lap splits jumped from the 1214 minute range into the 1725+ minute range. Building a more deliberate mid-race pacing plan perhaps banking slightly less speed in the opening loops could help preserve leg freshness for the final quarter of the race, where Torkelson clearly still had the competitive fight to briefly seize the overall lead. The Masters title is a strong result on a genuinely brutal course.