Tragedy shadows Western States winner's triumph

Western States Endurance Run winner Scott Jurek has left a piece of his heart at the side of the trail he ran to victory on this past weekend.Tonto, his dog and long-time training partner, died Sunday morning ? hours after Jurek crossed the finish line in Auburn to win an unprecedented fifth straight Western States 100-mile race.Jurek buried the 10-year-old Alaskan Husky just off the trail on private property about 55 miles into the Western States route at Michigan Bluff and has since returned to his Seattle home.Speaking Tuesday from Seattle, Jurek said he had left Tonto with friends at Michigan Bluff while he competed. Tonto had no known health problems, he said.?He was doing great all day in a nice cool house,? Jurek said. ?Something failed but we don?t know exactly what. It was pretty sudden.?Jurek learned about Tonto?s death as he stood on the track Sunday morning at LeFebvre Stadium watching the last finishers in a race he had won the night before in 16:01:27. In a bittersweet awards ceremony speech, Jurek paid tribute to his dog that afternoon. Later in the day, he returned to Michigan Bluff and found a spot alongside the trail to lay Tonto to rest. The spot is now marked by flowers and carefully placed rocks.Coincidentally, 14-time women?s Western States winner Ann Trason lost her dog, Scout last year after a fire at the residence she was boarding her dog at.Both dogs were being housed away from the trail because Western States participants are not allowed to bring their pets on the run, to aid stations, or the finish line.Greg Soderlund, race director, said runners who break the no-dogs-on-the-trail rule are disqualified. If a pacer or crew member brings a dog along, the runner they are with is disqualified.The rule was an offshoot of the Placer High School rule forbidding dogs at LeFebvre Stadium but is also there to protect both dogs and runners, Soderlund said.?It?s not a safe environment for a dog,? he said. ?There?s always the potential for tripping over them.?Runners like Jurek use their dogs as training partners. Tonto had been going on a 45-mile training run as recently as a week before the race.?If we had dogs on the course, every third runner would have one,? Soderlund said.For Jurek, the loss of Tonto was a sad end to a week of triumph.The Western States victor said he plans to return to the Squaw Valley-to-Auburn ultramarathon next year.?It?s been a big part of the last 10 years of my life but who knows after that,? he said. ?Since Tonto?s on the trail though, it?s definitely a special place.?The Journal?s Gus Thomson can be reached at gust@goldcountrymedia.com.