By Amy Donaldson
Deseret Morning News
      MIDWAY — It's not just the Mohawk dreadlocks that cause Andy Knight to stand out among the 151 finishers of the Wasatch 100 Ultra marathon Sunday.
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Stephen Speckman, for the Deseret Morning News
Deanna McLaughlin triumphantly crosses the finish line of the Wasatch 100-mile race Sunday at Midway's Homestead Resort.
      The 21-year-old was the only Utahn, and one of just 12 people who finished the four oldest 100-mile runs in the country this summer to complete the Grand Slam. He finished the Wasatch 100, the last of the races, in 31 hours and 33 minutes Sunday afternoon.
      The race was won by Karl Meltzer, 38, in 20:18. He is still involved in trying to finish the Rocky Mountain Slam. The Sandy man owns the Wasatch 100's fastest time, and he'll run another 100-mile race in 12 days. He hopes to finish that race fast enough to give him a record-breaking overall time of 95 hours or better.
      "I run because I like to run," Meltzer said. "I do it because I love it. I'm not making any money at it."
      Most of the athletes competing this weekend in the endurance race that started in Kaysville and ended at the Homestead in Midway agree that winning means different things to different competitors.
      "It's more a competition with yourself," said Knight, who has been running the Wasatch 100 since he was 18 and has finished every time.
      When Knight realized he was within a few miles of finishing the 400-mile challenge, he couldn't contain himself.
      "I was really happy," he said as his family and friends congratulated him. "I was just kind of laughing the whole three miles in."
      For the majority of runners, the biggest victory is finishing. Many crossed the finish line and couldn't contain their emotion. Race organizer John Grobben even told one woman, who crossed the finish line and covered her face, "There is no crying in ultra running."
      Many tears were shed, however, as runners tried to describe what finishing the race meant to them.
      "It's a real emotional experience," said Dan Brenden, 55, an attorney from Maricopa County, Calif. "Some people go to church; I run."
      Meltzer said he used to run marathons and even 50-mile races, but "as I got older and slower, I moved to 100-milers. Then you have to put your mental game on."
      They all say the scenery, the camaraderie and the challenge are aspects of what lures runners to try to finish a 100-mile course.
      "I just like running in the country," said Brenden, who finished in 28:36. "Winning makes no difference, just as long as I do my very best."
      Jim Huffman, 38, finished second with a time of 21:40, while Kevin Shilling, 38, was third, completing the race in 22:31.
      Betsy Nye, 41, won it for the women with a time of 26:20. Suzanna Bon, 42, finished second with a time of 26:48, while Kim Gimenez, 41, was third, completing the course in 27:04.
      This year 223 started the Wasatch 100 and 151 finished the race in the 36-hour cutoff. The complete results are on the Wasatch 100 Web site: www.wasatch100.com.