Canada's Carver goes 116.31 miles to win Peanut Island 24 ultramarathon

There were fireworks at midnight to break the monotony of 24 hours of circling a 1 1/4-mile loop in the Peanut Island 24 ultramarathon.

Some runners paused for a brief New Year's embrace with their families. But Dave Carver still had 10 hours to go before he could rest and celebrate victory Saturday in the inaugural race to New Year on the Island Park off Riviera Beach.

For Carver, 49, of London, Ontario, the real fireworks would come around daybreak when he finally overtook Keith Straw, who held the lead since Friday afternoon. Carver went on to complete 116.31 miles, the most he has run in a 24-hour race. He went nearly 2 1/2 miles farther than Rick Meyers, of Fayetteville, Pa., (113.94 miles).

Ten of the 46 runners in the 24-hour division ran more than 100 miles. West Palm Beach firefighter Scott D'Angelo was the first South Florida finisher in ninth place with 101.18 miles. FormerLake Worth mayor Marc Drautz fell short of his 100-mile goal, finishing 11th with 93.78 miles.

  "Not a lot of 24-hour races have that high a percentage hit 100 miles, which is a magical figure," race timer Mike Melton said.

Sue Ellen Trapp, 64, ran 91.31 miles to exceed the American record for women age 60-64 of 86.17 miles. Bonnie Busch, 52, of Bettendorf, Iowa, won the women's division, completing 104.62 miles to finish fourth overall.

Mike Stone, 31, of Boynton Beach, won the 12-hour division, running just over 59 miles. Miami's Jon Williams, one of South Florida's most active racers, mostly in 5Ks, won the six-hour division with 39.488 miles. It was Williams' 117th race and 47th victory of 2010.

Straw, of Malvern, Pa., took the 24-hour lead when favorite Mike Morton dropped out. Straw, running his 11th 100-mile race of the year, built his lead to five miles but hit the wall after midnight and had to take a lengthy break. Carver got stronger as the night wore on.

"When Keith started struggling, it was like [Carver] smelled blood in the water. I think that lit a fire in Dave as he realized he was closing the gap," Melton said.