updated 7:00 p.m. ET Aug. 24, 2004

LEADVILLE, Colo. - A little over a year after cutting off his arm to save his life during a solo hike in Utah, Aspen adventurer Aron Ralston has completed a grueling 100-mile race at over 10,000 feet elevation.

More than 400 runners began the Leadville Trail race before dawn on Saturday, racing through hail and lightning at times, but fewer than half officially completed the race. Some dropped out because of nausea and cramps and others weren't able to cross the finish line within the 30-hour time limit.

Ralston, an official finisher with a time of 29:43, said he got sick after eating an onion sandwich but continued running despite feeling nauseated.

Paul DeWitt of Colorado Springs won the men's race for the second straight year with a time of 17:16:19. Anthea Schmid of Crested Butte was the first woman to finish, with a time of 23:30:43.

Volunteers at aid stations peeled bananas for Ralston, who previously had only run in 5K races.

"I felt in good balance," he said. "I helped one gentleman who took a spill."

His mother Donna Ralston was waiting at the finish line to give him a hug.

Last April Ralston was hiking alone, negotiating a canyon in southeastern Utah when his right arm became pinned beneath an 800-pound boulder. After other failed attempts, he freed himself on the fifth day by snapping his bones and using a knife to cut through his arm.

He applied a tourniquet and clambered out of the canyon. After a six-mile hike, he found tourists who flagged down a helicopter.

Since then he has learned to play the piano one-handed, climbed 14,000-foot-tall Colorado mountains alone and returned to skiing and mountain biking.

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