The iconic 2025 Transvulcania Ultramarathon is back for another year, kicking off at 6 a.m. local time on Saturday, May 10. iRunFar will be there in person to bring you up-to-the-minute updates on all the action, as well as before and after athlete interviews. Stay tuned!
The 73-kilometer (45.4-mile) ultramarathon, which has 4,350 meters (14,270 feet) of elevation gain, takes place on the volcanic island of La Palma, one of Spain’s Canary Islands, situated off the northwest coast of Morocco. It has been a staple on the international ultrarunning calendar since its inaugural year in 2009. The race was briefly a part of the UTMB World Series in 2022 and 2023 before withdrawing to continue as an independent event in 2024. This appears to have no impact on its popularity, as the race continues to draw the best of the best to the elite field and is a bucket list event for the rest of us.
The women’s race this year should not disappoint in competitiveness, with headliners including reigning Transvulcania champion and course record holder, Ruth Croft (New Zealand); two-time trail world champion, Blandine L’Hirondel (France); and 2023 Transvulcania winner Martina Valmassoi (Italy).
The depth of the field could make for an end-to-end battle for podium spots, with last year’s fourth place woman, Ekaterina Mityaeva (Neutral), and three-time Transvulcania runner-up, Anne-Lise Rousset Séguret (France), also billed to race.
As always, there are bound to be some surprises. Read on for details on some of the top women who will be gracing La Palma’s unique trails on May 10.
Also, be sure to check out our in-depth 2025 Transvulcania Ultramarathon men’s preview.
The start of the 2023 Transvulcania Ultramarathon. Photo: Transvulcania
Favorites for the Win
Ruth Croft
Reigning Transvulcania champion Ruth Croft will be back to defend her title, after resetting the course record at the 2024 race in a time of 8:02:49. With her second place finish at UTMB last year, the New Zealander reasserted herself as one of trail and ultra’s global superstars. This year, she won the 2024 Tarawera 100k for the third time, but turned down the Golden Ticket to the Western States 100, a race she also previously won in 2022. She’s also won the OCC in 2018 and 2019, and the 2023 Ultra-Trail Cape Town 100k, to name but a few. Croft has plenty of experience and course knowledge at Transvulcania. Further to her win last year, she also placed third there in 2016.
France’s Blandine L’Hirondel has proven herself over a range of distances, but this 45-mile course might be her sweet spot. She has been the trail world champion twice — in 2019 over the 50k distance, and 2022 over 80k — and European trail champion in 2022 over 47k. Ever present on the most competitive start lines, she won the OCC in 2021, CCC in 2022, and made her 100-mile debut by placing third at the 2023 UTMB, which she followed up with fifth at the event last year. Despite moving into 100 milers, she’s demonstrated she still has plenty of speed, placing fifth in this year’s French Cross Country Championships.
Martina Valmassoi
Italian Martina Valmassoi won the 2023 Transvulcania and has had a stack of strong results in competitive races since then. She thrives in hard mountain races and was fourth in the 2023 Trail World Championships Long Trail, won the 2024 Madeira Island Ultra-Trail 115k, and took ninth at the 2024 UTMB. With a background in skyrunning and having also won the 2022 TDS, La Palma’s vert-y, volcanic trails will surely play right into her hands.
Going as far back as 2020, France’s Anne-Lise Rousset Séguret has been in the top two at almost every race she’s finished, with just a light smattering of DNFs along the way. Her range stretches from winning the recent 2025 Trail d’Annecy 33k to second at the 2023 Hardrock 100. She also placed second at the 2024 Madeira Island Ultra-Trail 115k behind Martina Valmassoi and won the 2023 Wildstrubel 70k. She has plenty of experience on the Transvulcania course, where she placed fifth on her debut in 2014, and second in 2016, 2017, and 2019. She will surely be looking to convert all those second place finishes into a win.
Ekaterina Mityaeva
Neutral athlete Ekaterina Mityaeva was fourth at last year’s Transvulcania and had the same result at the 2019 edition. This was an improvement on fifth in 2018, and seventh in 2017. Since last year’s race, her results have been a bit all-or-nothing. In 2024, she had wins at the Mont Blanc 90k and the Chiangmai Thailand 93k, as well as second at the Ultra Pirineu 100k — all punctuated by DNFs at UTMB and the Ultra-Trail Cape Town 100k. She also has a recent DNF at the 2025 Chiangmai Thailand 93k. On her good days, she is a force to be reckoned with, and if she continues her current improving trend at this particular race, a podium finish could well be on the cards.
Ruth Croft celebrating her win at the 2024 Transvulcania Ultramarathon. Photo: Transvulcania
More Fast Women
Fiona Pascall
The U.K.’s Fiona Pascall is fast making a name for herself and following in the footsteps of her sister, Beth. She recently had a big win at the 2025 Ultra Trail Chianti 120k, earning herself a Golden Ticket into the 2025 Western States 100. Until fairly recently, she had raced mostly at home in the U.K., winning the 2023 Arc of Attrition 50 Mile, and placing third in the 2023 Ultra-Trail Snowdonia 50k. Breaking onto the international scene, she won the 2023 Ultra Trail Julian Alps 170k, the 2024 Mozart 100 Mile, and the 2024 Wildstrubel 72k. This is her first time racing Transvulcania, but she could well be in the mix.
Jessica Tipán Gutierrez of Ecuador placed third at the 2022 Transvulcania and has had some strong results since that, notably an eighth place finish at the 2023 Les Templiers 80k, and third at the 2024 Penyagolosa Trails CSP 106k. Also in 2023, she placed fourth at the 60k Penyagolosa Trails MiM and sixth at the Transgrancanaria Marathon. She has road legs too, and recently contested the 2025 Barcelona Marathon in 2:48. She shouldn’t be too far back from the action.
Azara García
Spain’s Azara García was eighth at last year’s Transvulcania, and should be in strong contention for another top 10 placing. She recently took third at the 2025 Ultra Trail Chianti 120k, narrowly missing out on a Golden Ticket to the Western States 100. Further back, she won the 2021 Transgrancanaria 129k and the 85k in 2023, and was also second at the 2019 OCC and fourth at the 2019 Trail World Championships, which was a 50k distance.
Italy’s Elisa Desco won the 2014 Transvulcania and was sixth on her last outing, back in 2019. She has some top results back some years at around the marathon distance, including winning the Marathon du Mont Blanc two years running, in 2014 and 2015. She’s had four top-10 finishes at the Zegama Marathon, with the best being second in 2019, and the most recent being sixth in 2024. She won Sierre-Zinal back in 2013, has had four more top 10 finishes there since, and 11th last year. [From 2010 to 2012, Elisa Desco served a two-year doping ban from the IAAF after she tested positive for EPO at the 2009 World Mountain Running Championships.]
Italy’s Giulia Marchesoni was 2024 Skyrunning world champion in the ultra division, a title that would seem to set her up perfectly for this fast and technical trail race. She has mostly raced in Italy and has worked her way up to ultra distances from a background in mountain running. Last year, she also won the Dolomythsrun Fassa Trail 43k and the 45k Lunigiana Skyrace. So far in 2025, she suffered a DNF at the Transgrancanaria Marathon but bounced back with a win at the 54k Tuscany Crossing in April. Transvulcania will be her longest race to date, but she looks to have a solid build-up to the distance.
Sarah Vieuille has had a long and illustrious career in trail running, with results going back as far as 2011. She likely would be better known internationally but for the fact that she races mostly in her home country of France. She has had some stellar results, including second at the 2018 Les Templiers 80k and fourth in the 2022 Diagonale des Fous. More recently, she took fifth at the 2025 Transgrancanaria 82k and sixth at last year’s Endurance Trail des Templiers 100k.
France’s Léa Duhet placed seventh on her last outing at Transvulcania in 2022, and has been keeping up similar form since then. In 2024, she placed 12th at the Les Templiers 80k, and a respectable 16th at the CCC in a time of 14:14. She should be in with a good shot at moving further up the top 10.
Yuri Yoshizumi
Yuri Yoshizumi of Japan has a depth of strong results on trails over a range of distances. Highlights include a sixth place finish at the 2024 Transgrancanaria 127k, followed by ninth at the 82k Advanced race this year. Also so far in 2025, she has placed second at the Hong Kong 100 Half, and won a couple of shorter races at home in Japan. She has plenty of endurance — having won the 2022 Doi Inthanon 100k and placed second in the 2023 Nice Côte d’Azur 100 Mile — but from her recent racing, she looks primed for speed, which should work well over this course.
Anne-Lise Rousset on her way to second place (for the third time) in the 2019 Transvulcania. Photo: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
Italy’s Marina Cugnetto placed ninth in her Transvulcania debut last year and is back looking to build on that result. A prolific racer, Cugnetto’s best results include a win at the 2019 130k Tot Dret, third in the 2022 UltraDolomites 81k, second in the 2023 Doi Inthanon 50k, and 16th in the 2023 Trail World Championships Long Trail. She is in speedy shape this season, having just won the 68k Jangsu Trail Race in South Korea.
Kristin Berglund
Austria’s Kristin Berglund has been quiet on the racing front the past few years, but was fifth at her last outing at Transvulcania in 2019, a year where she also placed second behind Courtney Dauwalter at UTMB. Prior to that, she placed 11th in the 2017 CCC, fourth in the 2017 Transgrancanaria, and won the 2016 Grossglockner Ultra-Trail 110k. Her lack of recent results makes her a bit of an unknown entity, but she has demonstrated that at her best, she is world class.
Canada’s Geneviève Asselin-Demers is off to a good start this year with a third place finish at the Desert RATS 100k in April. She had a big year last year too, with fast runs at the Black Canyon 100k, Madeira Island Ultra-Trail 115k, and Ultra-Trail Cape Town 100k — where she finished sixth, eighth, and seventh, respectively. She also had wins at home at the 2024 Québec Mega Trail 80k and the Trail Coureur Des Bois 46k. She has also won Canada’s Ultra-Trail Harricana 110k in 2023, and placed third there in 2022, and should be well in contention for a top 10 placing.
France’s Sabine Ehrström enjoyed wins last year at the Ultra Trail du Vercors 81k and the Swiss Canyon Trail 33k, as well as a third place finish at the Trail du Ventoux 41k. Further back, she took fifth in the 2022 Les Templiers 80k, and a respectable 22nd in the ever competitive OCC. She has trail race results going back as far as 2013, but has raced predominantly at home in France. This will be her Transvulcania debut.
Martina Valmassoi after her win of the 2023 Transvulcania Ultramarathon. Photo: Transvulcania
Call for Comments
- What are your predictions for the women’s race at Transvulcania?
- What other fast women are racing who we should look out for?
