Katharina Hartmuth (Germany) and Vincent Esmiol (France) took triumphant and emotional wins of the 2026 Madeira Island Ultra-Trail Legend 110k on the Portuguese island of Madeira.
The race set off from the village of Porto Moniz as the clock struck midnight to begin on Saturday, April 25. After a soft sunset, some drizzle was forecast, and temperatures hovered around 61 degrees Fahrenheit (16 degrees Celsius) overnight before rising into the 70s (21 degrees Celsius) with sun during the day.
The start of the 2026 Madeira Island Ultra-Trail Legend 110k at midnight on Saturday, April 25. Photo: MIUT/João M. Faria
Last year, the course was significantly rerouted due to a severe wildfire, and for the 17th edition this year, it was brought back to near normal — a result of an incredible effort in post-fire trail rehabilitation. The course travels point-to-point across the island, from Porto Moniz in the northwest to the town of Machico in the east. The Laurisilva forest at the start of the course is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with its subtropical expanse of laurel trees, mosses, and ferns.
Runners undulate through this dense greenery in the night, before ascending to nearly the summit of Madeira’s highest peak, Pico Ruivo (1,862 meters/6,109 feet). There is a checkpoint here for runners at 69 kilometers (43 miles), with the frontrunners arriving as the morning light is well underway. From there, runners essentially have a long downhill through an ever-changing landscape to the finish line, with plenty of challenging climbs and big views of the Atlantic Ocean interspersed. The 109k (67.7 miles) course has 7,165 meters (23,500 feet) of elevation gain over technical terrain and many stairs.
The Madeira Island Ultra-Trail Legend 110k (MIUT) the fifth event in the 2026 World Trail Majors. It is one of five races over the weekend, ranging in distance from 17 to 110k. The 50k Discover race is part of the 2026 World Trail Majors Short Series.
A runner in the dark, early morning hours of the 2026 Madeira Island Ultra-Trail Legend 110k. Photo: MIUT/João M. Faria
Before now, the stars have not aligned for Hartmuth at MIUT. She wanted to race in 2023, but prioritized the Trail World Championships a couple of weeks later. In 2024, she withdrew before the start after getting hit by a car while on her bike. Last year, she made it as far as the island before learning that she had a bone bruise on her femur. That old adage rings true: Getting to the start line is most of the journey.
This year, she made it. From that point onward, though, Hartmuth faced some strong competition, with Jazmine Lowther (Canada), Helen Mino Faukner (U.S.), Valerie Arsenault (Canada), and Rebecca Hormann (Switzerland) among the pre-race favorites. All of them were new to the race, presenting a fair playing field.
Among the top picks for the men’s race, Miguel Arsénio (Portugal) was the only repeat competitor from recent years. He came second last year and DNFed the year before. Aurélien Dunand-Pallaz (France) took second in 2018 and was making his first return to the race since then. They were joined by strong French and American contingents, featuring Esmiol and Gautier Airiau from France, and Rod Farvard and Tyler Green from the U.S.
Read on to see how the race unfolded.
2026 Madeira Island Ultra-Trail Legend 110k Women’s Race
The women’s race, overall, was pretty neat and consistent. The early leaders remained in place, and even the gaps between them didn’t change very much once the race was fully underway. Germany’s Katharina Hartmuth took the lead from the start, with Helen Mino Faukner (U.S.), Jazmine Lowther (Canada), and Valerie Arsenault (Canada) not too far behind. By the Fanal checkpoint at 12k, and most of the way through the first climb of this rugged race, Hartmuth had a five-minute gap on Mino Faukner, already making her intentions known.
Apart from Hartmuth, the lead pack of women maintained their ranks through the next few checkpoints, with Sarah Keuschnig (Austria), Kelsey Hogan (Canada), and Rebecca Hormann (Switzerland) also in the mix. After the downhill section to Chão de Ribeira at 20k, there was already a 34-minute gap between Hartmuth in first and Hormann in seventh, all at staggered intervals, neatly spread out.
Germany’s Katharina Hartmuth wins the 2026 Madeira Island Ultra-Trail Legend 110k on Saturday, April 25. Photo: MIUT/João M. Faria
By the Estanquinhos checkpoint at 30k, though, after essentially 10k of climbing, it was clear just how much of a burner Hartmuth was on. She was now already over an hour ahead of Hormann in seventh, where she would ultimately finish. Hartmuth was steadily pulling ahead, looking smooth and happy. Mino Faukner was 17 minutes behind the lead in second, and Lowther was 15 minutes behind Mino Faukner in third.
By Chão dos Louros (44k), Hartmuth had flown down the mountain to extend her gap on Mino Faukner to 28 minutes, passing through the checkpoint in 5:56 elapsed.
At 44k, the shape of the top-10 women remained largely as it had been — Mino Faukner, Lowther, and Arsenault were still the next three women after Hartmuth — but by Curral das Freiras at 58.4k, before the high peaks section started in earnest, Keuschnig, who had been in eighth place, had dropped. At 10:24 a.m. local time and 10:24 elapsed on the race clock, Hartmuth reached the checkpoint just under the summit of Pico Ruivo at 69.4k. This was officially looking like a dominant performance.
Helen Mino Faukner of the U.S. takes second at the 2026 Madeira Island Ultra-Trail Legend 110k. Photo: MIUT/João M. Faria
Remarkably, the gaps between the first three women remained roughly the same all the way from 44k to the final checkpoint at 96k, though Hartmuth extended her lead by some minutes more at this point. During that middle part of the race, Mino Faulkner was consistently around half an hour behind Hartmuth, and Lowther was around 15 minutes behind her. The gap back to Arsenault in fourth place steadily widened, and between Pico Ruivo at 69.4k and Portela at 90k, nearing the end of a long descent, it had grown from 40 minutes to an hour.
Mino Faulkner was still moving well as she passed through the final checkpoint, Larano at 96k, and this was just as well, because Lowther was about to put the hammer down. There was a 10-minute gap between them at Larano, but Lowther made quick work of the last 13 kilometers.
Katharina Hartmuth finished comfortably in first place in 14:54:53. Helen Mino Faukner took second place in 15:50:00, and Jazmine Lowther closed in behind her to take third place in 15:54:22. The effect of the late-race effort was visible as Lowther crossed the finish line. Valerie Arsenault and Kelsey Hogan rounded out the women’s top five.
Canada’s Jazmine Lowther ran in third for most of the 2026 Madeira Island Ultra-Trail Legend 110k, and ultimately earned that final podium spot. Photo: MIUT/João M. Faria
2026 Madeira Island Ultra-Trail Legend 110k Women’s Results
- Katharina Hartmuth (Germany) – 14:54:53
- Helen Mino Faukner (U.S.) – 15:50:00
- Jazmine Lowther (Canada) – 15:54:22
- Valerie Arsenault (Canada) – 17:27:00
- Kelsey Hogan (Canada) – 17:41:10
- Marta Vigano (Italy) – 18:19:51
- Rebecca Hormann (Switzerland) – 19:05:14
- Olga Sapach (Neutral) – 19:12:09
- Patricia Ribeiro (Portugal) – 19:28:39
[Editor’s Note: At the time of this article’s publishing, not all top-10 women have finished. We’ll update this article as they do.]
With terraced fields behind her, Germany’s Katharina Hartmuth climbs on her way to winning the 2026 Madeira Island Ultra-Trail Legend 110k. Photo: MIUT/João M. Faria
2026 Madeira Island Ultra-Trail Legend 110k Men’s Race
Unlike the women’s race, the men’s race never quite settled down. Rod Farvard (U.S.) and Vincent Esmiol (France) pushed the pace together early on. Through the Fanal checkpoint at 12k in 1:33 elapsed, the leaders also included Erik Sorenson (U.S.), Ethan Peters (Canada), Tyler Green (U.S.), Aurélien Dunand-Pallaz (France), and Gautier Airiau (France).
France’s Vincent Esmiol breaks the tape to win the 2026 Madeira Island Ultra-Trail Legend 110k on Saturday, April 25. Photo: MIUT/João M. Faria
By Estanquinhos at 30k, Farvard and Green had managed to extend a bit of a gap to Airiau and Miguel Arsénio (Portugal) in third and fourth, but it was still by just a few minutes. Some 14k later at Chão dos Louros (44k), with the real peaks just ahead, Green led the field by about 90 seconds, with Farvard in second and Dunand-Pallaz third.
Esmiol was the first to the checkpoint near the summit of Pico Ruivo (69.4k) in 8:56 elapsed. Dunand-Pallaz was nearly six minutes behind in second, and Airiau seven minutes back in third. Green was now the fourth man. They were now over halfway, but with a lot of difficult terrain ahead of them. Some of that forecasted rain had left muddy trails and legs, and a grey mist persisted through the morning, but it was warm. The gap back to the likes of Peters in fifth was now half an hour, but with such a long downhill to the finish, nothing was a foregone conclusion yet.
Despite Farvard’s strong start, by the high country in the middle of the race, he’d slipped into the back half of the top 10, and he’d ultimately finish 11th. Also, early pace-pusher Sorenson left the race before the high country.
France’s Gautier Airiau looking pleased to take second at the 2026 Madeira Island Ultra-Trail Legend 110k. Photo: MIUT/João M. Faria
At Chão da Lagoa (79k), there were four men within 13 minutes of each other — Esmiol still leading, Airiau now in second, Dunand-Pallaz third, and Green fourth. At Larano, the final checkpoint at 96k, Esmiol had an eight-minute lead, while a spread of under three minutes separated Airiau and Green in second and third. In the kilometers before this checkpoint, Green had already hunted down and passed Dunand-Pallaz and was now chasing Airiau in the final kilometers.
Ultimately, each of the top-three men had enough energy to maintain their positions, though it made for an exciting finish. Vincent Esmiol won in 12:49:03. Gautier Airiau finished in second place in 12:57:52, and Tyler Green finished in third in 13:03:10. Aurélien Dunand-Pallaz and Ethan Peters ultimately rounded out the top-five men.
The U.S.’s Tyler Green rounds out the 2026 Madeira Island Ultra-Trail Legend 110k men’s podium with third place. Photo: MIUT/João M. Faria
2026 Madeira Island Ultra-Trail Legend 110k Men’s Results
- Vincent Esmiol (France) – 12:49:03
- Gautier Airiau (France) – 12:57:52
- Tyler Green (U.S.) – 13:03:10
- Aurélien Dunand-Pallaz (France) – 13:25:07
- Ethan Peters (Canada) – 13:36:39
- Pavel Serov (Norway) – 13:42:26
- Tommy Sullivan (U.S.) – 13:49:55
- Josu Hidalgo (Spain) – 14:08:49
- Miguel Arsénio (Portugal) – 14:09:38
- Dimitri Soltysiak (France) – 14:15:00
Vincent Esmiol of France climbs in the early morning, on his way to winning the 2026 Madeira Island Ultra-Trail Legend 110k. Photo: MIUT/João M. Faria
