What a weekend at the Transvulcania races! David Sinclair & Blandine L’Hirondel won the Ultra, Ruth Gitonga & Philemon Kiriago won the Half Marathon, & Joyce Njeru & Richard Omaya Atuya won the VK.

iRunFar’s next headed to Basque Country, Spain, for the 25th anniversary of the Zegama Marathon on Sunday. Read our preview of the blockbuster field.

Joyce Njeru – 2026 Transvulcania Vertical Kilometer women’s winner

Joyce Njeru made up a deficit in the second half of the 2026 Transvulcania Vertical Kilometer to climb to the win. Photo: World Mountain Running Association/Marco Gulberti
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Joyce Njeru - 2026 Transvulcania Vertical Kilometer women's winner

Eszter Horanyi

Eszter Horanyi identifies as a Runner Under Duress, in that she’ll run if it gets her deep into the mountains or canyons faster than walking would, but she’ll most likely complain about it. A retired long-distance bike racer, she turned to running around 2014 and has a bad habit of saying yes to terribly awesome/awesomely terrible ideas on foot. The longer and more absurd the mission, the better. This running philosophy has led to an unsupported FKT on Nolan’s 14 and many long and wonderful days out in the mountains with friends.