It was Independence Day in the U.S., and that thinned the racing schedule. The European race calendar did run heavy though for a second week in a row. The Golden Trail World Series Marathon du Mont-Blanc in France, the EcoTrail Paris also in France, and Greece’s Olympus Mythical Trail 100k are among the weekend’s highlights.
Marathon du Mont-Blanc — Chamonix, France
Several race distances were contested, but the close-to-marathon distance was the Marathon du Mont-Blanc premier race, and it was the year’s second Golden Trail Series race. With a start from a paragliding landing field and a course that gained 2,630 meters (8,600 feet) of elevation, this year’s course ran differently than in prior years. It all still happened among the snow-capped peaks of the French Alps though.
The event was postponed for one week to allow for greater capacity and some 1,600 runners took part in the marathon.
Men
It’s still early in the summer racing season, but Stian Angermund (Norway) is on fire. He broke free late to win in 3:18, and just like three weeks ago in Spain, Angermund cartwheeled across the finish.
Davide Magnini (Italy) was second in 3:20, one spot better than in the series opener but one spot back of his 2019 win here, and Bart Przedwojewski (Poland) was third in 3:23.
Stian Angermund on his way to winning the 2021 Marathon du Mont-Blanc with Davide Magnini chasing. Photo: Golden Trail Series | Marathon du Mont-Blanc | Jordi Saragossa
The rest of the top 10 included:
4 – Rémi Bonnet (Switzerland) – 3:27
5 – Francesco Puppi (Italy) – 3:28
6 – Thibaut Baronian (France) – 3:33
7 – Marcin Rzeszótko (Poland) – 3:34
8 – Juan Carlos Carera (Mexico) – 3:35
9 – Anthony Felber (France) – 3:35
10 – Simon Gosselin (France) – 3:35
Cole Hoff was the top U.S. finisher and he was 26th in 4:03.
The weekend-long event also held a 90k (56 miles) race and just seven minutes separated the front three men. Martin Kern (France) won in front of Mathieu Delpeuch (France) and Dmitry Mityaev (Russia). The trio finished in 10:23, 10:28, and 10:30, respectively, and the top-eight finishers all raced in under 11 hours.
Zak Hanna (Ireland) won the race’s Vertical K.
Martin Kern is the 2021 Mont Blanc 90k champion. Photo: David Gonthier / Marathon du Mont-Blanc 2021
Women
Maude Mathys (Switzerland) is doing great things. She went to an early lead and pulled any drama from the women’s race. Mathys finished first in 3:51, nine minutes better than everyone else. She’s really been on an incredible years-plus tear through the trails with multiple records among her achievements.
(In 2015, Mathys received a warning without suspension from the Disciplinary Chamber for Doping Cases of Swiss Olympic for two positive tests for clomifene [previously clomiphene] after it was determined that she was mistakenly taking the drug without first obtaining a World Anti-Doping Agency Therapeutic Use Exemption.)
Anaïs Sabrié (France) was second in 4:00 and Blandine L’Hirondel (France) was third in 4:07 despite a badly sprained ankle. L’Hirondel was fourth in the series opener three weeks ago.
Maude Mathys dominating the 2021 Marathon du Mont-Blanc. Photo: Golden Trail Series | Marathon du Mont-Blanc | Jordi Saragossa
The rest of the top 10 included:
4 – Daniele Omus (Germany) – 4:13
5 – Marcela Vasinova (Czech Republic) – 4:14
6 – Marianne Fatton (Switzerland) – 4:17
7 – Caitlin Fielder (New Zealand) – 4:18
8 – Odile Spycher (Switzerland) – 4:18
9 – Anna-Stiina Erkkilä (Finland) – 4:18
10 – Eli Anne Dvergsdal (Norway) – 4:22
Bailey Kowalcyzk was the top American, running 4:29 for 13th.
Hillary Gerardi (USA, lives in France) topped the women’s 90k. She finished in 11:54. Giuditta Turini (Italy) was second in 12:13 and Ekaterina Mityaeva (Russia) matched her husband’s finish with a third-place 13:04.
Elise Poncet (France) sprinted up the race’s Vertical K first.
The next Golden Trail World Series race is the July 18 Dolomyths Run in Italy.
Hillary Gerardi is the 2021 Mont Blanc 90k champion. Photo: Marathon du Mont-Blanc
EcoTrail Paris — Paris, France
Five race distances celebrated the trail system within the urban area, and the race’s finished just under the Eiffel Tower.
In the 80k (50 miles) race, the host country took all of the top-10 men’s finishes, and seven of the same for the women. Benjamin Polin finished first overall in 5:39, and Sylvaine Cussot (France) led the women in 7:07. Going just longer than the marathon distance, Guillaume Tiphene (France) and Clementine Mazaury (France) won the 45k race in 3:14 and 3:59.
Sylvaine Cussot, 2021 EcoTrail Paris champion. Photo: EcoTrail Paris
Olympus Mythical Trail 100k — Litochoro, Greece
Running largely around Mount Olympus, the Olympus Mythical Trail 100k takes in technical trails and high peaks, with cold nights up high and hot days down low. The top three all ran under 17 hours and gapped the next finisher by over an hour and half. Filaretos Boukis (Greece) triumphed in 15:54, and Corneliu Buliga (Romania) chased to a 16:08 runner-up mark. Antoine Guillon (France), some 18 years older than the front two, was third in 16:32.
The top-four women were all Greek with Panagiota Dimakakou leading the group in 19:02. Niki Zioga and Despoina Simantrakou were second and third in 19:32 and 19:38, respectively.
Additional Races and Runs
Vail Hill Climb — Vail, Colorado
Clayson Shumway, a sub-14-minute 5,000-meter runner for Brigham Young University, and Kim Dobson won the Vail Hill Climb. Shumway finished in 52:16, beating a field that included ace climber Eric Blake, and Dobson, also a renowned climber, finished in 58:52. Full results.
Rundola — Telluride, Colorado
The 10th Rundola follows a gondola path 1,810 feet up. Just four months after knee surgery, Jason Schlarb started the race and won it. Brittany Charboneau won the women’s race for the second-straight year. Full results (when available).
Jason Schlarb and Brittany Charboneau were the 2021 Rundola champions. Photo courtesy of Jason Schlarb.
Afton Trail 50k — Hastings, Minnesota
Racing inside the state park of the same name, the Afton Trail 50k wins went to Shawn Bubany and Erica Mitchell. The two finished in 4:25 and 4:48. Full results.
Finger Lakes 50s — Hector, New York
It was the 32nd year for the Finger Lakes 50s in upstate New York. Men’s winner Etan Levavi and women’s winner Riley Brady both came through in 7:40. In the 50k, Sarah Briggs clocked a 4:34 first-place finish just ahead of Ellie Pell, and men’s winner Tim Phelps came through in 4:51. Full results.
Call for Comments
- What other U.S. holiday trail and ultra fun happened?
- Are there any other international races you can share information from?
