It was another big weekend of global racing. Val D’Aran by UTMB and the Mount Marathon Race are at the top of the rundown, and the Finger Lakes 50s and Big Butt 50k are at the very bottom.
François D’Haene also set a huge new FKT on Colorado’s Nolan’s 14 route. You can also check out our news coverage from earlier in the weekend:
Val D’Aran by UTMB – Lleida, Spain
The event was the UTMB European Major with seven different races through the Pyrenees Mountains. All three longest races ran on alternative courses due to adverse weather.
VDA
The rerouted long course went for 88 miles and with almost 24,000 feet of climbing. Only 11 minutes separated the front two women, with Laura Van Vooren (Belgium) leading Yuan-Yuan Wu (China) to the finish in 20:26 and 20:36. Anca Cindea (Romania) was third in 22:11.
Men’s winner Arthur Joyeux-Bouillon (France) came home in 16:25. Santos Gabriel Rueda (Argentina) and Arnau Seguí Moll (Spain) were next in 16:53 and 17:13.
CDH
The 64-mile race totaled almost 19,000 feet of climbing. Mari Klakegg Fenre (Norway) won big in the women’s race. She finished in 12:31, almost two hours better than the next woman. Amaia Razkin (Spain) and Elodie Pierre (France) were second and third in 14:12 and 14:24.
Baptiste Coatantiec (France) and Manuel Anguita (Spain) staged a daylong back-and-forth. Coatantiec came out ahead by less than four minutes, running 10:53 to Anguita’s 10:57. Oriol Bofill (Spain) was third in 11:13. For the Americans, Dakota Jones was ninth in 11:55.
PDA
The 32.3-mile race ran up 9,700 feet. The top five women all finished in under six hours, and less than five minutes separated Miao Yao (China) and Sylvia Nordskar (Norway) at the top. Yao won in 5:31, and Nordskar was second in 5:36. Ikram Rharsalla (Spain) ran 5:47 for third.
Nadir Maguet (Italy) was the lone sub-five hour men’s finisher with a 4:52 winning time. Leonard Mitrica (Romania) and Pablo Bautista (Spain) were second and third in 5:00 and 5:05.
Mount Marathon Race – Seward, Alaska
It was the 97th running of the July 4 classic. The mountain goes up to 4,826 feet, but the race goes 3,022 feet up and then back down roughly over 5k in distance. This year, runners benefited from a bigger snowfield up high and were afforded a chance for extended glissading.
Women
Klaire Rhodes hit the course high point over two minutes ahead of everyone else and cruised home first in 50:31. She was the fastest up and the seventh-fastest down, and it was a repeat win after last year’s 49:49 finish. Earlier this year, Rhodes was third at the Gorge Waterfalls 100k and earned a spot on Team USA for the Trail World Championships – Long Trail discipline in September.
Klaire Rhodes, the 2025 Mount Marathon women’s winner. Photo: Mount Marathon Race
Three-time winner Christy Marvin was second in 51:22. Marvin hit the top only fourth but ran down the fastest of the women in 12:20. Kalie McCrystal (Canada) was third in 52:13.
The top five women were:
- Klaire Rhodes – 50:31
- Christy Marvin – 51:22
- Kalie McCrystal (Canada) – 52:13
- Meg Inokuma – 53:35
- April McAnly – 53:50
Men
David Norris seems unbeatable on this course and won the men’s race for the sixth time. Norris’s 42:30 finish was well back of his 40:37 course record from 2024, but he still won by almost two minutes. Norris got to the top in 31:13, well clear of the rest of the men’s field and had the race’s third-best downhill split for the runaway win.
David Norris, the 2025 Mount Marathon men’s winner. Photo: Mount Marathon Race
The 2021 race winner Max King was second in 44:23 and Luke Jager was third in 44:47. Jager got to the top seven seconds ahead of King but was slower down.
Taylor Turney, who finished 20th, is completely fearless. Turney again had the race’s best downhill with a 10:13 split. The 25th-place finisher Ryan Cox was the only other man with a sub-11 minute downhill with a 10:55. Norris came down in 11:07.
The top five men were:
- David Norris – 42:30
- Max King – 44:23
- Luke Jager – 44:47
- Lars Arneson – 45:26
- Ali Papillon – 45:57
Chongli Mountain and Trail Running Festival – Chongli, China
The Mountain Running World Cup visited China for the first time ever. There were uphill and up and down races on consecutive days.
Uphill
Valentine Jepkoech Rutto (Kenya) led the women’s race from the jump and won in 40:59. Scout Adkin (U.K.), the 2024 Mountain Running World Cup champion, was second in 41:58, and Gloria Chebet (Kenya) took third in 43:05.
The men’s race had a big back-and-forth between Lukas Ehrle (Germany) and Michael Selelo Saoli (Kenya). Ehrle won in a muddy sprint by a single second in 35:13. Andrea Rostan (Italy) was a close third in 35:37.
Up and Down
The day two race went for 22k with several ups and downs, uniquely starting with a big descent and a downhill finish. Uphill race winner Valentine Jepkoech Rutto sat back early but took control of the race in the second climb and won big in 1:55. Scout Adkin doubled back for another second place in 2:01 and Gloria Chebet was again third in 2:04.
Valentine Jepkoech Rutto, the 2025 Chongli Mountain and Trail Running Festival – Up and Down women’s winner. Photo: World Mountain Running Association/Marco Gulberti
Uphill winner Lukas Ehrle challenged Michael Selelo Saoli early, but by halfway, Selelo Saoli gained the ultimate lead. The Kenyan runner won in 1:38. Paul Machoka was second in 1:39, 79 seconds behind, and Ehrle was third in 1:40, 39 seconds behind Machoka.
Michael Selelo Saoli, the 2025 Chongli Mountain and Trail Running Festival – Up and Down men’s winner. Photo: World Mountain Running Association/Marco Gulberti
Quebec Mega Trail – Beaupré, Quebec, Canada
The event had eight different race distances. The 135k was part of the World Trail Majors and the 50k was part of the World Trail Majors Short Series.
QMT135
A 10:00 p.m. start time sent 300 runners off on a new course that went for 137k with 6,000 meters of climbing. Maryline Nakache (France) was over an hour better than any other woman in 19:11. She finished fourth overall too. Men’s leader Xavier St-Cyr (Canada) came through in 17:18.
Xavier St-Cyr, the 2025 Quebec Mega Trail 135k men’s winner. Photo: Quebec Mega Trail/Olivier Ménard
QMT80
Both the 80k and 50k races were the Canadian Trail Running Championships and selection races for the Trail Running World Championships – Long Trail and Short Trail teams, respectively. Claudine Soucie (Canada) and Eric LiPuma (U.S.) won the race in 10:02 and 8:29. Jean-Philippe Thibodeau was the second man and the first Canadian in 8:36.
Claudine Soucie, the 2025 Quebec Mega Trail 80k women’s winner. Photo: Quebec Mega Trail/Olivier Ménard
Eric LiPuma, the 2025 Quebec Mega Trail 80k men’s winner. Photo: Quebec Mega Trail/Olivier Ménard
QMT50
Not just a World Trail Majors Short Series race, the 50k was also the Canadian Trail Running Championships and a selection race for the Trail World Championships – Short Trail. The podiums were entirely Canadian with Élisa Morin and Dany Racine at the top in 5:09 and 4:45. Women’s winner Morin was also second overall.
Élisa Morin, the 2025 Quebec Mega Trail 50k women’s winner. Photo: Quebec Mega Trail/Olivier Ménard
Restonica Trail by UTMB – Corte, Haute-Corse, France
The races were all on the French island of Corsica and were run in a lot of heat and occasional thunderstorms.
Ultra-Trail Di Corsica
The long course covered 67 miles and almost 24,000 feet of up, French runners Maud Combarieu and Alexis Sévennec earned victories in 21:17 and 16:14.
Restonica Trail
The weather cut the 100k race to just 56k in distance. Giuditta Turini (Italy) and Bartłomiej Przedwojewski (Poland) won the 35-mile race in 7:44 and 6:25.
Tavignanu Trail
The 20-mile race had a competitive women’s podium. Caroline Kimutai (Kenya) beat Malen Osa (Spain) and Joyline Chepngeno (Kenya) for the win. The three women finished in 3:41, 3:47, and 3:54. Kimutai broke Blandine L’Hirondel’s year-old course record by two minutes.
Ezekiel Rutto made it a Kenyan sweep of the top spot in the men’s race, winning in 3:11. Damiano Lenzi (Italy) and Klemen Španring (Slovenia) were second and third in 3:15 and 3:24.
Skyrunning European Championships – Aprica, Italy
It was the 12th edition of the continental championships. The Vertical race went first on Friday with 960 meters of climbing over 4.5k in distance. After a day break, there were the SkyUltra 42k and Sky 23k races at the end of the weekend.
Vertical
Benedetta Broggi and Daniel Thedy, both of the host country, won the Vertical race in 42:00 and 34:43.
SkyUltra
Long-course winners Shangave Balengran (Norway) and Christian Minoggio (Italy) won gold in 5:23 and 4:30.
Sky
The Sky 23k was especially close. Anastasia Rubtsova (Neutral) was 63 seconds better than Agnes Josefsson (Sweden) to win the women’s race. Rubtsova and Josefsson ran 2:29 and 2:30. Third-place Corinna Ghirardi (Italy) finished in 2:32. The men were even closer. Fabian Jimenez (Spain) beat Martin Nilsson (Sweden) by two seconds, with both running 2:03. Third-place Lucien Mermillon (France) was only 55 seconds behind the winner in 2:04.
Additional Races and Runs
Carpathia Trails – Fundata, Romania
The results are dotted with some of Romania’s best. Maria Oana and Robert Hajnal won the 57k in 9:12 and 6:44. Cristian Mosoiu and Denisa Dragomir led the 36k race in 3:18 and 3:46, and Alexandra Streja and Toma Valentin won the 23k in 2:12 and 1:42. Valentin was 20 seconds better than Golden Trail World Series runner Damian Bogdan. Full results.
Zermatt Marathon – Zermatt, Switzerland
Laura Hottenrott (Germany) and Sven Koch (Germany) won the uphill marathon in 3:32 and 3:16. Each won 600 CHF, or about $755. Full results.
Bernina Ultraks – Pontresina, Switzerland
The event is nicknamed “the Ultimate Glacier Experience” for the expansive glacier area in eastern Switzerland. Flurina Eichholzer (Switzerland) and Tomáš Fárník (Czech Republic) won the weekend-opening vertical race in 1:13 and 1:05. Andrea Vlasakova (Czech Republic) and Christian Mathys (Switzerland) were best in the marathon in 5:42 and 4:38, and Anja Provost (Switzerland) and a doubling-back Farnik topped the 16k in 1:44 and 1:24. Full results.
Cordillera Blanca Skyrace – Huaraz, Peru
A week after a contest in Ecuador, the Skyrunner World Series stayed in South America for one more week. Deisy Castro (Peru) scored a win on her home-country trails over Skyrunning regular Naira Irigoyen (Spain). Castro ran 2:26, 10 minutes better than Irigoyen. Espinoza Quispe (Peru) was third in 2:38. In the men’s race, Jose Manuel Quispe (Peru) started with a stumble out of the starting corral, but recovered to win for the third time. He was out front in 2:01. Second-place Jorge Luis Castro (Peru) ran 2:06, and Alain Santamaria (Spain) was third in 2:07.
The Raven 50 Mile Ultra – Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada
Adrienne Dunbar won the women’s race in 9:32 and was the overall winner too. Adam Luciano led the men in 9:35. In the 50k race, Loreena Dobson and Graham Nishikawa won in 7:19 and 5:27. Full results.
Grand Targhee Wildflower 50k – Alta, Wyoming
Megan Tattersall and 19-year-old Alistair Clark won the race in 5:55 and 4:15. After a third-place run at May’s Quad Rock 25 Mile, this looks to be Clark’s first 50k. Full results.
Silverton Blue Ribbon Run 10k – Silverton, Colorado
Katie Schide tuned up for next week’s Hardrock 100 with a 50:25 winning time. Anthony Kunkel won for the men in 40:41. 2025 Hardrockers Germain Grangier (France) and Ludovic Pommeret (France) were fourth and fifth in 47:07 each. Full results.
Superior Mile – Superior, Colorado
Going down, down, down, Karley Rempel and Andy Wacker won the downhill mile in 4:50 and 3:59. Full results.
Rundola – Telluride, Colorado
Seven Tudor and Ryan Becker topped out on the hill climb first in 26:20 and 20:28. Full results.
Independence Day Freedom 5k – Buena Vista, Colorado
Area locals Addie Bracy and Annie Hughes ran 19:33 and 19:38 at the front of the women’s race, and 2014 Boston Marathon eighth-placer Jeff Eggleston cruised to the men’s win in 16:35. Full results.
Nolan’s 14 – Colorado
François D’Haene (France) scored a new 35:33 supported Fastest Known Time on the 100ish-mile line of fourteen Colorado 14,000-foot peaks. Read more in our in-depth news article.
François D’Haene relaxes with a beer after successfully setting the men’s supported Nolan’s 14 fastest known time. Photo: Simon Dugué
Afton Trail 50k – Hastings, Minnesota
The race is named for its Afton State Park course. Jess Guile and Alex Forte won in 5:32 and 3:39. Full results.
Finger Lakes 50s – Hector, New York
A small field of 50-mile runners was led by Beatrice Roussell and Christopher Petroff in 11:19 and 7:43, and in the 50k, it was Emma Horton and Audun Dahl leading in 5:31 and 4:43. Full results.
Big Butt 50k – Lancaster, South Carolina
The road race goes way back to 1994. Heidi Sides and Dan Waldschmidt won this year in 4:48 and 3:38. Full results.
Call for Comments
Did you see some fireworks in the sky or on the trails? If yes, where?
