The Western States 100 was so fun to follow, and we round up a bit of that here, and then add in all of the Lavaredo Ultra Trail, the Skyrunner World Series, and the World Mountain Running Association World Cup. It was a big weekend and we’re excited to talk about it.
Lavaredo Ultra Trail – Cortina D’Ampezzo, Italy
The Lavaredo Ultra Trail 120k (75 miles) gets overshadowed a bit here in the U.S., just because of its timing simultaneous to Western States. But dang, the Lavaredo course looks so incredible, probably among the prettiest in the world, and it’s really competitive too. The race runs as a giant loop around the jagged Dolomites and gains 5,800 meters (19,000 feet).
Women
Camille Bruyas (France) stepped across the finish in 14:06, pulling down on the yellow first-place finisher’s tape to a big applause in the famous ski town. Bruyas broke free from the lead group after 66k on one of the race’s biggest climbs. Katie Schide (USA, living in France) chased to a second-place 14:28, and Mimmi Kotka (Sweden) moved into third just at the end of the race, finishing in 14:51.
Azara Garcia (Spain) just missed a sub-15 hour finish with a fourth-place 15:03, and Kathrin Götz (Switzerland) was fifth in 15:48.
Men
This results-based column went away for a year during pandemic, and now that it’s back, there are new names to discover! The entirety of the men’s podium includes new, or lesser known, names to this column. And not only that, the men set a new course record too.
Hannes Namberger (Germany) won in 12:02 and cut 14 minutes from Hayden Hawks’s previous course best. Andreu Simon (Spain) settled for second in 12:08, but also bettered the old course record. Sebastian Krogvig (Norway) was third in 12:33.
Deeper results included several familiar names:
- Marco de Gasperi (Italy) – 6th, 13:22
- Johan Lantz (Sweden) – 8th, 13:40
- Tofol Castanyer (Spain) – 11th, 14:03
- Petter Restorp (Sweden) – 13th, 14:21
Kaiserkrone Skyrace – Scheffau, Austria
The Skyrunner World Series is really ramping up, holding its second race in as many weeks. The 25k (15 miles) Kaiserkrone Skyrace gained 2,740 meters (9,000 feet) and awarded a 4,000 Euro prize purse.
Women
Stephanie Kröll (Austria) won one for the home country. Kröll finished in 4:12, racing up the Wilder Kaiser peaks along a course so steep that it uses fixed ropes. At the finish Kröll held a full liter of foam-topped beer while smiling. Oihana Azkorbebeitia (Spain) and Anna (nee Pichrtová) Strakova (Czech Republic) were second and third in 4:21 and 5:00.
Men
Three weeks in a row, Christian Mathys (Switzerland) be racing this summer! And for the second week in a row, Mathys came out on top. He won here in 3:18 and firmly cemented his place atop the Skyrunning rankings. Ruy Ueda (Japan) and Jakob Hermann (Austria) ran 3:22 and 3:23 for second and third.
The next Skyrunner World Series race is the July 25 Skyrace Comapedrosa in Andorra.
Tatra Race Run – Zakopane, Poland
The Tatra Race Run went for 24k (15 miles) and with 1,700 meters (5,600 feet) of elevation gain, and it was the year’s first World Mountain Running Association World Cup race.
Women
Charlotte Morgan (U.K.) dueled with Alice Gaggi (Italy) for much of the race before winning in 2:46. Gaggi came barely a minute later in 2:47, and Iwona Januszyk (Poland) was third in 2:50.
Men
Polish runners Marcin Kubica and Piotr Łobodziński finished first and second in 2:18 and 2:20. Kubica is just 22 years old, advancing from the junior races, and Łobodziński is a two-time Towerrunning World Championships winner. Henry Aymonod (Italy) was third in 2:21.
The next WMRA World Cup race is the July 11 Grossglockner Berglauf race in Austria.
Western States 100 — Auburn, California
iRunFar was back at the Western States 100 with pre-race previews and interviews, a prediction contest, live coverage, and still coming post-race interviews too. Just like we used to, in this column we’ll recount how every runner listed in iRunFar’s pre-race previews finished.
Women
Three women raced inside the top-10 overall, and the top-three finishers were all international runners. Beth Pascall (U.K.) spent 10 weeks in the U.S. training and attacked the course with a fast pace despite the high temperatures. She was rewarded with a 17:10 first-place finish, a time that ranks second-best ever at Western States. One-hundred-mile debutantes Ruth Croft (New Zealand) and Ragna Debats (Netherlands, living in Spain) were second and third in 17:33 and 17:41. Debats’s run was a new women’s masters course record. She broke the previous record of of 18:16:26, set by Ann Trason in 2002.
- Brittany Peterson – 4th, 18:07
- Katie Asmuth – 5th, 18:23
- Audrey Tanguy (France) – 6th, 18:37
- Emily Hawgood (Zimbabwe, lives in the U.S.) – 7th, 19:13
- Camelia Mayfield – 8th, 19:17
- Keely Henninger – 9th, 19:42
- Kaci Lickteig – 10th, 19:47
- Michelle Magagna – 11th, 20:29
- Sarah Keyes – 12th, 21:47
- Shannon Howell – 13th, 21:49
- Abby Hall – 14th, 22:11
- Magdalena Boulet – 15th, 22:12
- Mireya Vargas -16th, 22:47
- Clare Gallagher – 17th, 22:47
- Kathryn Drew – 19th, 23:45
- Kelly Teeselink – 21st, 25:18
- Camille Herron – 26th, 27:28
Drops included Nicole Bitter, Addie Bracy, and Erin Clark.
The first finisher not named in the pre-race preview was 18th-place Sarah Bunting Lamos in 23:20.
Men
Jim Walmsley dominated the run and became a three-time champion. He did despite a lower volume and injury-compromised training cycle. Walmsley finished in 14:46, well clear of any would-be challengers. Tyler Green advanced through the field throughout the day and finished as runner-up in 16:11, and Drew Holmen shined third in 16:23.
Just like with the women, we’ll recount how each runner listed in the pre-race preview performed.
- Cody Lind -4th, 16:49
- Tim Tollefson – 5th, 16:55
- Kyle Pietari – 6th, 17:00
- Stephen Kersh – 7th, 17:29
- Hayden Hawks – 8th, 17:48
- Kyle Curtin – 9th, 18:18
- Alex Nichols – 10th, 18:33
- Patrick Reagan – 11th, 19:30
- Eric Senseman – 13th, 20:59
- Jorge Maravilla – 31st, 23:40
Jeff Browning, Elliot Cardin (Canada), Matt Daniels, Rod Farvard, Mark Hammond, Jared Hazen, Max King, Ryan Miller, Charlie Ware, and Scott Wolfe all did not finish.
Jiaju Zhao (China) did not start the race.
The first runner not included in the pre-race preview, perhaps the biggest overachiever, was Damon Valenzona. He was 12th in 19:55.
Additional Races, FKTs, and Race Cancellations
Trail 100 Andorra – Ordino, Andorra
125k (77 miles) and 55k ultras were contested at the Trail 100 Andorra race inside the densely mountainous country. Clàudia Tremps (Spain) led just four females to the 125k finish, completing the route in 28:07. Francesco Cucco (Italy) won the men’s race in 20:32, outpacing Cristofer Clemente (Spain) and his 22:25 finish. Reigning UTMB champion Pau Capell (Spain) did not finish. Christelle Lazard (France) and Marc Casal Mir (Andorra) won the 55k race in 7:40 and 6:31, respectively, and Sheila Avilés (Spain) and Oscar Casal Mir (Andorra) topped the 25k in 3:32 and 2:58. Full results.
U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials – Eugene, Oregon
Grayson Murphy, the 2019 World Mountain Running champion, and Allie Ostrander, the 2015 World Mountain Running junior champion, both contested the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Racing in the finals, the pair finished sixth and eighth in 9:25 and 9:26, respectively. Murphy finished just two-tenths of a second off her personal best, set in the preliminary round. Ostrander’s 9:26 marked a new personal best. She was also qualified for the 10,000 meters, but did not start that race. Full results.
Manitou’s Revenge – Windham, New York
The rebirth of Manitou’s Revenge took place over the weekend. Conditions were hot and humid, and we had double the number of DNFs this year. Despite this, some runners had great races! Veronica Leeds outlasted previous winner Kehr Davis in a close finish. Veronica’s time was 14:11:06 and Kehr finished in 14:13:25. Lisa Rising was third in 15:08. In the men’s race, Daniel Grip won in 10:58, while Justin Kousky was second in 11:05 and course-record holder Andy Vermilyea was third in 12:04. Full results.
GR 20 Fastest Known Time
Corsica’s GR 20 trail runs almost the entire length of the Mediterranean island. It goes for 180k (112 miles) and covers 12,000 meters (39,400 feet) of elevation gain. François D’Haene’s FKT stood for five years, but Lambert Santelli, local to Corsica, bettered that mark by 40 minutes. Santelli finished the route in 30:26.
IAU 24-Hour and 50k World Championships
The International Association of Ultrarunners of Ultrarunners (IAU) sure has been snakebit in recent years. Both this year’s IAU 24-Hour World Championships and IAU 50k World Championships were canceled due to pandemic-related travel considerations. The 24-hour race was scheduled for October 2021 in Romania and the 50k was expected to happen that same month in China. The events were last held in 2019 and have not yet been scheduled for 2022.
Call for Comments
Just like always, kick us with your comments below! We pulled in a lot this weekend, but there’s a lot we’re leaning on you for the San Juan Solstice 50 Mile and others too.