It’s the biggest weekend of the year in ultrarunning. We’ve got the Western States 100, the Lavaredo Ultra Trail, and the Marathon du Mont Blanc, among other highlights.
You can also check out our race coverage from earlier in the weekend:
Western States 100 – Auburn, California
Men
Caleb Olson and Chris Myers broke free from a big chase group just before halfway, and Olson outgunned Myers over the race’s second half. Both ran historically fast times. Olson was first in 14:11, the race’s second-fastest run ever, and Myers was second in 14:17, the race’s fourth-fastest finish ever. Both greatly improved on their 2024 fifth- and 10th-place finishes.
Caleb Olson chasing down Chris Myers through Deadwood Cemetery at mile 49.5, on the way to winning the 2025 Western States 100. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
Fifteen years after finishing third, and 14 years after winning, Kilian Jornet (Spain) came back and was third in 14:19. Jornet was 75 minutes faster than his winning time from 2011.
Jeff Mogavero broke Olson’s year-old record for the fastest Western States debut with a fourth-place 14:30, and Dan Jones (New Zealand) scored his third straight top-five finish with a 14:36 run.
The top 10 men were:
1 – Caleb Olson – 14:11:25
2 – Chris Myers – 14:17:39
3 – Kilian Jornet (Spain) – 14:19:22
4 – Jeff Mogavero – 14:30:11
5 – Dan Jones (New Zealand) – 14:36:17
6 – Seth Ruhling – 14:59:36
7 – Ryan Montgomery – 15:54:29
8 – Hans Troyer – 16:06:52
9 – Peter Fraňo (Slovakia) – 16:10:44
10 – Hiroki Kai (Japan) – 16:22:46
Chris Myers on his way to placing second in the 2025 Western States 100. Photo: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
As we tend to do for some of the biggest races, here’s how everyone else in the pre-race preview did.
11 – Hannes Namberger (Germany) – 16:59:33
12 – Dan Green – 17:14:23
14 – Joe McConaughy – 18:02:34
18 – Jeff Browning – 19:12:58
22 – Adrian MacDonald – 20:14:25
31 – Haroldas Subertas – 21:45:27
49 – Adam Peterman – 23:09:29
Drops included David Roche, Rod Farvard, and Vincent Bouillard (France).
Women
Two years after breaking her leg, Abby Hall won Western States in 16:37. It was the race’s fourth-fastest finish ever. Hall started near the front and gained the ultimate lead just past halfway. She held off Ida Nilsson (Sweden) for much of the second half and then stayed just in front of Fu-Zhao Xiang’s (China) late-race charge. Hall finished in 16:37 and Xiang was almost 10 minutes behind in 16:47. It was Xiang’s second-straight second-place finish.
Abby Hall at Red Star Ridge (mile 15) on her way to winning the 2025 Western States 100. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
Marianne Hogan (Canada) hauled past Nilsson for third in 16:50.
The top 10 women were:
1 – Abby Hall – 16:37:16
2 – Fu-Zhao Xiang (China) – 16:47:09
3 – Marianne Hogan (Canada) – 16:50:58
4 – Ida Nilsson (Sweden) – 17:00:48
5 – Fiona Pascall (U.K.) – 17:21:52
6 – Hậu Hà (Vietnam) – 17:23:47
7 – Hannah Allgood – 17:39:02
8 – Caitlin Fielder (New Zealand) – 17:47:26
9 – Keely Henninger – 17:57:24
10 – Emily Hawgood (Zimbabwe) – 18:11:05
Fu-Zhao-Xiang at Red Star Ridge (mile 15) on her way to taking second at the 2025 Western States 100. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
As with the men, we’ll show how everyone else in the pre-race preview did.
11 – Erin Clark – 18:52:22
12 – Johanna Antila (Finland) – 19:13:16
14 – Nancy Jiang (New Zealand) – 20:17:24
Drops included Riley Brady, Eszter Csillag (Hungary), Tara Dower, Heather Jackson, Martyna Młynarczyk (Poland), and Rosanna Buchauer (Germany).
Lavaredo Ultra Trail by UTMB – Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy
Lavaredo 120k
Ben Dhiman (U.S.) took the lead 30k in and rolled to an 11:49 finish. Dhiman bettered Hannes Namberger’s previous course best by eight minutes. Second-place Raul Butaci (Romania) finished in 12:02 and Andreas Reiterer (Italy) was third in 12:05. For the Americans, Tyler Green was ninth in 13:00.
Ben Dhiman, the 2025 Lavaredo Ultra Trail men’s winner. Photo: UTMB World Series
Courtney Dauwalter (U.S.) rolled the women’s race in 14:14. She was a clear winner, but missed Rosanna Buchauer’s course record by just over five minutes. Alyssa Clark (U.S.) was second in 14:43 and Karolina Wierzchowiak (Poland) was a very distant third in 16:19. Also for the Americans, Maria Dalzot was eighth in 17:09.
Courtney Dauwalter makes a pit stop on her way to winning the 2025 Lavaredo Ultra Trail. Photo: UTMB World Series
Lavaredo 80k
It was a good day for the U.S. at Lavaredo. Drew Holmen (U.S.) outgunned Dominik Matt (Austria) for the win. The two were almost two minutes apart in 7:54 and 7:56, and Noah Williams gave the U.S. a second podium finisher with a third-place 8:10.
Women’s winner Anna Tarasova (Russia) finished the 50 miler in 8:44. Yngvild Kaspersen (Norway) and Marion Delespierre (France) were second and third in 8:58 and 9:08, respectively.
Lavaredo 50k
Italian men swept the podium with Francesco Puppi on top in 4:02. Puppi was 15 seconds slower than his winning time from 2023. Luca Del Pero was second for the second straight year with 4:09 on the clock, and Alex Oberbacher was third in 4:14.
Toni McCann (South Africa) took the women’s crown in 4:45. Sofiia Porokhnavets (Ukraine) and Ivana Lišková (Slovakia) were second and third in 4:54 and 5:09.
Marathon du Mont Blanc – Chamonix, France
90k Du Mont Blanc
Less than seven minutes separated the first four men on the big mountain loop. Theo Detienne (France) got to the front in 10:54 and Virgile Moriset (France) dipped under the 11-hour mark with a 10:59 second-place finish. After that, Jean-Philippe Tschumi (Switzerland) just avoided a sneak attack finish by Gautier Airiau (France) for third. Tschumi was walking to the finish when Airau sprinted around the corner. Tschumi finished a single second in front with both in at 11:01.
Blandine L’Hirondel (France) took the women’s crown in 12:31. L’Hirondel, as with men’s winner Detienne, pocketed €3,000 for the win. Julie Roux (France) and Ekaterina Mityaeva (Russia) came next in 12:57 and 13:03.
42k Du Mont Blanc
A big prize purse paid €10,000 to the winner, €6,000 for second, and €4,000 to third, and money went 10 deep.
Davide Magnini (Italy) got paid. His comeback year kicked up a notch with a first-place 3:42 run. Raoul Raus (Belgium) beat Thomas Cardin (France) for second in 3:46.
The men’s top 10 was:
- Davide Magnini (Italy) – 3:42:55
- Raoul Raus (Belgium) – 3:46:00
- Thomas Cardin (France) – 3:46:29
- Ezekiel Rutto (Kenya) – 3:50:25
- Valentin Marchon (Switzerland) – 3:51:17
- Miguel Benítez (Spain) – 3:51:58
- Ryunosuke Omi (Japan) – 3:55:19
- Petter Engdalh (Sweden) – 3:57:16
- Simon Guignard (France) – 4:00:33
- Anthony Felber (France) – 4:02:06
The 2024 Sierre-Zinal winner Joyline Chepngeno (Kenya) was just over a minute better than Judith Wyder (Switzerland) for the big money. The two ran 4:15 and 4:16, and Naomi Lang (U.K.) was just over a minute back in third at 4:17.
Further down, 2023 winner Sophia Laukli (U.S.) had her first trail action of the year in ninth.
The women’s top 10 was:
- Joyline Chepngeno (Kenya) – 4:15:20
- Judith Wyder (Switzerland) – 4:16:28
- Naomi Lang (U.K.) – 4:17:43
- Rosa Lara Feliu (Spain) – 4:18:33
- Fabiola Conti (Italy) – 4:18:53
- Clémentine Geoffray (France) – 4:25:44
- Theres Lebouef (Switzerland) – 4:25:49
- Ida Amelie Robsahm (Norway) – 4:37:43
- Sophia Laukli (U.S.) – 4:41:00
- Oihana Kortazar (Spain) – 4:42:53
23k Du Mont Blanc
There was money here too. €2,000 went to the winners. Kenyan runners Nashon Kiplimo and Faith Kiplagat won in 2:02:41 and 2:28:09, respectively.
Tepec Trail – Huasca de Ocampo, Mexico
The 34k race and its 1,850 meters of climbing were part of the Golden Trail World Series (GTWS). That’s 21 miles and just over 6,000 feet of up. This was perhaps one of the year’s less competitive GTWS races.
Men
Philemon Kiriago (Kenya) led the men by 45 seconds early but by the 11k mark, Kiriago, Patrick Kipngeno (Kenya), and Elhousine Elazzaoui (Morocco) had taken up their familiar spots at the front of the race. And just like so many other earlier races, Elazzaoui ruled the late race sprint to the finish. It was Elazzaoui’s third win in four tries this year.
Elazzaoui won in 3:00:01. Kipngeno was second in 3:00:11, and Kiriago was third in 3:00:23. After that, this one wasn’t at all close. The three had a huge gap to fourth-place, and the spread from the first man to the tenth one was 31 minutes.
The top five men were:
- Elhousine Elazzaoui (Morocco) – 3:00:01
- Patrick Kipngeno (Kenya) – 3:00:11
- Philemon Kiriago (Kenya) – 3:00:23
- Roberto Delorenzi (Switzerland) – 3:14:07
- Eder Belmont (Mexico) – 3:23:17
Elhousine Elazzaoui wins the 2025 Tepec Trail. Photo: Golden Trails Series/Rising Story/Colin Olivero
Women
Mădălina Florea (Romania) pushed to a 30-second lead over Joyce Njeru (Kenya) near the 11k mark, but after two falls she went backward and Lauren Gregory (U.S.) was too fast for Njeru late. Gregory won her first GTWS race of the year in 3:26, and Njeru was nearly five minutes back in second at 3:31. Florea slowed to a third-place 3:47 finish.
The top five women were:
- Lauren Gregory (U.S.) – 3:26:28
- Joyce Njeru (Kenya) – 3:31:10
- Mădălina Florea (Romania) – 3:47:12
- Carmen Trinidad Ramiro (Mexico) – 3:52:38
- Courtney Coppinger (U.S.) – 3:53:36
Full results (when available).
Lauren Gregory wins the 2025 Tepec Trail. Photo: Golden Trails Series/Rising Story/Colin Olivero
Additional Races and Runs
Dead Cow Gully Backyard – Queensland, Australia
If you’re here, you probably know how this works. Each loop is 4.167 miles and and they go until someone quits or misses a cutoff. In 2023, Phil Gore (Australia) and Sam Harvey (New Zealand) went for 102 and 101 loops with Gore setting a then-backyard record with his 425 miles. That mark had since been surpassed several times but Gore and Harvey went for 119 and 118 loops this year. That’s almost 496 miles for Gore and just less than 492 for Harvey. Both surpassed the 116-loop, 483-mile record set earlier this year. Gore’s 119-hour run was one hour short of five days.
Garmin Mountain Festival – Barruera, Spain
The marathon and half marathon were part of the XTERRA Trail Run World Series. There was a €2,400 cash purse across the two races. Raúl Ortiz (Spain) and Maria Fuentes (Spain) won the marathon in 4:38 and 4:57. Full results.
Black Hills 100 Mile – Sturgis, South Dakota
Walker Lane ran to a 22:01 first-place men’s finish and Mia Rucoba was first woman in 30:23. Full results.
Leadville Trail Marathon and Heavy Half – Leadville, Colorado
Bryan Kerl and Anne Flower won the marathon in 3:35 and 4:09. Flower impressively got to third overall. Seth Demoor and Kylie Simshauser led the accompanying 15-mile Heavy Half in 1:58 and 2:26. Full results.
Buckeye Trail 50k – Brecksville, Ohio
Top spots went to Aiman Scullion in 4:10, and Courtney Clark in 6:01. Full results.
Race the Cog – Bretton Woods, New Hampshire
Racing for the fourth weekend in a row, Joseph Gray took the 2.75-mile, 3,600-foot climb in 39:55. Sarah Burke won the women’s race and was fourth overall in 51:28. Full results.
Call for Comments
That was a lot of racing. What popped most for you on the weekend?
