Thursday, November 24, is Thanksgiving Day in the U.S., and it’s the biggest racing day of the year. But not so much on trails or at ultramarathon distances, and not a lot happened over the weekend either. The Ultra-Trail Cape Town group of races in South Africa, though, is stepping up as a world-class event across multiple distances.
Ultra-Trail Cape Town – Cape Town, South Africa
Collectively, nearly $30,000 went out in prize money. iRunFar covered the race in an additional Ultra-Trail Cape Town news article, as well.
100 Mile
Hillary Allen (USA) won the first-year 100 miler in 24:55. She gained the lead when halfway leader Ragna Debats (The Netherlands, lives in Spain) dropped and built a moderate gap on the rest of the field from there.
Hillary Allen, 2022 Ultra-Trail Cape Town 100 Mile champion. Photo: Neville Sharwood
South African runners took the next several finishes. Kerry-Ann Marshall and Naomi Brand were second and third in 25:39 and 26:28, respectively.
Kerry-Ann Marshall takes second at the 2022 Ultra-Trail Cape Town 100 Mile. Photo: Neville Sharwood
Naomi Brand on the way to taking third at the 2022 Ultra-Trail Cape Town 100 Mile. Photo: Neville Sharwood
Men’s leader Fotis Zisimopoulos (Greece) went wire-to-wire for the men’s win. The two-time Spartathlon winner finished in 20:48. Reflecting the challenging South African course, that 20:48 finish is only a little bit faster than what he ran to win this year’s Spartathlon 153-mile race. Aleksei Tolstenko (Russia) was second in 21:26 and Elov Olsson (Sweden) was third in 22:30.
The top-three men at the 2022 Ultra-Trail Cape Town 100 Mile (l-to-r): 2. Aleksei Tolstenko, 1. Fotis Zisimopoulos, and 3. Elov Olsson. Photo: Neville Sharwood
100 Kilometer
Camille Bruyas (France) triumphed in the women’s race in 12:15. She won Grand Trail des Templiers just over a month ago too, but her winning time trailed Courtney Dauwalter‘s mark from last year by 55 minutes.
Camille Bruyas on her way to winning the 2022 Ultra-Trail Cape Town 100k. Photo: Neville Sharwood
Mimmi Kotka (Sweden, lives in France) edged Varvara Shikanova (Russia) for second, 12:35 to 12:38. Ekaterina Mityaeva (Russia) finished fourth in 12:51, and Maryline Nakache (France) was a distant fifth in 14:17. Kelly Wolf (USA) did not finish.
The 2022 Ultra-Trail Cape Town 100k women’s podium (l-to-r): 2. Mimmi Kotka, 1. Camille Bruyas, and 3. Varvara Shikanova. Photo: Neville Sharwood
It’s not just the FIFA World Cup that has ties. Hannes Namberger (Germany) and Dmitry Mityaev (Russia) ran the back 70k together and finished hand in hand in 10:45. That was almost an hour back of Jim Walmsley‘s winning time from 2021.
Dmitry Mityaev (right) and Hannes Namberger share the win at the 2022 Ultra-Trail Cape Town 100k. Photo: Neville Sharwood
Drew Holmen (USA) shook loose from Jared Hazen (USA) for third in 10:51, and Hazen was fourth in 11:02. Daniel Claassen (South Africa) was fifth in 11:26 for the host country.
Drew Holmen finishing third at the 2022 Ultra-Trail Cape Town 100k. Photo: Neville Sharwood
55k
Only five seconds separated Landie Greyling (South Africa) and Kim Schreiber (Germany) at the front. Both finished in 6:23 with Greyling winning the 55k race. Sumé van Heerden (South Africa) was right there too in 6:25 for third.
The men’s race wasn’t as close. Robbie Simpson (U.K.) gapped everyone with a 5:00 finish. Jeshurun Small (USA) was a strong second in 5:13, and Mads Louring (Denmark) got on the podium in 5:22.
35k
Even the 35k was internationally competitive. Just six minutes separated the front three women with Jasmin Nunige (Switzerland) running to first in 4:24. Rebecca Kohne (South Africa) trailed by three minutes in 4:27, and Dioni Gorla (Germany) got on the podium at 4:30.
Martin Dematteis (Italy) scored a win with a bigger gap in the men’s race. He crossed in 3:31, five minutes better than Collin Kanyimo (South Africa). Janosch Kowalcyzk (Germany) was third in 3:41.
Additional Races and Runs
Quad Dipsea – Mill Valley, California
It was the race’s 39th year, running as a double out-and-back on the popular Dipsea Trail. Full results aren’t yet online, but social media points to Emma McCune and Nick Handel as race winners, with Handel covering the course in 3:55 and McCune’s time as of yet unknown. Full results (when available).
Nick Handel crossing the line as the 2022 Quad Dipsea men’s winner. Photo: Steve Jaber
Emma McCune, the 2022 Quad Dipsea women’s winner. Photo: Steve Jaber
The Derby 50k – Ellerbe, North Carolina
The event’s 84 finishers were led by Eleni Rundle and Brian James in 4:40 and 3:57. Full results.
2023 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships – U.S. Selection Races
Set that calendar up! The 2021 postponed championships just happened in Thailand, and the 2023 championships are scheduled for June 2023 in Austria. USATF Mountain Ultra Trail announced the selection process for the U.S. team for that 2023 event.
World champions Allie McLaughlin and Adam Peterman are already guaranteed team spots in the Vertical and 80-kilometer trail races, if they want them. After that, Vertical team spots will be offered to top finishers at the Vertical race at April’s Sunapee Scramble in New Hampshire, and Classic Up and Down team spots will be offered to top finishers at the next day up-and-down race at Sunapee Scramble.
February’s FOURmidable 50k in California and May’s Breakneck Point Trail Marathon in New York will each have two spots on the 40k team up for grabs, and April’s Lake Sonoma 50 Mile in California will be the selection race for the 80k team.
Call for Comments
- What trail runners and ultrarunners got a Thanksgiving Day 5k in, and how fast did they go?
- Next weekend’s California International Marathon (CIM) is expected to include a bunch of trail and ultra men including Zack Beavin, Ryan Miller, Zachary Ornelas, Eddie Owens, Rajpaul Pannu, and Cole Watson. The fast course is typically a hotspot for U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon qualifying times. Leave a comment to let everyone know what other trail runners and ultrarunners are racing CIM.
- And next weekend’s Brazos Bend 100 Mile in Texas shows Devon Yanko and Zach Bitter among the entrants on the flat-and-fast trail course.
