The 8,000-plus-foot tall volcano that makes up the island of La Palma served up another dose of big climbs, rocky descents, a sweet-but-always-exposed contour around the caldera rim, and a little bit of heat in the 2013 Transvulcania Ultramarathon.
In a race that was very close until the last six kilometers, Kilian Jornet (post-race interview) pulled away from his competition and emerged as the men’s champion and new course-record holder, finishing officially in 6:54:09. The women’s race played out similarly, where champion Emelie Forsberg (post-race interview and race report) won by putting a last-minute surge on her competition in the same last 6k to win in 8:13:22.
In addition, you can find our full play-by-play of the race as well as a collection of our pre-race interviews and previews on our 2013 Transvulcania Live Coverage page.
As usual, we’ll be updating this article with additional results as well as links to Transvulcania-related articles, photo galleries, and race reports.
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2013 Transvulcania Ultramarathon Men’s Race
All day, Kilian Jornet (Salomon) played the role of the lingerer, hanging out among the top boys but never in the lead. Even at kilometer 57.8, Kilian was sitting in second position. The 8,000-foot descent from there, though, showed that his downhill legs and endurance, even at the very beginning of his running season, can outmatch everyone. By about two-thirds of the way down, he’d already dug out a minute lead that he would build on until the finish. Kilian’s 6:54:09 won the race and bested the course record of 6:58:44, set last year by Dakota Jones.
Kilian Jornet, 2013 Transcvulcania Ultramarathon Champion
Luis Alberto Hernando (Adidas) ran his first 50-mile race today, and he didn’t do too shabby at all. Early on, he hung back, playing it safe. He seemed to slowly but surely let himself loose, though, over the highest and most exposed terrain on the course. During that time, Luis led the race for a spell, including building a 2-minute, 30-second lead at kilometer 57.8. But he was passed by Kilian on the long downhill, and after that he maintained his second-place position all the way through the finish.
Luis Alberto Hernando, 2013 Transvulcania Ultramarathon second place
Sage Canaday (SCOTT Sports) set the race’s pace from the proverbial gun. At Los Canarios, just 7.4k in, he ran off the front of the rest of the guys. By kilometer 26.8, he’d built himself a three-minute lead over a major climb. But his lead didn’t last. By kilometer 34, the chasing men were within one minute of him, and at kilometer 57.8, the high point of the race course, Sage had settled into a third-place position. He didn’t fade from there, though. He held strong on the long descent back to the ocean, as well as the grinding last climb to the finish line, and maintained his third spot.
Sage Canaday running at kilometer 34.
[Editor’s Note: As lots of folks have asked, Anton Krupicka did not start the race due to a case of the flu.]
2013 Transvulcania Ultramarathon Men’s Results
- Kilian Jornet (Salomon) – 6:54:09* (pre-race and post-race interviews)
- Luis Alberto Hernando (Adidas) – 6:58:31
- Sage Canaday (SCOTT Sports) – 7:09:57 (pre-race interview)
- Timothy Olson (The North Face) – 7:11:53
- Patrick Bringer – 7:17:19
- Francois d’Haene (Salomon) – 7:17:43
- Cameron Clayton (Salomon) – 7:17:47 (pre-race interview)
- Miguel Caballero Ortega – 7:30:49
- Cristofer Clemente – 7:37:40
- Marcin Świerc – 7:52:21
*new course record
2013 Transvulcania Ultramarathon Women’s Race
Well, well, well, what a ladies race! Today was, for certain, the Emelie Forsberg and Nuria Picas show. Except for at the first checkpoint, Los Canarios at 7.4k, where Nathalie Mauclair temporarily led out the women, Emelie and Nuria ran within sight of each other the entire day, and passed through almost all of the checkpoints within two to four seconds of each other. Clearly, these ladies were working together.
Emelie Forsberg and Nuria Picas running together at kilometer 34.
With just 6.3 kilometers to go, the ladies remained tied. However, over the last distance, which included about 1,200 feet of climb on paved roads and cobblestone paths, Emelie turned on another gear or two–or possibly seven–and surged to victory. In the end, that last-minute work was good enough for a win in 8:13:22 and six minutes faster than Nuria. Anna Frost’s record of 8:11:31 remains just barely safe for another year.
Emelie Forsberg, 2013 Transvulcania Ultramarathon Women’s Champion
Third-place finisher Uxue Fraile (Adidas) might have, among all the top runners, executed today’s smartest race. She seemed to have found her own pace from the get go, unafraid of being a couple minutes behind the lead women. Last year, Uxue was the fifth-place woman and 90 minutes back from winner Anna Frost, but this year her careful pacing led her to a podium finish just 31 minutes behind Emelie Forsberg.
2013 Transvulcania Ultramarathon Women’s Results
- Emelie Forsberg (Salomon) – 8:13:22 (pre-race and post-race interviews and race report)
- Nuria Picas (BUFF) – 8:19:30
- Uxue Fraile (Adidas) – 8:44:48
- Nathalie Mauclair (LaFuma) – 8:46:14
- Emilie Lecomte (Quechua) – 10:14:05
- Karine Samson (Salomon) – 10:37:05
- Mar Ferreras – 10:47:57
- Raquel Antonia Delgado – 10:51:33
- Luciana Moretti – 11:02:54
- Lidia Gomez (Studio 54 and Helly Hansen) – 11:16:37
2013 Transvulcania Ultramarathon Articles, Race Reports, and More
Articles and Photo Galleries
- Brad Clayton’s photo gallery
- Rubén Fueyo’s FB photos
Jordi Saragossa’s Emotions article and photos[broken link removed]
Race Reports
- Emily Forsberg (1st woman)
- Sage Canaday (3rd man)
- Timothy Olson (4th man)
- Martin Gaffuri (21st – co-found GoodPeopleRun.com)
- Luke Nelson
