Another year, another lightning-fast field taking the Zegama-Aizkorri Marathon out maximally in wet weather, muddy terrain, and with the company of thousands of fans. “Zegama is Zegama,” as they say, and another crazy Zegama is in the history books. Kilian Jornet secured his seventh Zegama win as well as a brand-new course record and Stevie Kremer won for the first time.
In addition to this article, you can find our full play-by-play of the race as well as a collection of our pre-race interviews and preview on our Zegama Marathon Live Coverage page.
As usual, we’ll be updating this article with additional results as well as links to Zegama-related articles, photo galleries, and race reports. Check back.
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2014 Zegama Marathon Men’s Race
All signs were pointing to another stellar showdown between Kilian Jornet and Luis Alberto Hernando after Kilian’s narrow win over Luis here last year as well as Luis’s victory over Kilian two weeks ago at the Transvulcania Ultramarathon. This race would not disappoint, but that showdown didn’t really come until the end of the race. By 7k in, a little break of Kilian, Marco De Gasperi, and Luis had formed, and it seemed the stage was being set. However, just a short time later at 13k, Luis dropped back, allowing for several different men to experiment with a podium spot for some miles. And, at 20k, Luis was back in eighth place.
Luis Alberto Hernando running in eighth at 20k of the Zegama Marathon. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Meanwhile, Kilian and Marco ran together until between 20 and 23k when Kilian made his move over the race’s most technical terrain. It seemed that, from there, Kilian never looked back. In continuing that aggressive move, he pretty quickly gained between five and seven minutes on the course record and then held that to the finish. He also managed to hold off the fighters behind him, finishing two minutes ahead of his competition. He would later tell us that his big course record was spurred by the other men pushing so hard.
Kilian Jornet and Marco De Gasperi racing together at 20k. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Marco’s run was impressive. He ran on the front from the get go, trying his best to match Kilian. This worked, it seemed, all except for the most technical section in the middle of the course. There, Kilian put a couple minutes on Marco that he just couldn’t make up. A stellar run, however, also finishing ahead of the previous course record and managing to fend off a hard-charging Luis.
Yep, a hard-charging Luis. After lapsing back on the steep uphills leading to the middle of the race, Luis seemed to find himself again on the flatter and downhill sections later on. By 34k, Luis was within seconds of Marco, though Marco would go on to finish with a 20-second margin.
The men’s 2014 Zegama-Aizkorri Marathon podium. Left to right: Marco De Gasperi (2nd), Kilian Jornet (1st), and Luis Alberto Hernando (3rd). Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Ionut Zinca had a strong day, running in or very close to his finishing place (fourth) from early on, and finishing under the old course record, too. While Zait Al Malek finished fifth this year as compared to last year’s fourth, he ran six minutes faster this time around. Who can’t be pleased with that?
We weren’t sure what to expect from Michel Lanne given that he finished 11th here last year and fourth the year before. In finishing fourth in 2012, he ran 4:06, so today he improved his Zegama personal best by nine minutes in finishing sixth. Manuel Merillas, Jokin Lizeaga, Tadei Pivk, and Aritz Egea balance out the rest of the top-10 men. Aritz, who finished third in the 2013 Skyrace Series and who led some kilometers in the race’s first third today, was probably looking for a big day; he ended up rounding out the men’s top 10.
2014 Zegama Marathon Men’s Results
- Kilian Jornet (Salomon Running) – 3:48:38 (new course record, old record 3:54:18, Rob Jebb, 2005)
- Marco De Gasperi (SCOTT Running) – 3:50:38 (pre-race interview)
- Luis Alberto Hernando (adidas) – 3:50:57
- Ionut Zinca – 3:53:14
- Zaid Ait Malek (Buff) – 3:55:06
- Michel Lanne (Salomon) – 3:57:27
- Manuel Merillas – 3:58:09
- Jokin Lizeaga – 3:59:11
- Tadei Pivk (SCOTT Running) – 4:00:28
- Aritz Egea – 4:00:54
Full results (when available).
2014 Zegama Marathon Women’s Race
This women’s race was one of the more dynamic races we’ve seen in a long time. In the earliest reaches of the race, the script seemed normal. Emelie Forsberg led the ladies uphill. At 16k in, Emelie had disappeared from the leaderboard, however, and Stevie Kremer was out front pushing things along. Then, just 4k later, the lead had changed hands again, to Kasie Enman. But at 20k, Stevie, Emelie, and a host of gals behind were literally breathing down Kasie’s neck. While Kasie would hang onto her lead until somewhere before 34k, it was clear at the halfway point that any number of outcomes were possible.
Stevie Kremer on her way to the win. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
By 34k, Stevie arrived back in the lead again, having gained an advantage on her opponents during the tough, long downhill she’d previously told us she was nervous about. Nothing to worry about, I guess! Kasie and Emelie were a respective 2:20 and 4:30 back at 34k, close.
But, at 38k, things switched again, with Elisa Desco moving into second position after having run just outside of or at the back of the top five all morning. And Kasie had slipped to third.
Elisa Desco running in fourth at 20k. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
And then, alas, at the finish, Stevie crossed the line first, with an almost four-minute cushion over the rest of the field. Stevie finished third in 4:49 last year, so she bettered herself by two positions and three minutes this year. Solid running, start to finish. Elisa held that second place at the finish, while Maite Maiora, another woman who was running outside the top five until well after halfway, found her way to third place as early leader Emelie lapsed to fourth. Another early leader, Kasie, finished fifth.
The women’s 2014 Zegama-Aizkorri Marathon podium. Left to right: Elisa Desco (2nd), Stevie Kremer (1st), Maite Maiora (3rd). Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Ana Conde, Leire Aguirrezabala, Uxue Fraile, Emma Roca, and Landie Greyling completed the women’s top 10.
2014 Zegama Marathon Women’s Results
- Stevie Kremer (Salomon) – 4:46:43 (pre-race interview)
- Elisa Desco (SCOTT) – 4:50:20
- Maite Maiora (La Sportiva) – 4:51:47
- Emelie Forsberg (Salomon) – 4:52:12 (pre-race interview)
- Kasie Enman (Salomon) – 4:53:33
- Ana Conde – 4:56:46
- Leire Aguirrezabala – 5:00:52
- Uxue Fraile (Vibram) – 5:03:51 (pre-race interview)
- Emma Roca (Buff) – 5:08:03
- Landie Greyling (Salomon) – 5:08:41
Full results (when available).
2014 Zegama Marathon Articles, Race Reports, and More
Articles and Photo Galleries
- Salomon Running’s competition photo gallery and race culture photo gallery
- Salomon Running’s post-race video
- UrtazaPhoto’s photo gallery
- Benoit Bracot’s video
- Guillem Casanova’s photo gallery
- Official 2014 Zegama Marathon video
Race Reports
Luis Alberto Hernando – 3rd man (en Español)[broken link removed]
Thank You
Thank you to Travis Trampe and Kim Wrinkle who wrangled moderation of the CoverItLive feature on our live-coverage page. Thank you also to Raül Racero and Marta Muixí for their assistance in the field today. Our live coverage was possible because of their help!
