After a night and day of racing in what can only be described as initially dire weather conditions that eventually cleared to a beautiful day, Paul Cornut-Chauvinc (France) and Katie Schide (U.S.) emerged as the winners of the 2025 Madeira Island Ultra-Trail 115k (MIUT) with times of 12:54:52 and 14:20:56, respectively. They earned their victories in vastly different fashions, Schide opening a gap from the start and never looking back, while the men’s race amongst the top five remained heated until the final kilometers on a rerouted course.
Following a severe fire on the Portuguese island of Madeira last August that burned about 14% of the small Portuguese island over 10 days before finally being brought under control, it wasn’t even certain if the event could go on. But, instead of canceling the race, organizers chose to reroute 60% of it, creating a route that measured 118 kilometers with 6,640 meters of elevation gain, closely mimicking the statistics of the original route. This allowed 434 runners to leave the village of Porto Moniz on the island’s northwest coast at midnight on April 26 to follow a significantly different route from the classic course that used to cross the small island on the spine of its mountains.
The start of the 2025 Madeira Island Ultra-Trail 115k. All photos: World Trail Majors
Organizers did their best to maintain the original character of the race — steep, rugged, and scenic — but were forced to reroute off many of the high peaks. Still, runners had to ascend the 1,600-meter Estanquinhos in the first third of the race and reach about 1,750 meters on the ascent of Pico Ruivo before bypassing the summit. A final big climb up to nearly 1,400 meters to Ribeiro Frio and Chão das Feiteiras rounds out most of the elevation gain before the final descent to the finish at the city of Machico on the island’s east coast. And while conditions were cold at the start, they only deteriorated as the night wore on and runners spent most of the dark hours bundled in jackets until daybreak brought calmer and warmer conditions.
For the women’s race, all eyes were on Schide, who took some time away from racing after her double victories at Western States 100 and UTMB in 2024. She was joined by Eva Sperger (Germany), winner of the 2024 Tenerife Bluetrail by UTMB 110k. Unfortunately, Katharina Hartmuth (Germany) was forced to withdraw just days before the race due to an injury sustained in a bike crash.
On the men’s side, Jean-Philippe Tschumi (Switzerland) was hoping to improve on his third-place finish in 2021, and home-country favorite Miguel Arsénio (Portugal) was back to avenge his 2024 DNF at the race, as was Germain Grangier (France), who failed to finish the event in 2019.
The race is the fifth stop of the 2025 World Trail Majors series.
2025 Madeira Island Ultra-Trail Men’s Race
With no clear favorite in the men’s race, and weather conditions and mud that had to be managed, it was anyone’s race to win, and up until the very end, it was also anyone’s guess as to who would reach the finish line in Machico first. While runners left the start line at Porto Moniz without precipitation, conditions quickly took a turn for the worse as they headed into the mountains with rain and cold temperatures forcing most into jackets and hats for the early hours of the race.
Heading up the first climb, straight from the start line, Hugh Chatfield (U.K.) and Raul Butaci (Romania) were fastest to the first checkpoint at Fanal after 12.5 kilometers of racing. They were followed 20 seconds back by a chase group containing Jonathan Moncany (France), Jean-Philippe Tschumi (Switzerland), Miguel Arsénio (Portugal), Germain Grangier (France), Paul Cornut-Chauvinc (France), and Luís Fernandes (Portugal).
Portugal’s Miguel Arsénio racing the 2025 Madeira Island Ultra-Trail 115k in damp and muddy conditions.
Chatfield pulled away on the later pitches of the climb to the 1,600-meter high point of Estanquinhos, opening a 2:25 gap after 26k raced over the chase group of Tschumi, Butaci, Arsénio, Cornut-Chauvinc, and Grangier.
That gap was quickly erased on the long, dark, and cold descent, and Chatfield, Butaci, and Cornut-Chauvinc all came into the sea-level São Vicente checkpoint at 41k within 30 seconds of each other. Tschumi, Arsénio, and Grangier kept the pressure on in fourth and fifth, staying within two minutes of the leaders before facing the climb-heavy second half of the race.
Chatfield started to pay for his fast start as night turned to day and the leaders made their way over the next smaller climb and started the ascent toward Pico Ruivo, the summit of which the race bypassed. In the foothills of the climb, at the Ilha checkpoint, 65k in, Butaci held a slim 22-second lead on Tschumi, and Graniger had moved into third, 1:27 back. Arsénio and Cornut-Chauvinc rounded out the top five, all less than three minutes in arrears of the leader, with bigger gaps forming behind them.
By Achada do Teixeira, on the way down from Pico Ruivo, Tschumi and Grangier had taken over the lead just 15 seconds ahead of Arsénio, while Butaci slipped to fourth, two minutes back.
But again, it all came back together as the descent wore on, with only 1:15 separating the top five men at the Pico das Pedras checkpoint, 78k in and halfway down the hill. Down into the valley and up the final major climb to Chão das Feiteiras at 93k, the top three, now consisting of Arsénio, Cornut-Chauvinc, and Tschumi, were still essentially running together, a mere 24 seconds apart. Butaci and Grangier weren’t giving up either, keeping their gaps to the leader at 1:36 and 2:04, respectively.
Over the top and most of the way down the final descent, it would have been hard to bet on the order of the top three, let alone the winner, and the top five men rolled through the Portela checkpoint after 101k covered still close together. Cornut-Chauvinc led Arsénio by 59 seconds, and Butaci sat 2:22 back. Tschumi held on just 3:45 behind the leader, while Grangier started to fade, now 8:02 back. By Larano, 5k later, it seemed like it would be a two-man race to the finish between Cornut-Chauvinc and Arsénio, who were still just a minute apart.
In the end, it was Paul Cornut-Chauvinc who put his descending skills to good use to pull away for the victory with a time of 12:54:52. He looked positively ecstatic to cross the finish line.
Miguel Arsénio finished second in 13:00:30, and also appeared pleased with his effort. Raul Butaci finished third in 13:03:48. Jean-Philippe Tschumi and Germain Grangier rounded out the top five in 13:17:11 and 13:19:41.
Paul Cornut-Chauvinc, the 2025 Madeira Island Ultra-Trail 115k men’s winner.
2025 Madeira Island Ultra-Trail Men’s Results
- Paul Cornut-Chauvinc (France) – 12:54:52
- Miguel Arsénio (Portugal) – 13:00:30
- Raul Butaci (Romania) – 13:03:48
- Jean-Philippe Tschumi (Switzerland) – 13:17:11
- Germain Grangier (France) – 13:19:41
- Delbi Villa Gongora (France) – 14:17:06
- Jonathan Moncany (France) – 15:01:48
- Filipe Ferreira (Portugal) – 15:07:25
- Bruno Sousa (Portugal) – 15:23:17
- Emilio Carvalho (Portugal) – 15:37:35
2025 Madeira Island Ultra-Trail Women’s Race
If the bad weather affected Katie Schide (U.S.) during her traverse of Madeira, she didn’t let it show as she put on a masterclass in calm and efficient racing. It was Schide’s second time racing the 115-kilometer event, returning after 2019 when she finished second to Courtney Dauwalter after having, in her words, “multiple things go wrong.” This year, seemingly nothing went wrong as she managed the cold temperatures, rain, and muddy trails with apparent ease and confidence.
By Fanal, 12.5k in and most of the way up the first climb, she already had more than a 10-minute gap on Martina Klančnik Potrč (Slovenia), who in turn had a nearly 15-minute gap on a significant chase group that included Eva Sperger (Germany), Dominique Van Mechgelen (Belgium), Inês Jordão (Portugal), Manon Campano (France), Mathilde Dujon (France), and Marta Muixi (Spain). By the summit of Estanquinhos at 26k, Schide’s gap was more than 35 minutes on Klančnik Potrč, with Sperger an additional 10 minutes behind.
By São Vicente back at sea level, 41k in, Schide’s gap was just shy of an hour, but the race for the rest of the top five remained close with only 13 minutes separating Klančnik Potrč, Sperger, Van Mechgelen, and Dujon as they faced down three more massive climbs on the back half of the route.
Daybreak, the ascent on Pico Ruivo, and the subsequent descent toward the Achada do Teixeira checkpoint saw the gaps extend even further. Schide, who was now running eighth overall, held a 1 hour, 45 minute gap over Klančnik Potrč who in turn held a 1 hour, 12 minute lead over Sperger. Dujon and Van Mechgelen rounded out the top five, with Muixi not far behind.
Down the side of the mountain and up the final climb of Chão das Feiteiras, 93k in, Schide had worked herself into seventh overall and looked calm and relaxed as the overnight bad weather eased and the ocean and mountain views that the race is so famous for presented themselves. Her gap to Klančnik Potrč now sat over two hours, and the race for third place was starting to heat up. Dujon had overtaken a fading Sperger to move into third, the two women running less than a minute apart. Meanwhile, Van Mechgelen moved steadily up the climb, only 12 minutes down on Sperger and looking strong. Then, on the descent into Portela with only 16k left to race, Van Mechgelen made up distance, passing Sperger and catching up to Dujon. Muixi also used the descent to move herself up in the field, also passing Sperger, and was now in a three-woman race for third place as third through fifth arrived at the checkpoint within 90 seconds of each other.
After being in the mix all race, Eva Sperger dropped at the final checkpoint. Then, in the next 5k, Dujon would claw out a two-minute gap on the other two heading into the final checkpoint at Larano.
Meanwhile, Katie Schide continued to look strong over the final kilometers of the race to reach the finish line at Machico in 14:20:56.
Katie Schide, the 2025 Madeira Island Ultra-Trail 115k women’s winner.
Martina Klančnik Potrč finished second in 16:58:32, and Mathilde Dujon was able to put in a late-race surge to finish third in 18:26:29.
Marta Muixi followed in 18:29:00 for fourth, and Dominique Van Mechgelen completed the top five in 18:39:17.
2025 Madeira Island Ultra-Trail Women’s Results
- Katie Schide (U.S.) – 14:20:56
- Martina Klančnik Potrč (Slovenia) – 16:58:32
- Mathilde Dujon (France) – 18:26:29
- Marta Muixi (Spain) – 18:29:00
- Dominique Van Mechgelen (Belgium) – 18:39:17
- Manon Campano (France) – 18:56:52
- Wen-Fei Xie (China) – 19:37:24
- Inês Jordão (Portugal) – 19:48:05
- Olga Sapach (Belarus) – 19:59:44
- Estela Martinho (Portugal) – 20:16:13
Martina Klančnik Potrč took second at the 2025 Madeira Island Ultra-Trail 115k.
