Talk about opposite ends of the weather rainbow! We’ve got the HURT 100 Mile in Hawai’i and the Spine Race in the U.K. at the top of the list, just a bit of ski mountaineering, New Zealand’s Kepler Challenge, and more in this week’s column.
HURT 100 Mile – Honolulu, Hawai’i
Women
Debbie Livingston finished her five-lap jungle run to win the women’s race in 29:09. Livingston, age 47, has been running ultras for two decades and will contest the Hardrock 100 this summer.
Anna Albrecht held second place by a mere minute with seven miles to go, but closed strongly toward a 29:30 runner-up finish. Albrecht won this race in 2020 with a 28:55 time. She was third in 2019, too. Mele DeMille, who like Albrecht also lives in Hawai’i, was third in 29:42.
Men
23:59:34 — wow, what a close finish versus the clock for Peter Mortimer. He won the men’s race and was just under the 24-hour mark. Mortimer was last year’s runner-up at the inaugural Cocodona 250 Mile.
Sergio Florian was second, and first Hawai’ian, in 25:30, and Cory Logsdon was third in 26:03.
Montane Spine Race – Pennine Way, United Kingdom
Always challenging, this year’s 268-mile Montane Spine Race winter edition turned even more epic with high-profile drops at the front of the race. Both the women’s and men’s late-race leaders dropped from the race while hours ahead of their closest chasers.
Women
Debbie Martin-Consani (U.K.) won the women’s race in 104 hours, 8 minutes. Wow, what an adventure! Martin-Consani, who was leaning heavily at the finish, said, “It’s quite unbelievable; nobody is more shocked about it than me.”
Second-place Elaine Bisson (U.K.) and third-place Lizzie Faithfull-Davies (U.K.) finished in 107 hours on the nose, and 112 hours, 47 minutes, respectively.
Course record holder Sabrina Verjee (U.K.) dropped after nearly 22 hours of racing.
Debbie Martin-Consani at the finish of the 2022 Montane Spine Race winter edition, where she finished first for women. Photo: Adam Jacobs
Men
Men’s race winner Eoin Keith (Ireland) did it in 92 hours, 40 minutes! Keith outlasted several strong challengers, moving up as they dropped from the race. It was his second winter edition win. He’s also finished second three times in the winter; he also won the 2021 summer race.
James Leavesley (U.K.) and Doug Zinis (U.K.) finished together in 96 hours, six minutes, for second and third.
Top contenders Damian Hall (U.K.), Kim Collison (U.K.), and Eugenio Roselló Solé (Spain) all dropped from the race.
Eoin Keith crossing the line as the men’s winner of the winter edition 2022 Montane Spine Race. Photo: Adam Jacobs
Kepler Challenge and Luxmore Grunt Mountain Run – Fiordland National Park, New Zealand
The Kepler Challenge is one of New Zealand’s biggest races, following the Kepler Track for 60 kilometers through super-scenic Fiordland National Park. The January 2022 race served as the 2021 edition, having been pushed back from its traditional December date, and this was the race’s 34th year. It all happened on a really hot day — it’s summer in the Southern Hemisphere.
A view of runners near an alpine lake during the 2022 Kepler Challenge in New Zealand. Photo: Kepler Challenge
Women
Ruth Croft (New Zealand) dominated the women’s run and finished in 5:26. She was just three minutes back of a course record that’s stood since 2003. Croft earned a $1,800 first-place prize, but missed the $5,000 course record bonus.
Defending champion Nancy Jiang (New Zealand) was second in 5:53, and Katie Morgan (Australia) was third in 6:06.
In the accompanying Luxmore Grunt 27k race, run as an out-and-back from the same start line to the Luxmore Hut, Caitlin Fielder (New Zealand) won in 2:07.
Men
Daniel Jones (New Zealand) won for the fourth straight year, finishing in 4:37. Two of Jones’s wins have come on weather-altered courses, but this year on the full track he was four minutes behind the men’s record that’s been there since 2013.
Second- and third-place David Haunschmidt (New Zealand) and Andy Good (New Zealand) finished in 4:56 and 5:05.
Daniel Balchin (New Zealand) set a new record in the Luxmore Grunt 27k race with his 1:48 finish.
Runners make their way along a ridge during the 2022 Kepler Challenge in New Zealand. Photo Courtesy of the Kepler Challenge
Comapedrosa Andorra – Arinsal, Andorra
The International Ski Mountaineering Federation’s calendar is happening, and both Individual and Vertical races were part of this weekend’s event. We’re hardly an expert on this kind of race, but it’s always fun to see lots of familiar names from trail running and ultrarunning in the results.
Women
Axelle Mollaret (France) won the women’s individual race in 1:41, and crossover competitors behind her included:
- 2 – Tove Alexandersson (Sweden) – 1:42
- 20 – Katie Schide (USA) – 2:04
- 21 – Rea Kolbl (USA) – 2:05
- 22 – Johanna Åström (Sweden) – 2:06
Alexandersson flipped places with Mollaret in the Vertical race, the two summiting in 31:04 and 31:18, respectively. Schide moved up to 13th here in 35:04.
Men
Up front in the men’s individual race was Michele Boscacci (Italy) in 1:45. Later results included:
- 4 – Remi Bonnet (Switzerland) – 1:49
- 5 – Jakob Hermann (Austria) – 1:49
- 9 – Davide Magnini (Italy) – 1:50
- 13 – Oriol Cardona (Andorra) – 1:52
- 15 – Martin Anthamatten (Switzerland) – 1:52
Just like in trail running, the Vertical race played to Bonnet’s uphill strength and he won that race in 26:16. Many of the same names doubled back in this race, but Cam Smith (USA) was third in 27:11 after having not appeared in the earlier race results.
Additional Races and Runs
Pilancones Tunte Trail – Gran Canaria, Spain
Elsey Whyman-Davis (U.K.) won the 34k women’s race in 3:33. Pere Aurell (Spain) won a close men’s race in 3:05. Full results (when available).
Coldwater Rumble – Goodyear, Arizona
Annie Hughes, last year’s Leadville Trail 100 Mile winner, won the 100-mile race here in 18:47. Men’s winner Cody Jones led in 16:44. The event also had 52-mile, 52k, and multiple shorter-distance races. Full results.
Tsali Frosty Foot 50k – Almond, North Carolina
Emily Chappelear and Jason Bailey raced to the front in 5:04 and 4:14. Full results.
Daufuskie Island Ultra – Daufuskie Island, South Carolina
Stefanie Flippin won the women’s 39.3-mile island loop, was second overall and set a new course record. Her coach, Pat Reagan, won the men’s race for the second time. Full results (when available).
Long Haul 100 Mile – Wesley Chapel, Florida
Katie Rozar was the first woman at the Long Haul 100 Mile in 20:47. That’s five hours better than her 2021 finish here, and eight hours better than she ran here in 2020 — what improvement!
Harvey Lewis was the men’s winner in 16:07. Full results.
Call for Comments
- That was some race variety! What else can you add to this week’s rundown?
- Do you cross over into ski mountaineering or cross-country ski races in the winter?
