Oh my gosh, that was a lot! We’re running with the chase pack on everything from the USATF Vertical Running Championships in New Hampshire, multiple races in the “by UTMB” series, a World Mountain Running Association World Cup race, a Spartan Trail World Championships event in Australia, a Skyrunner World Series race, and even more. You’d better make that coffee large today, or if you’re in Europe, two larges.
Loon Mountain Race – Lincoln, New Hampshire
Last week’s Whiteface Skyrace filled out the U.S. team that will compete in the Classic race at November’s first-ever World Mountain and Trail Running Championships. This week’s Loon Mountain Race rounded up the U.S. team that will contest the Vertical race at that same event. The three-person Vertical team includes the race winners from June’s Broken Arrow Skyrace Vertical Kilometer (Allie McLaughlin and Cam Smith), the Loon Mountain Race winners, and a third person to be picked based on resume selection.
The Loon race — also the first-ever USATF Vertical Mountain Running Championships — ran just over six miles and with 3,066 feet of elevation gain. It finished at the top of a super steep section — 40% grade for a full kilometer! — notoriously named Upper Walking Boss. Race winners each earned $400.
Women
Lauren Gregory opened up a gap on Upper Walking Boss and got to the top first in 58:36. Her return to trails has been quick. Just weeks ago, she competed in the 1,500-meter race at the U.S. Track & Field Championships. Gregory also just graduated from the University of Arkansas, but further back won a bronze medal in the junior race at the 2017 World Mountain Running Championships.
Second- and third-place Rachel Tomajczyk and Alexandra Lawson finished in 1:00:24 and 1:00:30. And while Gregory will go to worlds in the Vertical disciple, its the top two runners that will represent the U.S. in Italy at the Challenge Stellina event too.
Men
Joseph Gray‘s been racing in New Hampshire for three out of the last four weekends, and he’s won all three of those races. Gray already had a lead by the time he reached Upper Walking Boss, and he ultimately finished first in 47:19. He’s now in for both the Vertical and Classic races at the November World Championships.
Daniel Curts and Andy Wacker were second and third in 48:21 and 48:53, and Curts gets on the team for Challenge Stellina in Italy in August too.
Grossglockner Berglauf – Grossglockner, Austria
This was the race’s 22nd year and the year’s fourth World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) World Cup race. The race ran as 13 kilometers with 1,265 meters of elevation gain. It’s nearly all uphill with a classic finish high up the mountain.
Women
Joyce Njeru (Kenya) made it two in a row, taking the women’s crown in 1:25. She led from the race’s second kilometer onward. Lucy Murigi (Kenya) chased up in 1:28, and WMRA legend Adéla Stránská (Czech Republic) was third in 1:30.
Men
Kenyan runners Patrick Kipngeno and Philemon Kiriago topped out first in 1:08 and 1:10, and Petro Mamu (Eritrea) was third up, also in 1:10 and only two seconds behind Kiriago. As with women’s winner Njeru, this was Kipngeno’s second WMRA World Cup win of the year, too.
(In 2017, Mamu failed two doping tests, after both the World Mountain Running Championships and the World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships. He was given a nine-month ban starting in September of 2017 by the IAAF for testing positive for fenoterol.)
Defending champ Lengen Lolkurraru (Kenya) was ninth in 1:14.
The 2022 Grossglockner Berglauf men’s podium (l-to-r): 3. Petro Mamu, 1. Patrick Kipngeno, and 2. Philemon Kiriago. Photo: Marco Gulberti/WMRA
Val d’Aran by UTMB – Vielha, Spain
You know how it is in Europe, there are a lot of different race distances at the same event! That theme sticks with a lot of races in this week’s column, and three races at this one reached ultra distances.
It was the race’s second year, and it’s alternately presented as “in the heart of the Pyrenees” or “the wild side of the Pyrenees!” So, it’s definitely in the Pyrenees and that, of course, made for challenging mountain terrain.
161k
Amandine Ginouves (France) and Germain Grangier (France) won the long course in 30:17 and 23:24. This one stretched for a full 100 miles with 10,200 meters (33,460 feet) of elevation gain.
105k
The 105k (65 miles) race was really challenging too, totaling some 6,100 meters (20,000 feet) of elevation gain. Women’s winner Katie Schide (USA) was way ahead in 13:06. Second- and third-place Elisabeth Rios Peredo (Bolivia) and Alix-Anne Farque (France) followed in 14:53 and 16:25, respectively.
Up front for the men Andreu Simon Aymerich (Spain) just got past Philipp Ausserhofer (Italy). The two finished in 11:48 and 11:59, and third-place Johan Lantz (Sweden) was a ways back in 12:29.
55k
The front two women broke free of the chase group, and at the end, Maite Maiora (Spain) was eight minutes ahead of Emily Schmitz (USA, lives in Colombia). The two finished in 6:55 and 7:03, respectively.
The men’s race finished similarly as the Yanqiao Yun (China) and Ionel Manole (Romania) gapped everyone else. Yun finished in 5:37, barely a minute ahead of runner-up Manole.
Brisbane Trail Ultra – Brisbane, Australia
This was Australia’s only Spartan Trail World Championships race, and there were 100-mile, 110k, 60k, and 30k distances among shorter options too. Both the 100-mile and 30k races were Spartan events and courses connected diverse terrain from rainforest to the Brisbane River.
100 Mile
Maree Connor (Australia) outpaced the women in 32:51, and Vlad Shatrov (Australia) put two hours on the closest man with a 20:21 winning time.
30k
It started with a third-place run at the Zegama Marathon, and Sara Alonso (Spain) has kept that hot streak going. She dominated the short course here in 2:17. Australian runners Simone Brick and Patricia McKibbin followed in 2:30 and 2:36.
The men’s race ran much closer, but fellow Spanish upstart Antonio Martinez won a tight one in 2:03. Aidan Hobbs and Brodie Nankervis, both of Australia, chased to 2:06 and 2:08 marks.
Sara Alonso, 2022 Brisbane Trail Ultra 30k champion. Photo: Laura Ortiz de Zarate
Trail Verbier St. Bernard by UTMB – Verbier, Switzerland
“Authentic, mountainous, and steep,” the race organization said of their courses. Indeed, the race appears to have taken in some of the same terrain as UTMB, passing through Champex, La Fouly, among other familiar spots. And while the race might be new to this column, it was its 13th year.
Emily Vaudan (Switzerland) and Antoine Bouchet (France) won the 140k race in 24:24 and 21:23.
Manon Bohard (France) and Martin Lustenberger (Switzerland) were tops in the 76k in 10:17 and 9:19. Bohard’s participation came after the Mont Blanc 90k cancellation weeks ago, and Lustenberger led throughout while prepping for August’s UTMB race.
The 45k race featured the event’s most technical terrain, and Lucile Ochs (France) and Jiasheng Shen (China) won in 6:41 and 5:34. Shen is training for August’s CCC race. Sage Canaday (USA) was sixth in the 45k race in 6:22.
Mount Marathon Race – Seward, Alaska
It’s been a full week since the traditional July 4 run up and down Mount Marathon, but we need to highlight this 5k mountain race for posterity too.
Max King and Allie McLaughlin won the race’s 94th running. King finished in 43:37, two seconds better than his own 2019 winning time, and McLaughlin set a new course record in 47:09. Like King, she too gained a big lead on the climb that carried through the downhill even as other runners came down faster.
Thomas O’Harra was second in 44:57 and Lars Arneson ran 45:22 for third in the men’s race. Hannah Lafleur and Christy Marvin took the other two podium spots in the women’s race at 52:35 and 52:45, respectively.
Additional Races and Runs
Gran Trail Courmayeur – Courmayeur, Italy
The 10th running of the race at the foot of Mont Blanc celebrated Marta Wenta (Poland) and Simone Corsini (Italy) as its 100k winners in 17:17 and 15:10.
A number of runners took a wrong turn in the 55k, causing a shuffle of the finish order after a time penalty was assessed. That made Melissa Paganelli (Italy) and Moreno Sala (Italy) winners in 7:49 and 6:29.
Meg Mackenzie (South Africa) and Francesco Nicola (Italy) were victorious in the 30k in 3:30 and 2:52, respectively.
Meg Mackenzie, women’s champion of the 2022 Gran Trail Courmayeur 30k. Photo: Gran Trail Courmayeur
Restonica Trail by UTMB – Corsica, France
The Ultra-Trail Di Corsica race ran 108k (67 miles). Delphine Avenier (France) championed the women’s group in 22:33. She was hours ahead of everyone else. Pauline Gaidet (France) and Aurore Vallar (France) came later in 25:21 and 27:36. Beñat Marmissolle (France) got way ahead in the men’s race. He won in 15:48, nearly two hours better than everyone else. Noel Giordano (France) and Diego Pazos (Switzerland) trailed in 17:40 — a tie — for second and third.
The officially named Restonica Trail race ran 67k with Julie Marini (France) leading Ildiko Wermescher (Hungary) and Christine Diruit (France). The three podium getters finished in 10:29, 11:47, and 12:15. Men’s frontrunners — all of France — Gautier Airiau, Yohan Viani, and Nicolas Gourdon ran 8:14, 8:23, and 8:40.
Ultra-Trail Cote d’Azur Mercantour – Cote d’Azur, France
Just like everything else this weekend, there were multiple competitive race distances here too. The 125k race saw Daphnée Derouch (France) and Benoit Girondel (France) break away in 22:21 and 17:09, and in the 50k, Manon Gras (France) and Pau Capell (Spain) won in 9:01 and 6:45. Full results.
High Trail Vanoise – Val-d’Isere, France
The 72k (45 miles) race totaled 5,300 meters (17,400 feet) of elevation gain, and hits a high point some 12,000 feet up. Julia Rezzi (France) edged Ekaterina Mityaeva (Russia) in the women’s race, 9:01 to 9:05, and Benjamin Roubiol (France) edged Dmitry Mityaev (Russia) in the men’s race, 6:53 to 7:14. Full results.
Sinister 7 Ultra – Crowsnest Pass, Alberta, Canada
Anne Bouchard captured the women’s 100-mile win in 24:27, and Ihor Verys just edged out Ethen Peters for the men’s crown. The pair finished in 18:39 and 18:45, respectively. All the top finishers are from Canada. Full results.
Knee Knackering North Shore Trail Run 30 Mile – North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Canadians Marieve Legrand and Brandon Gardiner triumphed in 6:17 and 4:59. Full results.
Siskiyou Out Back – Ashland, Oregon
Full results aren’t yet available, but social media points to David Laney winning the 50-mile race in 7:28. Leave a comment to let us know who won the women’s race! Full results (when available).
Mt. Hood 50 Mile – Timothy Lake, Oregon
Brittany McPhee and Noah Dusseau led the 50-mile race in 8:01 and 6:20, and Kendra Phillips and Peter Bergmann were tops in the 50k in 4:38 and 3:42. Full results.
Silver Rush 50 Mile – Leadville, Colorado
Lindsay Herman won big in 7:31, some 49 minutes better than the next best woman. The men’s race ran much closer with Bryan Kerl only two minutes in front of JP Giblin in 6:16 and 6:18. Full results.
Lindsey Herman, 2022 Silver Rush 50 Mile champion. Photo: Life Time
Bryan Kerl, 2022 Silver Rush 50 Mile champion. Photo: Life Time
Silverton Alpine 50k – Silverton, Colorado
There were 50k and marathon distance races both just outside of Silverton. On the long course, Meredith Cook and Logan Moore won in 5:03 and 3:56, and Charli McKee beat the other women’s marathoners in 4:03. Willie Milam won the men’s marathon in 3:05. He’s run as fast as 2:14 for the marathon distance, and done it as recently as 2018. Full results.
Kendall Mountain Run – Silverton, Colorado
The second of Aravaipa Running’s two Silverton races on the weekend ran 12 miles up and down the 13,000-foot peak. Lindsey McDonald and Noah Williams were the race winners in 2:10 and 1:40, respectively. Full results.
Power of Four 50k – Aspen, Colorado
The race builds on a popular ski mountaineering race of the same name and takes in Aspen’s four ski areas. Elizabeth Hogan and Daniel Metzger reached the finish first in 6:26 and 5:59. Full results.
The 2022 Power of Four 50k underway. Photo: Jeremy Swanson and Jared Harrell
Buckeye Trail 50k – Brecksville, Ohio
Gemma Hoskings won the out-and-back in 5:13, and men’s leader Matt Martin kicked to a 42-second win over Nicky Jordan, both finishing in 4:30. Full results.
Call for Comments
- Was that a one-coffee or two-coffee column for you? It was a few late nights for me for this big week.
- What highlights stand out for you as most significant?
- What happened in your corner of the trail running and ultrarunning world this weekend? Leave a comment to share!
