Everybody’s watching to see what you will do! That’s how it felt, thanks to some midweek adventure. Both the Barkley Marathons and Pierra Menta ski mountaineering race wrapped early on the calendar and, well, helped to fill up the workdays. We’re tracking that fun, and just like always, chasing other results from around the world, too.
Barkley Marathons – Wartburg, Tennessee
The wild adventure, believed to be for 39 athletes, started early Tuesday morning and it kept going for up to 60 hours over five loops for something in the range of 100 miles. There have been 18 finishes between 15 different men before this year, but none since John Kelly finished in 2017.
And none of that changed this year, either.
Coverage of the event is typically cagy, largely to limit potential crowds while adding to the event’s allure, and fans worldwide rely on Keith Dunn‘s Twitter work for race intel. We are as well for this wrapup.
No one completed five laps for a full finish. Grieg Hamilton (New Zealand) was the last on course, but failed to finish lap four within the time limit needed to start a potential fifth loop.
Greig Hamilton has made it back to camp and is the final runner to face the bugler. #BM100
— Keith (@keithdunn) March 10, 2022
Karel Sabbe (Belgium) was on lap four, but uniquely returned to camp at night with a sheriff’s escort. Dunn, the Twitter liaison, shared that a sleep-deprived Sabbe initially sought help from a trash can mistaken for a person.
After seeking help from a trash can that he thought was a person, as well as from some passing motorists, Karel was given a ride back to camp by the Morgan County Sheriff. #BM100
— Keith (@keithdunn) March 10, 2022
John Kelly was pacing well until he lost a waist pack with the required book pages. He finished three laps, but didn’t start the fourth.
Thomas Dunkerbeck (Netherlands) and Jasmin Paris (U.K.) finished three laps also, making for five official “fun run” finishers. Paris is the first woman to finish three laps, roughly 60 miles, since Beverley Anderson-Abbs did it in 2012.
Jasmin Paris @JasminKParis has finished loop 3 in 39:49:56 to complete the Fun Run. #BM100
— Keith (@keithdunn) March 10, 2022
A record number finished the first lap and started the second, for what that’s worth. That incredibly international group is believed to have included:
- Leif Abrahamsen (Norway)
- Aaron Bradner
- Michael Brower
- Johanna Bygdell (Sweden)
- Guillaume Calmettes
- Anna Carlsson (Sweden)
- Alberto Casas (Spain)
- John Clarke
- Courtney Dauwalter
- Ivan Dimitrov (Bulgaria)
- Michael Dubova
- Ian Farris
- Enrico Frigeri (Brazil)
- Merijn Geerts (Belgium)
- Paul Giblin (U.K.)
- Alyssa Godesky
- Tomokazu Ihara (Japan)
- Jodi Isenor (Canada)
- Rémy Jegard (France)
- Harvey Lewis
- Arturas Volianskis (Lithuania)
- Carol Morgan (Ireland)
- Thomas Øderud (Norway)
- Alexandre Ricaud (France)
- Chris Roberts
- Hinke Schokker (Netherlands)
- Katie Wright (New Zealand)
Pierra Menta – Arêches-Beaufort, France
Pierra Menta is perhaps the most prized ski mountaineering race in the world. The race dates back to 1986 and is contested in two-person teams over four straight days.
Men
The men’s race proved especially competitive with a number of teams leapfrogging throughout the contest. Three different teams won a stage.
Matteo Eydallin (Italy) and Michele Boscacci (Italy) were second on day one, first on day two, second on day three, and third on the race’s final stage. That combination put them first overall at the end, totaling 9:48.
Xavier Gachet (France) and William Bon Mardiom (France) were only three minutes back at the end of it, a close second place overall. That tandem won the race’s opening stage.
Kilian Jornet (Spain) and Jakob Herrmann (Austria) didn’t win any one day, but were consistently on the podium and totaled 9:54 for third place overall.
Other familiar names included:
- François D’Haene (France) and Yoann Sert (France) – 6th, 10:30
- Tom Goth (USA) and Cameron Smith (USA) – 9th, 10:53
- Vegard Øie (Norway) and Jon Albon (U.K., lives in Norway) – 11th, 10:56
- Germain Grangier (France) and Valentin Clarys (France) – 13th, 11:10
- Ludovic Pommeret (France) and Jeremy Fadda (France) – 22nd, 11:54
Women
If the men’s race showed a lot of parity, that wasn’t at all the case at the front of the women’s contest.
Axelle Mollaret (France) and Tove Alexandersson (Sweden) raced out to a big 17-minute lead on the race’s opening stage, and added to it every single day. They totaled 11:46 to finish way in front of everyone else.
Martina Valmassoi (Italy) and Katia Tomatis (Italy) were second overall in 13:00, and Lorna Bonnel (France) and Marianna Jagercikova (Slovakia) finished third in 13:06.
Other familiar names in the results included:
- Katie Schide (USA) and Elise Poncet (France) – 4th, 13:58
Emelie Forsberg (Sweden) and Henriette Albon (Norway) were in contention for a podium finish, but didn’t finish the race’s fourth stage.
Trail du Ventoux – Bédoin, France
Snow kept runners off the 46-kilometer course’s high point and an alternative route was instead run. It was the race’s 20th year.
Men
It wasn’t a runaway, but Thomas Cardin (France) was consistently in front and carried that lead to the finish in 3:44. Frederic Tranchand (France) edged Arnaud Bonin (France) for second, 3:48 to 3:49.
Women
The women’s race mirrored the men’s with a close second- and third-place finish, but with winner Blandine L’hirondel (France) way out front in 4:19. Audrey Tanguy (France) and Mathilde Sagnes (France) trailed in 4:36 and 4:37, respectively.
Additional Races and Runs
Montane Lapland Arctic Ultra – Överkalix, Sweden
The race “through Europe’s last wilderness” went over snowmobile trails over 185k (115 miles). The track crossed the Arctic Circle twice, and the trekkers did it while pulling a supply and gear sled. Ben Clayton-Jolly (U.K.) and Michaela Senft (Switzerland) won in two days, six hours, and two days, 11 hours, respectively. Full results.
A scene from day 2 of the 2022 Montane Lapland Arctic Ultra. Photo: Linnea Isaksson
A scene from day 3 of the 2022 Montane Lapland Arctic Ultra. Photo: Linnea Isaksson
Tar N Trail 6 Miler – Ashland, Oregon
Brett and Madison Hornig won the longtime Ashland classic in 35:07 and 47:19. Full results.
Old West 50k – Julian, California
Damon Valenzona and Jessica Schnier championed the race in 3:50 and 4:33. Full results.
Marin Ultra Challenge 50 Mile – Sausalito, California
Gabriel Kline, ninth at this year’s Bandera 100k, smoked the 50k in 3:35, and Brittany Peterson won big too with a new course record in 4:07. Leo Pershall and Samantha Bear topped the 50 mile in 8:15 and 8:39. Full results.
Antelope Canyon Ultras – Page, Arizona
Running 50 miles, Cameron Yeaman and Mackenzie Grimmer won in 7:36 and 9:42. Michael McKnight was the 55k winner for the men in 5:02, while Elizabeth Claflin was the women’s champ in 5:54. Full results.
Run Through Time Trail Marathon – Salida, Colorado
Bryan Kerl led the men in 3:13, and Brittany Charboneau‘s training program for the Lake Sonoma 50 Mile ran through the Run Through Time Trail Marathon. She won in 3:42. Full results.
Sasquatch Shuffle 100k and 50k – Grapeland, Texas
Two ultra distances featured at the Trail Racing Over Texas event. Duran Pardue and Bee Holleran won the 100k in 11:55 and 17:23, and Dylan Jones and Cheng Wood won the 50k in 4:45 and 5:17. Full results.
Great atmosphere at the 2022 Sasquatch Shuffle in Texas. Photo: Trail Racing Over Texas
Land Between the Lakes 50 Mile – Grand Rivers, Kentucky
Jason Howell was the men’s winner, finishing in 7:17, while Michelle Magagna was the women’s champ in 7:22. In the 60k, Anthony Witt won in 5:25 and Anne George won for the women in 5:17. Full results.
Bel Monte 50 Mile and 50k – Waynesboro, Virginia
Jack Murrel and Molly Belk came out on top over 50 miles in 7:53 and 9:54, and Natty Montoya and Sierra Schenk won the 50k in 4:08 and 5:46. Full results.
Call for Comments
Same place, each week, tell us what else you enjoyed this weekend and fill in some color commentary on any of the races we mentioned!
