It’s a Monday holiday in the U.S., and we’re celebrating how we do, with lots of race results. The Golden Trail World Series, the Skyrunner World Series, and, mostly, a bunch of other international races feature in this week’s column.
Zegama-Aizkorri Marathon – Zegama, Spain
The loop run is best known for its wild crowds, and this year’s race marked the year’s first Golden Trail World Series contest. Big crowds, strong fields, and good weather helped push new course records on both the women’s and men’s sides. We’ve also published a detailed results article.
A scene from the 2022 Zegama-Aizkorri Marathon as runner Jorge Maravilla celebrates with fans. The race is well known for its fantastic supporters. Photo: Toño Miranda
Women
Maude Mathys (Switzerland) has taken many of these shorter mountain races for the last several years, but Nienke Brinkman (The Netherlands, lives in Switzerland) emerged as a potential rival in 2021. Mathys still ruled last year, winning nearly everything and setting gobs of course records, but more recently, Brinkman ran a 2:22 road marathon in April 2022. And so the two greats were heavy favorites at the front of the women’s race.
From the jump it was Brinkman in the lead with Mathys pushing from behind, and everyone else chasing. It made for an incredible day with the lead three all way under the previous course best, and the fourth- and fifth-placers just over it.
Brinkman was sensational, turning a four-minute lead at halfway to a nearly 10-minute win at the finish. She finished in 4:16. Mathys was second in 4:26, and only 37 seconds behind, Sara Alonso (Spain) was third also in 4:26. Maite Maiora (Spain) ran 4:34 in 2017 for the previous course best.
(In 2015, Mathys received a warning without suspension from the Disciplinary Chamber for Doping Cases of Swiss Olympic for two positive tests for clomifene [previously clomiphene] after it was determined that she was mistakenly taking the drug without first obtaining a World Anti-Doping Agency Therapeutic Use Exemption.)
The rest of the women’s top 10 included:
4 – Patricia Pineda (Spain) – 4:36
5 – Fabiola Conti (Italy) – 4:36
6 – Núria Gil (Spain) – 4:39
7 – Theres Leboeuf (Switzerland) – 4:39
8 – Oihana Kortázar (Spain) – 4:41
9 – Marcela Vasinova (Austria) – 4:44
10 – Courtney Dauwalter (USA) – 4:45
Emelie Forsberg (Sweden, lives in Norway) won the day earlier vertical kilometer in 42:26.
Nienke Brinkman, the 2022 Zegama-Aizkorri Marathon women’s champion. Photo: Toño Miranda
Men
The men’s race was pretty great too. Davide Magnini (Italy) was with Kilian Jornet (Spain, lives in Norway) at the course high point, before Jornet pulled away on the technical downhill second half. It was an incredible 10th win for Jornet and he too set a new course record. I guess, you could say, it was just a normal day for Jornet. He finished in 3:36. Stian Angermund-Vik (Norway) set the previous record in 2017 at 3:45.
Magnini’s aggressive pace was rewarded with a second-place 3:39, and Manuel Merillas (Spain) was third in 3:45.
The rest of the men’s top 10 included:
4 – Elhousine Elazzaoui (Morocco) – 3:47
5 – Robert Pkemoi Matayango (Kenya) — 3:48
6 – Thibaut Baronian (France) – 3:48
7 – Rémi Bonnet (Switzerland) – 3:49
8 – Nadir Maguet (Italy) – 3:49
9 – Matthew Kiptanui Kibet (Kenya) – 3:51
10 – Frederic Tranchand (France) – 3:52
Oriol Cardona Coll (Spain) topped out first in the vertical k, setting a new record in 32:59.
The next Golden Trail World Series race is the June 26 Marathon du Mont Blanc in France.
Kilian Jornet, the 2022 Zegama-Aizkorri Marathon men’s champion. Photo: Toño Miranda
MaXi-Race – Annecy, France
The large scale event included several race distances, and The North Face team represented in many of them.
French runners took each of the top three women’s finishes in the 88-kilometer (55 miles) race. Julia Rezzi, Manon Campano, and Aline Coquard ran 11:21, 11:36, and 11:59, respectively. Seth Ruhling (USA) made sure that French sweep didn’t happen on the men’s side. He won in 8:44. Aurelien Dunand-Pallaz (France) and Elias Kadi (France) were second and third in 9:13 and 9:16.
The next day marathon (a late course change left the race at 38 kilometers) ran with a more international field. Katie Schide (USA) led everyone with a 4:08 finish, and Mimmi Kotka (Sweden) and Fiona Porte (France) chased to second and third in 4:17 and 4:23. Toni McCann (South Africa) and recent World Mountain Running Association World Cup winner Olivia Amber (USA) were fourth and fifth in 4:29 and 4:37.
Jon Albon (U.K., lives in Norway) beat out Petter Engdahl (Sweden, lives in Norway) at the front of the men’s marathon, running 3:29 to the runner-up’s 3:34. French runners took the next several positions with Antoine Charvolin, Elie Besson, and Thibault Marquet all finishing in 3:47, but several seconds apart.
Brittany Charboneau (USA) and Noé Rogier (France) won the 18-kilometer race in 1:38 and 1:21, respectively.
Seth Ruhling, winner of the 2022 MaXi-Race 88k. Photo: Brittany Charboneau
Madeira Sky Race – Madeira, Portugal
The year’s second Skyrunner World Series race went 55 kilometers (34 miles) and with 4,121 meters (13,520 feet) of elevation gain, all in a single loop from the sea to the highest mountains.
Women
Virginia Perez (Spain) broke free from the the women’s field right at the start, and ran from the front to win in 7:15. Anna Ongaro (Italy) and Silvia Puigarnau (Spain) were second and third in 7:30 and 7:38.
Local runner Sara Rodrigues won the 23-kilometer race in 2:56. She was second in the vertical k, minutes behind race winner Charlotte Cotton (Spain). Cotton also won the event’s 10-kilometer race.
Men
Peter Fraño (Slovakia) edged Sebastian Ljungdahl (Sweden). The pair were barely two minutes apart with 5:47 and 5:49 finishes. Raul Butaci (Romania) was third in 6:06.
Pere Aurell (Spain) rolled to the 23-kilometer win in 2:12, and gained the vertical k win too.
Volvic Volcanic Experience – Auvergne Volcanoes Regional Natural Park, France
This event included six race distances across three days, and all across one of France’s largest nature parks.
French runners basically filled the 110-kilometer (68 miles) podium. Women’s leaders Tiphaine Germain, Aurore Tual, and Oriane Dujardin finished in 12:41, 12:54, and 13:00. Men’s winner François D’Haene shared much of the race with Sange Sherpa (Nepal, lives in France) before pulling away late. D’Haene finished in 9:41 and Sherpa in 10:00. Benjamin Poiraton was third in 10:42.
It was also a French sweep in the 80-kilometer (50 miles) race, where Carine Loyer and Erik Clavery won in 8:10 and 7:22, and Camille Bruyas (France) and Pierre Livache (France) led the marathon distance run in 3:46 and 3:28, respectively.
Additional Races and Runs
Trail of Haute Provence – Forcalquier, France
Justine Poggi (France) and Sebastien Spehler (France) won the 80-kilometer (50 miles) race in 12:42 and 7:36. Maggy Bouisse (France) and Julien Chorier (France) topped the 50-kilometer race in 5:48 and 5:31. Full results.
Transylvania 100k – Bran, Romania
The seventh annual race started under Dracula’s Castle and then raced through the wilds of the Bucegi Range. Adriana Plosnita (Romania) and Yevhenii Yermolenko (Ukraine) won in 20:21 and 15:06, respectively. Full results.
Subcarpati Trail Run – Goruna, Romania
Romanian runners Roxana Serban and Robert Hajnal won the marathon distance run through the outer edges of the Carpathian Mountains. The winners finished in 5:09 and 3:48. Full results.
London 2 Brighton – London, England, United Kingdom
English race winners Jessica Johnson and Daniel Kyne ran the 100-kilometer one-way route in 11:13 and 9:51. Full results.
Cape Wrath Ultra – Cape Wrath, Scotland, United Kingdom
Challenging weather conditions filled the eight-day, 400-kilometer (249 miles) stage race. Laura O’Driscoll (Ireland) and Graham Walton (U.K.) won in 61:26 and 50:10. Full results.
Lake Sonoma 100k – Healdsburg, California
Lauren Kersjes and Daniel Jones (New Zealand) won the long course in 11:24 and 9:59, and Alyssa Clark and Timothy Smith shined in the 55-kilometer event with 6:05 and 6:01 winning times. Full results.
Bryce Canyon 100 Mile – Bryce Canyon, Utah
Manuela Vilaseca (Brazil, lives in Spain) and Mick Jurynec burst through the scenic course in 24:58 and 21:59 first-place times. Full results.
Call for Comments
That was a heavily international mix. What U.S. races can be highlighted in the comments below?
