Monday was Labor Day holiday here in the U.S., and we’re a day later than usual because of it. That’s good though, because there was a lot of racing to recap. We’ve got the best from The Rut Mountain Runs, the Skyrunner World Series, the World Mountain Running Association, and the Golden Trail World Series, among other global highlights.
The Rut Mountain Runs – Big Sky, Montana
Three-straight days of racing, all centered around 11,166-foot Lone Peak, made up The Run Mountain Runs weekend.
Lone Peak is the centerpiece of the three-day The Rut Mountain Runs event in Montana. Photo: Stephen Gnam
Vertical K
Grace Staberg, a 19-year-old ski mountaineer, powered up the steep, 1,000-meter slope in 55:17. Marilee Worth and Kelly Ahern both followed in 1:01 for second and third.
Men’s winner Adam Peterman won in 46:41. Peterman, a former University of Colorado steeplechaser, has had a breakout summer after setting a new course record at the Speedgoat 50k. Behind the race winner, Cam Smith and Ryan Becker summited in 47:04 and 49:46. Rut race directors Mike Wolfe and Mike Foote were seventh and 11th, respectively.
28k
The 28-kilometer race (17 miles) hits the Lone Peak high point on a single-loop course that gains 7,800 feet of elevation.
Staberg doubled back to win the women’s race in 3:58, being closely chased by Bailey Kowalczyk. Kowalczyk finished in 4:03. It was the latest run in a busy summer that saw her make the U.S. mountain running team. Zoe Snow was third in 4:10.
Men’s Vertical K runner-up Smith also doubled back, and hit each of the 28k race checkpoints first. Smith’s 3:09 outpaced Dakota Jones‘s 3:15 second-place finish. Aaron Robson was third in 3:23.
50k
Yes, Staberg went for the triple. On her day-three 50k outing, she was eighth in 7:15.
Up ahead, Jennifer Lichter won in 6:14. Rebecca Windell and Kristina Trygstad-Saari chased to second- and third-place 6:29 and 6:32 finishes. Trygstad-Saari was fourth at the race summit before running into second on a fast downhill.
Michelino Sunseri topped the men’s group with a 5:25 finish time. Seth Ruhling and Jason Donald were second and third in 5:29 and 5:40. Donald was second at the 2019 race.
Chiemgau Trail Run – Marquartstein, Germany
The Chiemgau Trail Run 43k was new to the Golden Trail World Series (GTWS) and was contested over 43k with 2,757 meters (9,045 feet) of elevation gain.
Women
Nienke Brinkman (Netherlands) dominated, finishing in 4:16 and nine minutes in front of everyone else.
Anaïs Sabrié (France) was second in 4:27 and Sara Alonso (Spain) was third in 4:43.
For the Americans, Dani Moreno was fifth in 4:50.
Women’s GTWS series leader Maude Mathys (Switzerland) was absent for this race.
Nienke Brinkman, 2021 Chiemgau Trail Run champion. Photo: Golden Trail Series|Chiemgau Trail Run|Jordi Saragossa
Men
Bartłomiej Przedwojewski (Poland) grabbed his first GTWS series win of the year. Bart won in 3:47, three minutes in front of Francesco Puppi (Italy). Frederic Tranchand (France) was third in 3:56.
Men’s GTWS series leader Stian Angermund (Norway) too was absent, a week after dropping from the CCC.
The next Golden Trail World Series race is the September 25 La Skyrhune race in France.
Bartłomiej Przedwojewski, 2021 Chiemgau Trail Run champion. Photo: Golden Trail Series|Chiemgau Trail Run|Philipp Reiter
Vertical Nasego and Trofeo Nasego – Nasego, Italy
The seventh and eighth World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) World Cup races happened on back-to-back days in Italy. First up was the Vertical Nasego vertical k race, and the next day was Trofeo Nasego, a 21k outing with 1,330 meters (4,363 feet) of elevation gain.
Women
Andrea Mayr (Austria), almost unbeatable in uphill races, and Grayson Murphy (USA), the 2019 World Mountain Running champion, met on the weekend’s vertical k course for a compelling matchup. The race gained its 1,000 meters over 4.3k, and Mayr again proved the best. She topped out in 38:51 to Murphy’s 40:08. Joyce Njeru (Kenya) was third in 42:19.
A day later many runners returned to race the 21k course. Here, Murphy flipped Mayr and the two finished one-two but in opposite order. Murphy ran 1:45 to Mayr’s 1:48, and Francesca Ghelfi (Italy) moved onto the podium with third in 1:49. Murphy’s finish was a new course record.
Men
Henri Aymonod (Italy) continued his strong WMRA campaign with a 35:38 win in the men’s vertical k. Andrea Rostan (Italy) and Petro Mamu (Eritrea) were second and third in 36:00 and 36:12.
Mamu dominated the men’s second-day 21k with a 1:32 win. Cesare Maestri (Italy) and Eric Muthoni (Kenya) both ran 1:36 for second and third.
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.
The next World Mountain Running Association World Cup races are the Canfranc 45k and Canfranc 16k on September 11 and 12 in Spain.
Hochkönig Skyrace – Maria Alm, Austria
This was the seventh of 13 Skyrunner World Series races, and it ran as a 33k with 2,720 meters (8,925 feet) of elevation gain. As expected with Skyrunning contests, it looked exceptionally technical with dramatic ridgelines and steep descents.
Women
Denisa Dragomir (Romania) won her third Skyrunner World Series race of the year, finishing in 4:19. Georgia Tindley (U.K.) was second in 4:23, and Oihana Azkorbebitia (Spain) was third in 4:27.
Men
Men’s winner Jakob Herrmann (Austria) raced his home course in 3:39. Sebastian Falkensteiner (Austria) was second in 3:43 and Asier Larruzea (Spain) was third in 3:46.
The next Skyrunner World Series race is the September 11 Pirin Extreme 33k in Bulgaria.
Jakob Herrmann, 2021 Hochkönig Skyrace champion. Photo: Skyrunning/Guillem Casanova
Additional Races and Runs
Ultra Tour Monte Rosa – Switzerland
This year’s 100-mile Ultra Tour Monte Rosa was entirely within Switzerland, but still gained some 11,600 meters (38,000 feet). Jasmin Paris (U.K.) won the women’s race in 32:26. Men’s winner Oli Johnson (U.K.) finished in 28:23. Full results.
Mozart 100k – Salzburg, Austria
There were just 10 female finishers of the Ultra-Trail World Tour race, but first among them was Margaret Lane (USA) in 13:19. Men’s winner Philipp Ausserhofer (Italy) won in 10:28. Full results.
Lake Sonoma 50 Mile – Healdsburg, California
A pandemic-related shift to late summer greatly thinned the Lake Sonoma 50 Mile competitive field, and heat slowed the finish times. The women were 15 minutes back of the 2019 winning time and the best men 55 minutes afar. Keely Henninger won in 7:40. It’s her second win here after a 7:13 finish in 2018. Sarah Cummings and Kristina Randrup were second and third in 8:34 and 8:40. Men’s winner Mario Mendoza finished in 7:10, five minutes better than ultra upstart Preston Cates. Third-place Joey Defeo ran 7:31. Full results.
Lake Sonoma 100k – Healdsburg, California
Susan Oh and Ruairi Moynihan won the first-year 100k in 13:23 and 12:15. Full results.
Colorado Trail Fastest Known Time
Nick Pedatella did the 500-mile Colorado Trail in seven days, 17 hours, 52 minutes. It was a new men’s supported FKT for the west-to-east direction on the Collegiate West trail variation, more than 6.5 hours better than Bryan Williams‘s 2017 mark. It was more than 4.5 hours shy of the overall men’s supported FKT for the Colorado Trail held by Michael McKnight, which was set last year traveling in the same direction but on the Collegiate East trail variation.
Cirque Series – Arapahoe Basin, Colorado
Working outside of the big, global series, the U.S.’s Cirque Series still gets rave reviews from runners for its courses and atmosphere. This one started at 10,780 feet, went up above 13,000, and then ran back down over a seven-mile course. Janelle Lincks won the women’s race in 1:02, finishing ahead of Morgan Arritola and Allie McLaughlin. Arritola and McLaughlin ran 1:05 and 1:10, respectively. Joe Gray was out front in the men’s race in 55:10, but world-class triathlete Eli Hemming was a close second in 55:30. Recent Pikes Peak Ascent runner-up Chad Hall must really be taking to mountain running. He was third in 56:08. Race winners each earned $1,000. Full results.
Janelle Lincks on her way to winning the 2021 Cirque Series Arapahoe Basin race. Photo: Berkeley Park Running Company/Phil Snyder
Call for Comments
- How’d your Labor Day weekend go, for those who celebrated it? Tell us the good parts in the comments section below.
- And, what other commentary and results can you add for the week?
