Golden Trail World Series + UTMB World Series + (World Trail Majors x 2).
It was a really full weekend equation however you shuffle the order of operations.
Four Sisters Mountain Trail – Siguniangshan, China
The Golden Trail World Series (GTWS) moved from Japan to China for the year’s second race. The tour went 22 kilometers with 1,500 meters (4,921 feet) of elevation gain, all at high altitude.
Women
Joyce Muthoni Njeru (Kenya) upset last week’s race winner Maude Mathys (Switzerland) and GTWS debutante Grayson Murphy (U.S.). After starring in the World Mountain Running Association World Cup in recent years, this was Muthoni Njeru’s first GTWS win. She was fourth last week and took this week’s victory in 2:25. As with Mathys’ six-minute winning margin last weekend, this one wasn’t especially close either. Almost a full nine minutes separated the front three women. Mathys pushed to a 2:29 finish for second, and Murphy finished in 3:34 for third.
[In 2015, Maude 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.]
As a group, the Spanish women again impressed with five of the top-10 finish spots.
The full top 10 was:
- Joyce Muthoni Njeru (Kenya) – 2:25
- Maude Mathys (Switzerland) – 2:29
- Grayson Murphy (U.S.) – 2:34
- Naiara Irigoyen (Spain) – 2:34
- Malen Osa (Spain) – 2:36
- Miao Yao (China) – 2:39
- Sara Alonso (Spain) – 2:41
- Julia Font (Spain) – 2:43
- Sylvia Nordskar (Norway) – 2:48
- Rosa Lara Feliu (Spain) – 2:52
Joyce Muthoni Njeru winning the 2024 Four Sisters Mountain Trail. Photo: Golden Trail Series / Four Sisters Mountain Trail / Colin Olivero
Men
Patrick Kipngeno (Kenya) matched Muthoni Njeru to ensure a Kenyan first-place sweep. It was Kipngeno’s second win in a row, and as with last weekend, he was again way out front. Kipngeno came through the finish in 1:59.
Just 12 seconds separated second- and third-place Elhousine Elazzaoui (Morocco) and Daniel Pattis (Spain), both finishing in 2:05.
The men’s top 10 was:
- Patrick Kipngeno (Kenya) – 1:59
- Elhousine Elazzaoui (Morocco) – 2:05
- Daniel Pattis (Spain) – 2:05
- Philemon Ombogo Kiriago (Kenya) – 2:08
- Joey Hadorn (Switzerland) – 2:08
- Alain Santamaría (Spain) – 2:11
- Huo-Hua Zhang (China) – 2:12
- Adil Moussaoui (Morocco) – 2:16
- Alex García (Spain) – 2:16
- Bang-Lin Fan (China) – 2:16
The next Golden Trail World Series race is the May 26 Zegama-Aizkorri Marathon in Spain.
Patrick Kipngeno en route to winning the 2024 Four Sisters Mountain Trail. Photo: Golden Trail Series / Four Sisters Mountain Trail / Colin Olivero
Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB – Auburn, California
The event was the Americas Major for the UTMB World Series, affording top-10 finishers automatic entry into the end-of-summer UTMB, CCC, and OCC races in Chamonix, France.
100 Mile
The long course was officially 101.7 miles with 18,202 feet of elevation gain. Elena Horton stretched the women’s field out and reached the finish first in 21:35. The 2023 Leadville 100 Mile winner Jacquie Mannhard was second in 22:35, and Sonia Ahuja was third in 23:11.
Canyon Woodward won his namesake race in 18:54. Nicholas Lightbody (Canada) and Nick Orr were second and third in 19:14 and 19:55.
100k
The race was the season’s last Golden Ticket Race with Western States 100 entries to the top two women and men up for grabs. The 63-mile run was said to total 10,652 feet of climbing, but runners’ GPS watches were clocking in excess of 12,000 feet of climbing. iRunFar earlier did a deep dive on the race happenings.
Katie Schide (U.S., lives in France) was electric at the front of the women’s race. She dominated toward a 9:10 first-place finish that pushed her to sixth overall. EmKay Sullivan went long for a second-place 10:01 finish, and Anna Kacius was third in 10:24. Schide was already entered in the Western States 100, so Sullivan and Kacius hold the pending automatic entries.
Katie Schide winning the 2024 Canyons by UTMB 100k. Photo: UTMB/Howie Stern
Rod Farvard scored a surprise win in the men’s race at 8:44. Farvard was 11th at last year’s Western States 100, and ninth at the Canyons by UTMB 50k in 2023 too. Drew Holmen and Petter Engdahl (Sweden, lives in Norway) were close with 8:51 and 8:55 podium runs. Holmen declined his Golden Ticket, while Farvard and Engdahl tentatively accepted.
Returning to the race he won in 2022, and returning from 2023 injury, Adam Peterman took his first ultra defeat with a 13th-place 9:58 finish.
Rod Farvard winning the 2024 Canyons by UTMB 100k. Photo: UTMB/Howie Stern
50k
The top three women all dipped under four hours. Dani Moreno led the way in 3:52, and Jennifer Lichter and Tabor Hemming finished in 3:57 and 3:59.
Expected to challenge at the front, 2020 Olympic Marathon bronze medalist Molly Seidel instead did not start the race.
Eli Hemming is on a real hot streak. He won here in 3:25 and this follows earlier wins at the Black Canyon 60k and the Big Alta 50k. He goes short too. He won the Desert Rats 21k last weekend. Daniel Jones (New Zealand) pushed to second in 3:28 and race local Cole Watson was third in 3:32. Jones and Watson will be back in June on some of these same trails for the Western States 100.
Mt. Fuji 100 Mile – Yamanashi Prefecture and Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan
Formerly the Ultra-Trail Mt. Fuji, the race’s 10th edition was also the year’s fourth World Trail Majors contest.
The 166k, 103-mile run took off at midnight on a course that totaled 7,038 meters (23,090 feet) of elevation gain.
Courtney Dauwalter (U.S.) dominated the women’s race. She finished in 19:21, over four hours better than the next woman, who in turn was over two hours better than the next woman after that. Dauwalter earlier won here in 2018, and earlier in 2024 she won the World Trail Majors’ Transgrancanaria race too. Two races score for this year’s series, and so Dauwalter is well positioned toward collecting the end-of-year first-place World Trail Majors €12,000 prize. Yukari Seimiya (Japan) was second in 23:36 and Chi-Yee Yan (China) was third in 26:15.
Courtney Dauwalter notching another win with a 100-mile lap around Mt. Fuji. Photo: © Fuji Hakone Izu Trail Support
Men’s winner Guo-Min Deng (China) shook loose from Gui-Du Qin (China) late for a 10-minute win. Deng finished in 19:10 and Qin was second in 19:20. Ryo Murata (Japan) was third man in 20:27.
Guo-Min Deng winning the 2024 Mt Fuji 100 Mile. Photo: © Fuji Hakone Izu Trail Support
Madeira Island Ultra-Trail – Madeira, Portugal
The race’s 15th year brought some 3,500 runners from 58 different countries to the volcanic island.
115k
As with the same-weekend Mt. Fuji 100 Mile, the Madeira Island Ultra-Trail 115k was part of the World Trail Majors too. The race went for 71 miles and with 7,200 meters (23,600 feet) of elevation gain across the spine of the island. iRunFar earlier reported on the race in greater depth.
Martina Valmassoi (Italy) and Anne-Lise Rousset Séguret (France) dueled at the front of the women’s race. Valmassoi would win in 16:14 and Rousset Séguret was second in 16:28. Maite Maiora (Spain) rounded out the podium with a third-place 17:12 finish.
Martina Valmassoi winning the 2024 Madeira Island Ultra-Trail 115k. Photo: MIUT/João M Faria
Men’s winner Ben Dhiman (U.S., lives in France) outran the field toward a 13:52 finish. Martin Kern and Anthony Costa, both of France, were second and third in 14:15, with Kern finishing just 17 seconds ahead of his countryman. Sebastian Krogvig (Norway) was originally reported to have finished second, but it appears he received an hour time penalty and, now, sits as the seventh finisher in 15:12.
Ben Dhiman crossing the finish in first at the 2024 Madeira Island Ultra-Trail 115k. Photo: MIUT/João M Faria
85k
The 85k distance converts to almost 53 miles, and Ariane Wilhem (Switzerland) was victorious in the women’s race in 10:35. Sílvia Puigarnau (Spain) and Marie-Luise Muhlhuber (Germany) were up next in 11:00 and 11:06.
A top three of Ramon Manetsch (Switzerland), Caleb Olson (U.S.), and Jordi Gamito (Spain) finished in 8:44, 9:02, and 9:35, respectively.
Additional Races and Runs
Highland Fling 53-Mile Ultramarathon – Trossachs National Park, U.K.
The race runs through Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Parks in Scotland. Elsey Davis (U.K.) ran 7:37 to set a new course record, bettering Beth Pascall’s 2016 mark by 15 minutes. Rowan Boswood (U.K.) won the men’s race in 6:50. Full results.
Ultra-Trail Drakensberg – Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa
The event took on a new course for this year’s races. The longer races took in the Giant’s Cup Trail on the southern section of the Maloti-Drakensberg Park World Heritage Site.
Nicolette Griffioen (South Africa) and Admire Muzopambwa (Zimbabwe, lives in South Africa) were best in the 160k race at 25:51 and 21:01. Griffioen was the 2023 Ultra-Trail Cape Town 100 Mile winner too, but this was Muzopambwa’s debut for the distance.
The 100k winners Melissa Laing (South Africa) and Oli Morris (South Africa) finished in 14:18 and 12:08, and Maryke Van Zyl (South Africa) and Mvuyisi Gcogco (South Africa) came in at 6:48 and 5:59 to lead the 65k. Full results.
Skedaddle Run for Nature – Island Hills Station, New Zealand
Emma Timmis and Scotty Hawker won the marathon distance race in 4:47 and 3:47. Full results.
Orcas Island Trail Races – Orcas Island, Washington
In its eighth running, the 50-mile event saw new course records in both fields, with Natalie Johnston running 10:06 and Richard Cook clocking 8:31. Full results (when available).
Natalie Johnston after setting a new women’s course record at the 2024 Orcas Island 50 Mile. Photo: Garrett Froelich
Payton Jordan Invitational – Palo Alto, California
Allie Ostrander ran 9:37 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. She finished in fourth place and earned her way into the U.S. Olympic Trials. Full results.
Oregon State High Performance – Corvallis, Oregon
Max King can still steeple too. He won against a collegiate field with a 9:02 finish time for the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Full results.
Zane Grey 50 Mile – Payson, Arizona
Julie Henk won for the women in 12:00, and Nick Coury kept his build towards the Western States 100 going with a first-place 8:20. Full results.
Weiser River Trail 50k – Boise, Idaho
The point-to-point course ran downhill along the Weiser River. Jenna Maffey and Mac Moss were first in 4:05 and 3:21. Full results.
Thelma and Louise 50k – Moab, Utah
Jenna McCaffrey won the first-year all women’s race in 4:31. Full results.
U.S. Road Mile National Championships – Des Moines, Iowa
Trail sophomore Anna Gibson was sixth in 4:37. Full results.
Heartland 50k – Cassoday, Kansas
A small field of just 17 finishers was led by Kristy Clark and Zeke Howey in 5:56 and 4:58. Full results.
Kristy Clark winning the 2024 Heartland 50k. Photo: Mile 90 Photography / Elizabeth Martinko
Chippewa 50k – New Auburn, Wisconsin
It was Mia Rucoba and Jonathan Neujahr taking home the “w” in 5:34 and 4:38. Full results.
Ultra Race of Champions – Skylark, Virginia
Johanna Stewart and Anthony Williams won the Blue Ridge Mountain 50-mile race in 14:31 and 7:01, and Alida Voet and Scott Shumate were tops in the 50k in 7:07 and 4:44. Full results.
C&O Canal 100 Mile – Knoxville, Maryland
Race winners Bianca Pourmussa and Adam Lowe came through in 20:19 and 16:11, respectively. Full results.
James Joyce Ramble 10k – Dedham, Massachusetts
The road race was the USATF Master’s 10k championships, and Joseph Gray won in 30:44. Erik Blake, who like Gray is an uphill specialist, was fourth in 32:50. Full results.
Dunes 50k – Hobe Sound, Florida
Talia Zahra and Coree Woltering took home the wins on Florida’s Atlantic Coast in 5:30 and 4:35. Full results.
We don’t race for the prizes … but kudos to the Dunes 50k for epiphyte trophies! Photo: Tuan Runs
