Canada had an excellent day on the trails at Puerto Vallarta by UTMB in Mexico on the weekend, with five Canadians reaching podiums at the various distances in the intense heat and mountainous terrain of Mexico’s Pacific beach paradise.
Kelsey Hogan second in 95-mile race
The 95-mile race features more than 5,000 metres of elevation gain in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains. Kelsey Hogan of Steady Brook, N.L., finished second in the women’s 100-mile race, clocking a time of 23:39:41. She was 10th overall. Hogan’s finish gets her direct entry into the 2025 UTMB final in Chamonix, France.
“Today I was really tuning into just what I needed for myself on this run and noticing what running gives me and what this community gives me,” Hogan said after the race. “I felt connected to these new places and enjoyed the nature and how beautiful it is to be out there. I think we’re all very lucky to get to do that.”
Hogan won the Quebec Mega Trail 100-mile in 2022 and 2023, setting course records both years.
Canadians win 100K and 50K races
Arden Young of Canmore, Alta., won the women’s 100K race, finishing in 11:53:51; Young was eighth overall. She was followed by another Canadian, Amber Houle, who lives in San Francisco; Houle finished second, in 13:47:20. Alexa Romano of the U.S. was third, in 14:00:25. This race features 3,500m of climbing.
Joren Titus of Calgary won the men’s 50K race, with a time of 5:20:40. Emerson Trujillo Flores of Peru was second, in 5:25:54, and Ireland’s Paddy O’Leary was third, in 10:42:24.
The women’s 20K race was extremely close, with Emilie Mann of Fernie, B.C., finishing second in 4:06:02, only a little over a minute behind Frida Cervantes of Mexico (4:04:47), nd only seconds ahead of Denisse Sánchez of Mexico in third (4:06:22). Mann won the Run Rabbit Run 100-miler in her debut at the distance earlier this year, setting a course record.
This is only the third year for the race, which draws participants from around the world, thanks to the technicality of the courses, the relaxed local culture and the chance to unwind in the sun when the racing is done.
For full results of the Puerto Vallarta by UTMB races, click here.
