Austria brought two big races to the weekend, and the U.S. took us to World’s End and other wild places. This Week in Running is a diverse mix of races and stories. Happy Monday!
European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships – Annecy, France
Individual and team medals were up for grabs across Uphill Mountain, Trail, and Up and Down Mountain races. The races happened over three days with many runners doubling on the Friday and Sunday shorter distances.
Uphill Mountain Race
The Friday, May 31 race went nearly eight kilometers, or five miles, all uphill. As with several other races in western and central Europe on the weekend, the senior races were run in rain and on mud.
Joe Steward (U.K.) raced up in 42:37, winning by over a minute. Jacob Adkin (U.K.) was second in 43:55 and Lukas Ehrle (Germany), just 19 years old, was third in 44:23.
Joe Steward winning the 2024 European Athletics Off-Road Running Running Championships Uphill Mountain Race. Photo: Gwendal Hamon/FFA
Women’s winner Nina Engelhard (Germany) charged to the front early and hit the top in 50:08, also winning by over a minute. Scout Adkin (U.K.) matched her brother with a silver medal in 51:43, and Mădălina Florea (Romania) was third in 52:33.
Nina Engelhard winning the 2024 European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships Uphill Mountain Race. Photo: Gwendal Hamon/FFA
Trail Race
Day two was the long course, a roughly 57k mountain track, and French runners swept both the men’s and women’s podiums.
For the men, Thomas Cardin, Benjamin Roubiol, and Loïc Rolland finished at the top in 4:58, 5:04, and 5:07.
And for the women, it was Clementine Geoffray, Blandine L’Hirondel, and Adeline Martin at the top in 5:44, 5:53, and 5:56.
The triumphant French women at the 2024 European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships Trail Race (l-to-r): 3. Adeline Martin, 2. Blandine L’Hirondel, 1. Clementine Geoffray, and 4. Julie Roux. Photo: Alanis Duc/FFA
Up and Down Mountain Race
Skyrunning ace Roberto Delorenzi (Switzerland) won individual gold in the Sunday men’s race in 1:11:28, only three seconds ahead of Lukas Ehrle, who had bested Delorenzi by one position and 18 seconds in taking bronze in the Uphill Mountain Race on Fridays. As such, it was Ehrle’s second individual medal on the weekend. Theodore Klein (France), who was sixth in the Uphill Mountain Race, collected a bronze in 1:11:49. The race ran 16k in distance and Delorenzi overcame a wrong turn to gain the win, and Klein overcame a late muddy fall to hold onto third.
Uphill Mountain Race winner Nina Engelhard doubled back for a second gold on the weekend. Engelhard won a close race against Judith Wyder (Switzerland) and Mădălina Florea. Only 28 seconds separated the three, with Engelhard at the front in 1:22:44. Wyder, who was sixth in Friday’s Uphill Mountain Race, vaulted from fourth to second in the final kilometer to finish second in 1:23:09 and Florea was third in 1:23:12.
Global Organization of Multi-Day Ultramarathoners (GOMU) 48-Hour World Championships – Balatonfüred, Hungary
Bartosz Fudali (Poland), Nicolás de las Heras Monforte (Spain), and Beda Szabolcs (Hungary) earned men’s medals with 447.293, 441.343, and 433.869 kilometers. That’s 277.9, 274.3, and 269.6 miles.
But it was the women that really shined at this race.
Three women beat the 400-kilometer mark (248.5 miles), and Stine Rex (Denmark) beat Camille Herron’s world record, while Irina Masanova (Russia, lives in Cyprus) came oh-so-close.
Rex and and Masanova both were incredibly close to each other into the final minutes. Rex totaled 435.564 kilometers and Masanova ran 434.912 kilometers. That’s 270.6 and 270.2 miles.
Herron’s 48-hour world record is 435.336 kilometers, and so Rex went 228 meters further.
Rex’s run, of course, would be pending ratification, and to make it more complicated, the race was the GOMU world championships, but the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) maintains the 48-hour world record books, and it’s not clear if this race was IAU certified. We’ve asked the IAU, but haven’t heard back yet, so until we’ll defer to the multi-day experts for greater clarification in the comments section.
Behind Rex and Masanova and over that 400k mark, third-place Viktória Brown (Hungary, lives in Canada) went for 405.025 kilometers, or 251.7 miles.
Mozart by UTMB – Salzburg, Austria
The event brought 3,200 runners to the birthplace of Mozart and the film location of “The Sound of Music,” but the weather was this year’s tune. Strong winds, cold temperatures, and heavy rain pushed the event’s two longest races onto alternate courses. A 15-kilometer section of each course was rerouted, but the original distance and elevation gain largely held. Many runners remarked at how technical the downhill sections became in the muddy conditions.
Did we mention it was wet at the 2024 Mozart by UTMB race? Photo: UTMB
Mozart 100k
The event’s longest race went for 65 miles. Jack Chamberlain (U.K.) led the men with an 11:19 finish. Paweł Czerniak (Poland) and Carlo Salvetti (Italy) were up next on the podium at 11:28 and 11:33.
Women’s winner Fiona Pascall ensured a British sweep of the top spots with a 12:06 run. Claudia Chmielowska (Poland) and Maryline Nakache (France) got under 13 hours with 12:44 and 12:52 second- and third-place finishes.
Mozart Ultra
The 50-mile race climbed 13,451 feet on its course around Salzburg. Žan Žepič (Slovenia) won the men’s race in 7:50, and Bernhard Mackner (Austria) was second in 8:15. Tomáš Franče (Czech Republic) climbed to the third position in 8:45.
Cristina Santurino (Spain) championed the women’s race in 10:21. Sara Ammann (Switzerland) and Katerina Pospisilova (Czech Republic) were second and third in 10:50 and 11:00.
Mozart Marathon
The top three men came in under three hours. Andrzej Witek (Poland), Sven Koch (Germany), and Jonas Hesthaug (Norway) hit the podium in 2:54, 2:57, and 2:58, respectively.
The women’s leaders were especially close too. Nuria Gil (Spain) edged Gemma Hillier-Moses (U.K.) for the win in 3:35. Hillier-Moses was only 47 seconds back at 3:36, and third-place Katarina Lovrantova (Slovakia) was right there too in 3:38.
Hochkönig Skyrace – Maria Alm, Austria
The race was just about an hour away from the Mozart by UTMB event, and high country weather also pushed the race to its lower “B” route. Even then conditions were so challenging that more than 30% of the field didn’t finish the 32k course. The race was the year’s sixth Skyrunner World Series contest.
Men
The men’s podium was entirely Italian. Lorenzo Beltrami, Daniel Antonioli, and William Boffelli finished in 3:15, 3:18, and 3:19, respectively.
Women
Hillary Gerardi (U.S., lives in France) gained the ultimate lead on the race’s second climb and stayed in front for a 4:07 finish. Iris Pessey (France) and Ingrid Mutter (Romania) joined Gerardi on the podium with 4:14 and 4:15 marks. Pessey and Mutter were only 28 seconds apart.
Iris Pessey getting a taste of the snow at the 2024 Höchkonig Skyrace. Photo: Antton Guaresti
Additional Races and Runs
MaXi-Race du lac d’Annecy – Lyon, France
The 93k race (58 miles) around the lake featured a bunch of French all stars. After going back and forth for much of the men’s race, Mathieu Blanchard pulled away ever so slightly in the final 20k to score the men’s win. He finished in 9:10, and Thibaut Garrivier and Aurelien Dunand-Pallaz were second and third in 9:17 and 9:28. French runners swept the women’s podium too. Camille Bruyas was first in 11:00, and Fiona Porte and Anne-Cicile Thevenot were next 11:12 and 11:47. Full results.
Smith Rock Classic – Terrebonne, Oregon
Alpine Running’s inaugural event at Smith Rock State Park crowned Kyle Schenone and Rachel Hawkins as its 50-mile winners in 7:46 and 8:20, and Lance Cundy and Brooke Carmen went the fastest in the 50k at 4:09 and 4:47. Full results.
Rachel Hawkins on her way to winning the 2024 Smith Rock Classic 50 Mile. Photo: Steven Mortinson/Alpine Running
Stumptown 50k – Portland, Oregon
The race was on Memorial Day, Monday, May 27 in Forest Park and on the popular Wildwood Trail. Race winners Clark Morgan and Julija Soryte ripped through course and its 4,000 feet of gain in 3:54 and 4:38. Full results.
The Stumptown 50k winner, Clark Morgan. Photo: Full Send Media
Cape Mountain 50k – Florence, Oregon
The two-lap race was won by Ian Wildermuth and Alex Borsuk in 4:42 and 4:41. The two were 42 seconds apart with Borsuk both the overall and women’s winner, and in new course record time. Full results.
Dirty Half Marathon – Bend, Oregon
Mario Mendoza and Jess Schueler won the trail half marathon in 1:16 and 1:32. Both races were close. Mendoza was only nine seconds in front of Bailey Smith and Schueler edged out Lina Mann by 30 seconds. Full results.
Cool Moon Trail Runs – Cool, California
The 100-mile wins went to Jakob Walter and Lindsay Kasow in 21:32 and 25:53. Full results.
XTERRA Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon – Deadwood, South Dakota
On a rails-to-trails course, Andrew Kimpel and Nicolette Schmidt won in 2:46 and 3:19. Full results.
Pi in the Sky – Phoenix, Arizona
The low-key first-year 8 miler sent runners up Piestewa Peak. Top finishers Quinton Burden and Kelsey Sikkema finished in 1:18 and 1:46. Full results.
North Fork 50 Mile – Buffalo Creek, Colorado
Jim Rebenack and Ellen Cannon won the 50-mile race in 7:22 and 8:59, and Ryan Sullivan and Colleen Noonan were tops in the 50k in 3:42 and 4:38. Full results.
Crater Trail Run 50k – Decorah, Iowa
Race winners Kory Kowallis and Lila Planavsky finished in 4:38 and 6:24. Full results.
Mohican 100 Mile – Loudonville, Ohio
It’s one of the country’s oldest 100 milers, and this year it was James Solomon and Brenda Johnson on top in 19:27 and 21:16. Over 50 miles, Jeremy Pope and Shari Hastings won in 7:39 and 9:57. Full results.
World’s End Ultramarathons – Forksville, Pennsylvania
Both the 100k and 50k ran as a single loop mostly in World’s End State Park. Trevor Fye and Mackenzie Nolan were at the top of the 100k in 11:39 and 13:50, and Dean Banko and Katie Bicksler were best in the 50k at 5:30 and 6:12. Full results.
Capital Backyard Ultra – Lorton, Virginia
This is typically one of the more competitive backyard ultras and they were still running when we reported last week. When it was done, Levi Yoder outdistanced Jennifer Russo 270 miles to 266 miles. A year earlier Yoder stopped at 262 miles when Russo totaled 308 miles. Full results.
Old Dominion 100 Mile – Woodstock, Virginia
Official results haven’t yet hit the web at the time of this article’s writing on Sunday night, but social media points to John Kelly winning in 15:44. Might a reader be able to share the women’s winner? Full results (when available).
Cayuga Trails – Ithaca, New York
In the 50-mile offering, it was Parker Weeks and Meagan Hanifee who took home the wins in 7:36 and 8:57, respectively. In the 50k, it was Greg Close in 4:54 and Valeria Garcia-Martinez in 6:05. Full results.
Parker Weeks charging ahead on his way to winning the 2024 Cayuga Trails 50 Mile. Photo: Goat Factory Media
Chocorua Mountain Race – Tamworth, New Hampshire
The roughly 23k race ran a lollipop route with 4,500 feet of elevation gain through the White Mountain National Forest. Michael Conley and Abby Bennett were champs in 2:32 and 2:48, respectively. Full results.
Call for Comments
- What did you race, crew, or spectate this weekend?
- Got any extra intel on the races covered in this article?
