On Sunday, Spain’s Kilian Jornet scored a decisive win at the Zegama-Aizkorri trail marathon in Spain; it was his 11th victory at this race in 12 appearances, and he finished eight minutes ahead of second place, in 3:38:07. It was a very close race for second and third, with Elhousine Ellazaoui of Morocco securing second in 3:46:16, and Bart Przedwojewski of Poland third, in 3:46:54.
Zegama is a highly technical race in Spain’s Basque country, with 2,700m of elevation gain and an atmosphere of excitement to rival some of the biggest sporting events in Europe. Fans line the race’s steep ascents on both sides, with barely enough space for runners to pass between them.
Norway’s Sylvia Nordskar dominated the women’s race in similar fashion, taking the win in 4:29:12; Spain’s own Malen Osa was six minutes back, finishing second in 4:35:19, and Marta Martínez, also of Spain, was third, in 4:35:39.
Zegama is part of the Golden Trail Series–an eight-race series where the top 30 men and women from the overall ranking, after the eighth race, will be invited to the Grand Final, to be held this year in the Swiss region of Ascona-Locarno. This year’s series kicked off with a couple of races in Asia–first in Japan, then China.
Swiss runner conquers Golden Trail Series race in Japan after Achilles surgery
The only year Jornet competed and did not win was 2015, when he experienced stomach problems late in the race and faded to 22nd place. He set the course record of 3:36:40 in 2022.
The next race in the series is the Mont-Blanc Marathon in Chamonix, France, which is scheduled for June 30.
For full results from Zegama-Aizkorri, click here.
