Argentina and Australia, Thunderbunny and Hellbender.
It was a global weekend with otherworldly performances, and we’re running it down.
Transvulcania – La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain
Ultramarathon 72k
iRunFar was quick on the earlier race details.
The island traverse went for 45 miles on an up-and-down course that accumulated 14,000 feet of elevation gain.
Women
Ruth Croft (New Zealand) went to the front early and outpaced a competitive chase from three-time winner Ida Nilsson (Sweden, lives in Norway). Croft finished in 8:02 and it was a new course record.
Nilsson edged out Sunmaya Budha (Nepal) for second, as the two ran 8:16 and 8:20. Croft gapped Nilsson and Budha, and Nilsson and Budha, in turn, gapped the rest of the field, too. Nilsson has seven weeks until the Western States 100, where she was seventh a year ago.
The women’s top 10 was:
- Ruth Croft (New Zealand) – 8:02
- Ida Nilsson (Sweden, lives in Norway) – 8:16
- Sunmaya Budha (Nepal) – 8:20
- Ekaterina Mityaeva (Andorra) – 8:40
- Hannah Allgood (U.S.) – 8:43
- Marianne Hogan (Canada) – 8:51
- Katharina Hartmuth (Germany) – 8:57
- Azara García (Spain) – 9:14
- Marina Cugnetto (Italy) – 9:18
- Keely Henninger (U.S.) – 9:23
Ruth Croft celebrating her win at the 2024 Transvulcania Ultramarathon. Photo courtesy of Transvulcania.
Men
Jon Albon (U.K., lives in Norway) ran away from the men’s chasers on the way to the 50-kilometer high point, and he was out of reach the rest of the way. Albon finished in 7:03, and he too is seven weeks away from the Western States 100. It’ll be his debut for the 100-mile distance.
Dmitry Mityaev (Andorra) and Tom Evans (U.K.) charged late, but when Albon couldn’t be caught, the two finished together in 7:05.
The complete men’s top 10 was:
- 1. Jon Albon (U.K., lives in Norway) – 7:03
- T-2. Dmitry Mityaev (Andorra) – 7:05
- T-2. Tom Evans (U.K.) – 7:05
- 4. Jeshurun Small (U.S.) – 7:10
- 5. Ionel Manole (Spain) – 7:19
- 6. Ben Stout (U.S.) – 7:19
- 7. Manuel Anguita (Spain) – 7:20
- 8. Pere Aurell (Spain) – 7:27
- 9. Antoine Thiriat (France) – 7:39
- 10. Tobias Geiser (Italy) – 7:39
Jon Albon in the lead in La Palma’s high country. Photo courtesy of Transvulcania.
Marathon 43k
The women’s marathon ran close at the top. Barely three minutes separated women’s one and two Gemma Arenas (Spain) and Ines Astrain (Spain). The pair finished in 4:35 and 4:38, respectively. Kim Schreiber (Germany) was third in 4:44.
And the men’s podium was even more tightly packed. Francisco Jose Anguita (Spain) beat Peter Fraňo (Slovakia) for the win, 3:44 to 3:48, and Milly Dos Santos Lopes (Cape Verde) was only 42 seconds behind Fraňo in third also in 3:48.
Ultra-Trail Snowdonia by UTMB – Wales, U.K.
UTS 100 Mile
The event’s longest race went 104 miles with 31,167 feet of elevation gain, and that challenge led to well over half of the 260 starters dropping before the finish. How cool must the rare Northern Lights occurrence overnight have been though, for the fortunate group able to catch sight.
The difficult course greatly spread out the women. Rachel Fawcett (U.K.) won in 34:10, Maria Pijoan (Spain) was second in 39:47, with Corine Kagerer (Switzerland) and Nikki Arthur (U.K.) both finishing in 41:12 for a third-place tie.
Mark Darbyshire (U.K.) was well clear of his chasers in the men’s run. Darbyshire finished in 23:41, and second- and third-place Andy Berry (U.K.) and Michael Dunstan (Australia) came next in 25:18 and 25:45.
The aurora borealis graced runners at the 2024 Ultra-Trail Snowdonia by UTMB. Photo: UTMB
UTS 100k
The 64-mile race totaled a burly 20,997 feet of elevation gain. These courses are tough.
Women’s winner Aleksandra Narkowicz (Poland) outpaced the rest of the women by 50 minutes in 16:16. Tess Elias (U.K.) and Georgina Lewis (U.K.) trailed in 17:06 and 17:57, respectively.
Italians Philipp Ausserhofer and Daniel Jung tied for the win in 12:41. Gautier Bonnecarrere (France) was third in 12:55.
UTS 50k
The 34 miler was pretty aggressive too. There were 10,826 feet of elevation gain in this one.
Henriette Albon (Norway) dominated the women’s race. She was nearly an hour ahead of everyone else in 6:39. Twin sisters Lina and Sanna El Kott (Sweden) were next in 7:35 and 7:36, respectively.
It was close, but no one got in under six hours in the men’s race. Brennan Townshend (U.K.) was first in 6:01. Michele Meridio (Italy) and Harry Jones (U.K.) podiumed with 6:08 and 6:11 marks.
Valhöll by UTMB – Belgrano, Argentina
The roughly 76-mile mountain run went up and down for 16,473 feet of gain.
The fields were largely from the host country, but Tara Fraga (U.S.) scored the women’s win in 20:12. Belen Barrera (Argentina) and Laura Gordiola (Argentina) were second and third in 20:36 and 20:51.
As with the women’s race, most of the top men’s finishers came from Argentina too. Gabriel Rueda (Argentina) won in 14:27, 10 minutes better than Ludovic Pommeret (France). Sergio Gustavo Pereyra (Argentina) was third in in 14:46.
Runners and horses are part of the landscape at the Valhöll by UTMB. Photo: UTMB
Cocodona 250 Mile – Flagstaff, Arizona
Dang, that was good! The nearly 250-mile race with 40,000 feet of climbing came down to the final miles and hours. iRunFar earlier wrote about the exciting finish.
Women
The 2023 third-placer and 200-mile all-star Mika Thewes pushed to a big lead on the race’s second day and led as late as mile 233 before running into trouble. Rachel Entrekin regained the lead on night three and ran into Flagstaff in 73:31 as the first-place finisher. Entrekin had earlier won a bunch of 100 milers, and totaled 212 miles at the December 2023 Across the Years 48-hour race.
Manu Vilaseca (Brazil, lives in Spain) got past Thewes too and was second in 78:04. Thewes recovered enough to hold onto third in 79:30.
It could be a quick turnaround for Thewes. She’s signed up for the Tahoe 200 Mile in June.
Rachel Entrekin on her way to winning the 2024 Cocodona 250 Mile. Photo: Howie Stern
Men
The men left it ’till late too. Harry Subertas ran down longtime leader Jeff Browning in the final miles and finished in 59:50. Browning was second in 60:19, and Arlen Glick was third in 61:46.
As with Thewes, Subertas too is registered for the June Tahoe 200 Mile but he also has both the August Bigfoot 200 Mile and October Moab 240 Mile on his calendar.
It was barely a year ago that Glick was best known for his frequent 12- and 13-hour 100-mile runs, and he’s really changed that up with finishes at the Western States 100, Hardrock 100, Run Rabbit Run 100 Mile, and now the super-long Cocodona 250 Mile.
Harry Subertas won the 2024 Cocodona 250 Mile via a come-from-behind performance where he only took over the race lead with a few miles left in the race. Photo: Howie Stern
Additional Races and Runs
European Masters Off-Road Running Championships – Madeira, Portugal
I swear, Madeira versus the Canary Islands is one of the best geographic rivalries in trail running. This event had an 8k mountain run, a vertical kilometer race, and a 33k trail run spread across three days.
Barbara Taibon (Austria) won the mountain race in 1:01, with results for the men’s race not yet posted.
The Vertical race was the second of the weekend and Monica Carl (Germany) got to the top first in 46:40. Men’s winner Martin Alvarez-Espinar (Spain) hit the high point in 41:04.
Sunday’s long course saw a small women’s field led by Karen Freitag (Austria) in 3:58 and Shaban Mustafa (Bulgaria) ahead of the men in 2:55.
Margaret River Ultramarathon – Wilyabrup, Australia
The 50-mile course goes point-to-point along the coast in western Australia. Up front, it was all Australians. Jayme Bergman and Josh Tighe won in 7:45 and 7:19. Kate Baker and Ben Leeson won the accompanying marathon in 4:07 and 3:48. Full results.
Not a bad looking spot for an ultramarathon at the 2024 Margaret River Ultramarathon. Photo: Rapid Ascent/Photos4Sale
Elk Beaver Ultras – Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Rosheen Lord and Matt Houlzet made it around 10 laps of the 10k course faster than anyone else to win the 100k races in 12:53 and 9:46, respectively. Katrina Sawan and Cole Czuchnicki went a little less loopy in winning the 50-mile event in 9:40 and 7:51.
In the 50k, Catrin Jones bettered Beverly Anderson-Abbs’ women’s 45-49 age group Canadian record of 3:44:13 with a time of 3:42:27 en route to an overall win. Riley Johnson bested the men’s field in 4:08.
Catrin Jones after setting a women’s 45-49 age group Canadian record at the 2024 Elk Beaver 50k. Photo: Darcy Kernel
Tiger Claw – Issaquah, Washington
The Tiger Claw 50k has 9,000 feet of climb and features three different ascents and a common descent, and runners get to choose the order in which they tackle the ascents. The Tiger Claw Ascent is a 2.5-mile, 2,500-foot uphill race.
Audrey Lawrence and Andrew Bachman won the 50k in 6:00 and 4:54, respectively. In the Ascent, Ladia Albertson-Junkans and Joseph Gray won in 36:10 and 28:31. It was Gray’s second straight win at the race. Full results.
Tillamook Burn Trail Run – Timber, Oregon
The three-day event included 20-mile, 50-mile, and 50k races on consecutive days in the Tillamook State Forest. Kaitlyn Peale and Andrew Bumbalough won the opening day’s 20-mile race in 3:13 and 2:40.
Married couple Rachel Drake and Tyler Green won the Saturday 50 miler in 8:13 and 6:51.
And in Sunday’s 50k, it was Barrett Gray and Justin Grunewald that ran 5:00 and 4:12 for victory.
Quiksilver 100k – San Jose, California
Race winners Teresa Kaiser and Steven Kool finished in 11:35 and 9:06, respectively. It was the tenth year for the 100k, run through the Santa Clara Valley and the Santa Cruz Mountains. Full results.
Track Fest – Los Angeles, California
Anna Gibson ran 4:10 in her heat of the 1,500 meters to finish third, and Allie Ostrander was fourth in the top heat of the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 9:32. Full results.
(In 2023, Ostrander was suspended for four months after testing positive for canrenone, a metabolite of spironolactone, after it was determined that she mistakenly took the drug without first obtaining a World Anti-Doping Agency Therapeutic Use Exemption.)
Pauite Meadows 50k – Susanville, California
Cara Sullivan scored victory for the women in 5:45 and Connor Fisher set a new men’s course record in 3:55. Full results.
Sedona Canyons 125 Mile – Flagstaff, Arizona
The race ran alongside the back half of the Cocodona 250 Mile. Katherine Edwards and Michael Greer got to the finish first in 30:21 and 26:36. Full results.
Jemez Mountain – Los Alamos, New Mexico
The 2024 Jemez Mountain Runs 50 Mile, 50k, and 15 Mile will be remembered for their crazy storms, which brought lightning, rain, and hail, forcing the event to halt the 50 miler and many runners to drop in order to stay safe. Though official results aren’t online as the race organization sorts out the weather-induced chaos, we know that Isabella Poulos and Joshua Mirth won the 50k in 5:55 and 4:53, respectively. We’ll update this as we learn more. Full results (when available).
The women’s podium at the 2024 Jemez Mountain 50k (left to right): 1, Isabella Poulos, 2. Sara Boughner, and 3. Tsaina Mahlen. Photo: Tom Stockton
Quad Rock – Fort Collins, Colorado
Leah Yingling and Tyler Fox won the 50 miler in 9:00 and 7:39, respectively. Fox won with less than a minute lead on defending champ Ryan Montgomery. The course climbs 11,000 feet across six major climbs.
Imogen Ainsworth and Kyle Leto were tops in the 25 miler at 3:55 and 3:29. Ainsworth’s time was the race’s second-fastest in its 14-year history, and Leto only gained the lead on the final climb.
Flower Moon – Pawhuska, Oklahoma
Nicole Laughton was first woman and first overall in the 50 miler at 8:48. Steve Kohler was the men’s winner in 9:23. Full results.
Ice Age Trail – La Grange, Wisconsin
The longtime race saw Katia Wanish and Sidney Noble win over 50 miles in 7:38 and 6:17. For Noble, it was a repeat victory after last year’s 6:32 finish. The 50k champs Caroline Green and Dana Riederer finished the trail in 4:58 and 4:13. Full results.
Sidney Noble winning the 2024 Ice Age 50 Mile. Photo: Kris Hinrichs Photography
Thunderbunny 50k – Athens, Ohio
The seventh-year race shows off Strouds Run State Park in the Appalachian foothills. Becca Holtkamp won the women’s race in 5:53 and Joshua Park scored a new course record in 3:44. Full results.
Becca Holtkamp enjoying a beautiful spring day on her way to winning the 2024 Thunderbunny 50k. Photo: Standing Rock Media
Glacier Ridge 50/50 – Portersville, Pennsylvania
The races happen in the green foliage and spring wildflowers of the Moraine State Park and Jennings Environmental Education Center. The 50k winners Anna Balouris and Dean Banko finished in 4:55 and 4:52, and 50-mile leaders Melissa Goodman and Jeffrey Adams came through in 10:30 and 7:53. Full results.
Dawn to Dusk Track Race – Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania
Nora Jodrey and Michael DeGeorge won the 24-hour track race with 127.25 and 140.92 miles. Full results.
Hoof It on the Hill 52k – Cherry Creek, New York
The second-year race had a small field led by Allayva Stier and Luke Wolfling in 5:41 and 5:00. Full results.
Hellbender 100 Mile – Old Fort, North Carolina
Meg Landymore and Sondre Stier Thorbergsen (Norway) won the Black Mountain adventure in 26:54 and 20:44, a new course record. Full results.
Meg Landymore stepping her way to victory at the 2024 Hellbender 100 Mile. Photo: Pete Schreiner
Call for Comments
Was that good for you too? I love it when there’s such a mix of races on the weekend.
