Last week was a lot, and now we’re back to our normal geographic mix, distance and terrain variety. That includes the Skyrunning World Championships, a competitive Cirque Series race, the Wasatch Front 100 Mile, and a $10,000 prize purse in West Virginia.
Skyrunning World Championships – Soria, Spain
The Skyrunning World Championships and its three racing disciplines took place over the weekend, put on by the sport of skyrunning’s governing body, the International Skyrunning Federation (ISF).
For clarity, the Skyrunning World Championships are not part of the Skyrunner World Series. The Skyrunner World Series is an independent annual series sanctioned by the ISF that culminates in its own championship event, SkyMasters.
Vertical
Friday’s vertical race went up 1,050 meters over 4.8 kilometers.
Alain Santamaría (Spain) trailed Joseph Demoor (U.S.) by 14 seconds with nine minutes to go, but overtook the American on the course’s highest slopes. Santamaría won in 40:56 and Demoor was second in 41:00. Alex Oberacher (Italy) was third in 42:11.
Women’s winner Naiara Irigoyen (Spain) separated from Paola Stampanoni (Switzerland) and Benedetta Broggi (Italy) on the high section and won in 50:08. Stampanoni and Broggi were second and third in 50:27 and 50:43.
SkyUltra
The Saturday long race went for 70k with 4,350 meters of climbing.
Cristian Minoggio (Italy) ruled the men’s race. He was way out in front of everyone with a 6:53 finish. Jesus Gil (Spain) and Shoma Otagiri (Japan) came next in 7:21 and 7:28.
The women were more closely bunched. Giula Marchesoni (Italy) opened a small lead over the final three hours and stayed in front for victory in 8:38. Honoka Akiyama (Japan) and Gemma Arenas (Spain) podiumed with 8:43 and 8:48 finishes.
Sky
The event culminated with Sunday’s 37k race that totaled 2,540 meters of elevation gain.
Alain Santamaría doubled back for his second win of the weekend. He was first in 3:33. Just over a minute back, Lorenzo Beltrami (Italy) chased in second at 3:34, and Ruy Ueda (Japan) earned a bronze in third at 3:39.
Alain Santamaría, the 2024 Skyrunning World Championships 37k men’s winner. Photo: ISF/iancorless.com
Swedish runners Louise Jernberg and Barbro Fjällstedt led the women’s group in 4:25 and 4:27, and Karina Carsolio (Mexico) was third in 4:30.
The 2024 Skyrunning World Championships women’s podium (left-to-right): 2. Barbro Fjällstedt, 1. Louise Jernberg, and 3. Karina Carsolio. Photo: ISF/iancorless.com
World’s Fastest Run – Vilnius, Lithuania
I had Rocky IV vibes going into this one, but records and record attempts are fickle. The 100k world record holder Aleksandr Sorokin (Lithuania) did not start the race due to injury, and 50-mile world record holder Charlie Lawrence (U.S.) dropped 65k into the race.
Toru Somiya (Japan) was the 100k race winner in 6:42. Second-place Dariusz Nozynski (Poland) finished in 6:44 and Tomas Bizimavičius (Lithuania) was third in 6:48. Sorokin’s world record of 6:05 from 2023 still stands.
Toru Somiya, the 2024 World’s Fastest Run 100k men’s winner. Photo: Saulius Čirba
Andrea Pomaranski (U.S.) won the women’s race in 8:50. Pomaranski was second at the 2023 IAU 50k World Championships.
Remigijus Kančys (Lithuania) won the 50k in 2:49 and set a new national record.
Andrea Pomaranski, the 2024 World’s Fastest Run 100k female winner. Photo: Saulius Čirba
Cirque Series – Arapahoe Basin, Colorado
The year’s final Cirque Series race went 9.2 miles from the Arapahoe Basin ski area. After a high altitude 10,780-foot start, the race climbed 2,411 feet. The race paid out $1,000 to its winners.
Men
Patrick Kipngeno (Kenya) is back in the U.S., and riding a winning streak. He won two World Mountain Running Association World Cup races last weekend and pushed that streak to three in a row. Kipgneno conquered the Cirque Series course in 1:04:31. He’ll go for win four in a row next weekend at the Golden Trail World Series contest in California.
Second-place Johen Deleon came out of nowhere to finish on the podium in 1:05:13. The 26-year-old has limited trail results to this point. Most recently he was 20th at the 2023 Pikes Peak Ascent.
Joseph Gray was third in 1:05:48. All of the top three men beat Eli Hemming’s 2023 winning time.
Deeper results included Philemon Kiriago (Kenya) in sixth at 1:09:17. After a second and first at the last two Sierre-Zinal races, I’m convinced Kiriago runs his best at Sierre-Zinal.
Women
Jane Maus shined in the women’s race with a 1:19:26 first-place run. Maus won the July 2024 Silverton Alpine Marathon and has the Javelina 100k on her calendar next for October 2024.
Alexa Aragon and Jamie Brusa were second and third in 1:21:45 and 1:24:10, respectively.
Wasatch Front 100 Mile – Kaysville, Utah
The point-to-point run totals 24,000 feet of elevation gain. There were 164 finishers against 298 starters on the course that the race calls “100 Miles of Heaven and Hell.”
Men
Jimmy Elam toppled defending champ Jose Cruz and for much of the day threatened Geoff Roes’s longstanding course record. Elam finished in 19:08. Cruz was second in 20:27, 24 minutes better than his winning time from a year ago. Roes’s course best of 18:30 dates back to 2009, and Elam’s 19:08 appears to be the race’s second-fastest ever. The course has changed over the years. Taylor Fannin was third in 21:13.
Jimmy Elam, the 2024 Wasatch Front 100 Mile men’s winner. Photo courtesy of Wasatch Front 100 Mile.
Women
Just 25 minutes separated the first three women, and just four minutes the first two. Elizabeth Butler edged Lauran Hansen for the women’s win in 26:22. Hansen was right there too in 26:26. Andrea McAffee was third in 26:47.
Elizabeth Butler, the 2024 Wasatch Front 100 Mile women’s winner. Photo courtesy of Wasatch Front 100 Mile.
6 dagsløb i Åbybro -Åbybro, Denmark
The women’s six-day world record hadn’t been touched for 34 years until Camille Herron ran 560 miles in March of this year.
And now, Stine Rex (Denmark) has eclipsed Herron’s feat. Rex finished on Sunday, September 1. She totaled 913.606k, or 567 miles.
As is normal, the record is pending International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) ratification.
Additional Races and Runs
Infinite Trails – Gastein, Austria
The event included a team race that totaled 21k, 35k, and 44k runs, and solo 60k, 45k, 30k, and 15k races.
In the men’s team contest, Eric LiPuma (U.S.), Dan Jones (New Zealand), and Jeshurun Small (U.S.) led everyone with a combined 11:00 finish. All three were doubling back from their UTMB-weekend races.
Kim Schreiber (Germany), Martin Anthamatten (Switzerland), and Martin Dematteis (Italy) led the mixed-gender relay in 11:34, and Alexandra Danner (Germany), Sara Hutter (Italy), and Megan Lane (U.S.) teamed to win the women’s relay in 13:32.
The start of the 2024 Infinite Trails. Photo: Infinite Trails
Dolomitemann – Lienz, Austria
The relay race combines mountain running, paragliding, mountain biking, and kayaking, and typically features some top trail runners. Richard Atuya (Kenya), Josphat Kiprotich (Kenya), and Michael Saoli (Kenya) ran the day’s first-, second-, and third- fastest opening legs, and their teams finished first, second, and fourth. Henri Aymonod (Italy) was the runner for the third-place team, and they greatly moved up on the mountain biking leg. Full results.
Pine to Palm 100 Mile – Williams, Oregon
Jace Ives and regular iRunFar contributor Annie Behrend won the point-to-point run in 21:47 and 22:40, respectively, and Behrend was second overall. Full results.
Wy’east Wonder – Parkdale, Oregon
The Go Beyond Racing event included 50 mile and 50k races on point-to-point courses mostly on two ridges alongside Mount Hood. Kody Shriver and Audrey Lawrence were tops over 50 miles in 7:52 and 9:00, and Peter Buckley and Meg Imhoff won the 50k in 4:12 and 5:20. Full results.
Mogollon Monster 100 Mile – Pine, Arizona
The Aravaipa Running races includes exceptionally rugged terrain around the Mogollon Rim. Kilian Korth and Teresa Shiflett slayed the monster in 22:37 and 29:28. Full results.
Devil on the Divide 50k – Empire, Colorado
Men’s winner Scott Schrader just barely edged out women’s winner Megan Burke. Schrader won the high altitude run in 5:09, but Burke scored a new women’s course record in 5:10. Full results.
Superior Fall Trail Races – Two Harbors, Minnesota
The races run point-to-point on the Superior Hiking Trail through the Sawtooth Mountain Range. The 100-mile winners Scott Wopota and Cheryl Matson finished in 20:54 and 27:41, and 50-mile champs Andrew Weber and Erin Green made it in 9:21 and 10:24, respectively. Full results.
Hurricane 100k – Hurricane, West Virginia
The race had a $10,000 prize purse that awarded $2,500 to its winners. Still, there were just 32 finishers and only three women’s finishers. The women’s finishers won $2,500, $1,500, and $1,000 then. For the men, Alex Minor overcame a 2023 loss to Dan Green for the big money. Minor won in 8:45 to Green’s 9:03. Minor’s 2022 win in 8:38 still stands as the course record. David Smith was third man in 10:36. Women’s champ Sawyer Magnett was hours ahead in 9:55. Leslie Starnes and Kimberly Arbinger were second and third in 13:37 and 16:34, respectively. Full results.
Call for Comments
What else happened over the weekend?
