Wow, that was a big weekend of racing! There was a lot happening, with many runners using the multitude of events as preparation races for UTMB. We’re traveling to Colorado and Oregon in the U.S., Austria, Romania, Sweden, and a lot of other places to check in on this week in racing. Let’s go!
High Lonesome 100 Mile — Nathrop, Colorado
Men
John Herrick passed Gabe Joyes with about 25 miles to go and carried on to win in 21:23. Joyes was second in 22:29. The times rank second and fourth best in the race’s four years. Paul Terranova ran 23:39 for third.
John Herrick, the men’s winner of the 2021 High Lonesome 100 Mile. Photo: Rick Mayo/Mile 90 Photography
Women
Salynda Heinl ran 25:06 to win the women’s race, leading the entire way. She set a new course record, 22 minutes better than the previous best. Heinl is registered for September’s Run Rabbit Run 100 Mile, a race where she placed fifth in 2019.
Kaci Lickteig and 2019 winner Silke Koester were second and third in 26:40 and 26:41, just over a minute apart. Koester was comfortably in second for much of the race, but Lickteig made up a 24-minute gap in the last eight miles to move in front. According to Koester’s social media, their race came down to the final 200 meters.
Salynda Heinl, the women’s champion, running the 2021 High Lonesome 100 Mile. Photo: Rick Mayo/Mile 90 Photography
Kaci Lickteig at the 2021 High Lonesome 100 Mile. Lickteig finished second woman. Photo: Kristi Mayo/Mile 90 Photography
Fletta Trail – Malonno, Italy
This year marked the 58th Fletta Trail race, and the weekend opened with the PizTri Vertical, which served as the Italian Vertical K championship.
Men
In the PizTri 3.5k uphill race, Henri Aymonod (Italy) won for the third consecutive year. He finished in 34:27, only six seconds ahead of Tiziano Moia (Italy).
A day later in the 21k race, 2016 race winner Petro Mamu (Eritrea) sprinted for the win ahead of Geoffrey Ndungu (Kenya). The two finished two seconds apart in 1:26. Timothi Kirui (Kenya) was third in 1:27, just less than a minute back of the race winner. Aymonod, the Vertical K winner, was sixth in 1:30.
In 2017, Mamu failed two doping tests, after both the World Mountain Running Championships and the World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships. He was given a nine-month ban starting in September of 2017 by the IAAF for testing positive for fenoterol.
Women
In the uphill PizTri, 3.5km in length with 1,000 meters of vertical gain, Andrea Mayr (Austria) had to chase Joyce Njeru (Kenya) early, but by the time they topped out, it wasn’t close. Mayr finished in 38:54 to Njeru’s 41:16. Erica Ghelfi was the first Italian, finishing fourth in 41:54.
Njeru upstaged Mayr in the longer race, running 1:38 for the 21k to Mayr’s 1:40. Mayr pushed hard on all of the uphills and led until 18k, when Njeru descended quicker. Francesca Ghelfi (Italy) was third in 1:42.
A week away from the competitive Sierre-Zinal race, past winner Lucy Wambui Murigi (Kenya) was just seventh here.
Grossglockner Ultra Trail – Weißsee Gletscherwelt, Austria
Grossglockner is usually a 110k adventure around the top of Austria, but expected thunderstorms throughout the day pushed the long course course down to 80k.
Men
Daniel Jung (Italy) was way out in front, winning the 80k in 8:52. He’s registered for TDS in just a few weeks. Gerald Fister and Christian Stern ran 9:10 and 9:29 for second and third, respectively.
In the 57k race, Andreas Reiterer (Italy) got away from Hannes Namberger (Germany) and Jacob Herrmann (Austria) for a quick win in 5:22. His chasers followed in 5:40 and 5:54.
Women
Esther Felhofer gapped the field in the 80k, winning in 11:13. Tatiana Mikitina and Ildiko Wermescher (Hungary) were second and third in 11:31 and 12:03.
The women’s 57k was particularly close. Emmiliese Von Clemm (USA) edged Julia Kessler (Italy) and Rosanna Buchauer (Germany). The trio finished in 6:55, 6:58, and 6:58 with only six seconds between second and third.
Additional Races
Elkhorn Crest 50 Mile – Sumpter, Oregon
Ryan Kaiser set a new course record at Alpine Running’s fifth Elkhorn Crest 50 Mile. Kaiser finished in 8:53, and he’s got September’s Wasatch Front 100 Mile up next. Women’s winner Allison Macsas was fifth overall in 11:03. Both Matt Palilla and Megan Myers set new course records for the 50k race. The two winners finished in 4:29 and 5:32. The race director called it a wild weekend of heat and thunderstorms that led to a lot of drops.
A runner making their way up a hill during the Elkhorn Crest 50 Mile. Photo: James Holk
Runners climbing through the forest during the Elkhorn Crest 50 Mile. Photo: James Holk
Fjällmaraton – Vålådalen, Sweden
Fjällmaraton translates to “mountain marathon,” but the event really has nine races over eight days and the marathon-distance race isn’t until next weekend. A 27k with 1,050 meters of elevation gain highlighted the opening weekend, and Kilian Jornet (Spain, living in Norway) won in 1:52. He was over three minutes ahead of the second-place finisher. Ida Nilsson (Sweden) won the women’s race in 2:11. She has won the marathon-distance race here three times. Full results.
Bucovina Ultra Rocks – Câmpulung Moldovenesc, Romania
The Bucovina Ultra Rocks promises a tour of a remote part of Romania across several race distances. Romanian runners took most of the top finishing places. In the 180k (112 miles), Bálint Bartha and Rodica Bogdan won the men’s and women’s races in 29:39 and 41:49. In the 110k (63 miles) Ioan Contiu and Martina Dvořáková (Czech Republic) won in 17:10 and 20:39, and in the 88k, Robert Hajnal prepped for UTMB with a dominant 10:56 win, while Cristina Santurino topped the women’s race in 13:42. Full results.
Trails des Lacs d’Orcières – Orcières, France
Many races right now are just prep for UTMB, CCC, and OCC, including this one. That’s true for Nicolas Martin (France). Ahead of racing this year’s OCC, he won the 24k here in 2:12. Corinne Favre (France) won the women’s group in 3:14. Full results.
Cursa per Muntanya de Vistabella – Vistabella del Maestrazgo, Spain
Inside Penyagalosa Natural Park, Luis Alberto Hernando (Spain) snuck past Adil Moussaoui to win a short-course race that was both a club championship and part of the Skyrunner Spain-Andorra series. Hernando ran 2:14, just over a minute better than his chaser. María Fuentes won the women’s race in 2:50. Full results.
Canadian Death Race 125k – Grande Cache, Alberta
Alex Petrosky (Canada) raced through the Canadian Rockies in 13:28, winning the Canadian Death Race for the second time. Priscilla Forgie (Canada) won the women’s race in 14:22. Full results.
Resurrection Pass 100 Mile – Cooper Landing, Alaska
Lara Zoeller was first woman at the Resurrection Pass 100 Mile in Alaska. She finished in 23:49. Men’s best Tony Covarrubias finished in 25:53. Full results (when available).
Tiger Peak 50k – Issaquah, Washington
Washington’s Tiger Peak 50k crowned Keith Laverty and Audrey Lawrence as winners in 5:05 and 6:02. Full results.
Tushars Mountain Runs – Eagle Point Ski Resort, Utah
Aravaipa Running’s Tushars Mountain Run 100k is high altitude, almost all of it above 9,500 feet. In the 100k, Shawn Smith and Laura Stamp won in 12:36 and 15:55. Eli White and Leah Yingling led the 70k in 8:46 and 10:07. White’s time was a new course record. Full results.
Ouray Endurance Runs – Ouray, Colorado
The Ouray 100 Mile (actually, 102.1 miles) has an incredible, maybe ridiculous, 42,000 feet of elevation gain. The 50-mile race (also a bit long at 51.9 miles) has 23,600 feet of elevation gain too, geez! Anthony Lee and Alyssa Clark won the 100-mile adventure in 31:52 and 37:21, respectively. The race paid $1,000 to the top man and $1,250 to the top woman. For the 50-mile distance, Graham Shalvoy won for the men in 14:28, and Monique Van Den Boogart for the women in 16:48. Full results (when available).
Anthony Lee, winner of the 2021 Ouray 100 Mile, stands with his family. Photo: Chris Marcinek
Alyssa Clark, women’s winner of the 2021 Ouray 100 Mile, lays down after her race. Photo: Chris Marcinek
Pikes Peak Ultra 50 Mile – Colorado Springs, Colorado
Mad Moose Events’s Pikes Peak Ultra saw Mark Marzen and Meghan Heneghan win the 50-mile race in 9:05 and 10:11. Full results.
Never Summer 100k – Gould, Colorado
It’s been raining in Colorado, so much so that the local search-and-rescue team was on high alert for flash flooding. That meant runners traversed an alternate course and some of the race’s iconic, big climbs were cut. The men’s race was close. Kyle Leto did just enough to hold off a hard-charging Jack Daly. The pair ran 11:19 and 11:23. Addie Bracy was first woman in 11:53. Stephen Pretak and Rea Kolbl were best in the 60k at 6:15 and 7:21. Full results.
Power of Four 50k – Aspen, Colorado
Jonathan Aziz, a 2:16 marathoner, won the Power of Four 50k in 5:21. The race gains 9,000 feet of elevation while going over the peaks for four ski areas. Race locals and training partners Kristin Layne and Tara Richardson dueled in the women’s race, finishing in 6:02 and 6:06. Timmy Parr and Lauren Warkentin won the 25k in 1:49 and 2:23. Full results.
Berry Picker Trail Run – Vail, Colorado
Eli Hemming and Janelle Lincks won the latest from the Vail Trail Running Series, finishing the 4.6-mile uphill race in 40:44 and 46:02. Full results.
Badger Trail Races – Belleville, Wisconsin
The Ten Junk Miles Badger Trail Races held six distances on the Badger State Trail between Wisconsin and Illinois. Martin Erl went fast for the 100-mile win in 14:05, and Kim Bueno took home the win in the women’s race at 23:44. Alexander Van Bormann and Colleen Jay won the 100k in 9:27 and 9:54, and in the 50-mile race, Kaitlyn McDaniel was the women’s winner in 6:57. Patrick Klein won the men’s 50-mile race in 7:12. Full results.
The Stevest 42 Mile – Concord, North Carolina
Drew Coombes and Ashley Marques won The Stevest 42-mile race in 7:33 and 8:17. Marques is a two-time winner. Full results (when available).
Race Cancelations, Changes
Ultra-Trail World Tour
It would have been part of the Ultra-Trail World Tour, but the Whaler’s Great Route Ultra-Trail event in the Azores, Portugal was canceled.
Golden Trail World Series
Travel restrictions led the Golden Trail World Series to replace Scotland’s Ring of Steall race with France’s Skyrhune race this September. Similarly, the final race of the series was to be in Argentina, but now will be a specially organized race in the Canary Islands of Spain in October.
Call for Comments
- I’ve been watching the Olympics a lot, even the opening sprint rounds. I’m struggling to get my mind around global travel for a single race. For a 100m, 800m, or in the case of the Angolan men’s 100m runner, disqualification without a single step raced. But the geographic diversity is so fun. Who knew about Nauru, the least visited country in the world?
- My dogs and I took the east ridge up 13er Rosalie Peak yesterday, a new-to-us summit. What good stuff can you share from your weekend in the comments below?
