Monthly Archives: May 2018

Ultra Skymarathon Madeira #USM 2018 – Race Preview

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The 2018 Skyrunner World Series arrives in Madeira for the Ultra SkyMarathon Madeira, USMfor short. It’s a 55km race with a whopping 4000m of vertical gain. Anna Frost, a regular on the island sums it up, “The place is incredible, it has diversity of nature, amazing vertical gain and of course, the sea provides stunning backdrop to amazing technical and mountainous terrain.”

 

Created specifically for the Skyrunner World Series, the USM is a serious challenge and includes tough terrain and at times, climbing expertise to grade 2 is required. The race, in many ways, is like no other race on the calendar. The sea provides an aspect rarely found in Skyrunning races as they more often than not, take place in-land, in mountainous areas. Leaving the town of Santana, the race heads into the mountains taking single-track, working a route that takes in the highest point of the island. From here, the route drops to the sea before finally climbing once again and returning to Santana for the finish. However, before the finish, runners must work their way up a river, boulder hopping; it’s a little spice to mix the racing up.

 Last year, Jon Albon won the race in style, “USM is one of if not the hardest race I have ever done. It was relentless terrain of ups and downs; the variety is incredible, and I loved the river bed section. This race is up there with my all-time favourites. I will definitely be back!” 

For the ladies’ it was Hillary Allen who took the top honours, of course, our thoughts and best wishes go out to Hillary as she slowly but surely returns to fitness and racing after a horrific fall at Tromso SkyRace.

So, who are the 2018 contenders for victory?

One could say, that this year, the USM has the most stacked field ever in the history of the race. It’s a who’s who of the world’s best.

LADIES RACE

 Ragna Debats arguably tops the ladies’ field after her stunning victory at the World Trail Championships, add to this, a super solid 2017 season on the Skyrunning calendar, and she will be the one to beat.

Gemma Arenas has raced in Madeira before and has had great success; she won! Gemma knows the course, knows the challenges and will certainly be in the mix.

 Malene Haukoy like technical race, she as placed well in Tromso and Glencoe and the 55km of USM will suit her. One to watch for sure! 

Hillary Gerardi goes from strength-to-strength, she likes technical, she loves vert and therefore USM is made for her. Her recent success over the VK distance and top placing at Yading in China means she is in great shape.


Ekaterina Mityaeva like Hillary seems to get stronger with each race. She has just had atop placing at Transvulcania and I think it’s fair to say that the more challenging terrain of Madeira will suit her skills in contrast to the more runnable and faster, Transvulcania.

Emelie Forsberghas been away from the sport over the winter concentrating on Skimo and just this weekend will race Zegama. Zegama for Emelie, despite great success in the past may well be just a little short and fast for this early in the season, so, USM will suit her far more. She is one of the best in the business and you can never rule her out. 

Martina Valmassoi was missing for much of 2017 with injury, she is now back and recently had a victory! USM will no doubt be a push this early in the season, but Martina knows the course and has done well in the past.

Nuria Picas was always the one to beat in any Skyrunning race. In recent years, Nuria moved to the longer UTWT series and she excelled at the longer distance. In 2017 she raced Tromso and now in 2018, she runs USM for the first time. It’s Nuria Picas, so, expect something special.

Anna Mae Flynn and Brittany Peterson both raced Transvulcania and just missed the podium. It’s fair to say that USM is far more ‘European’ than Transvulcania… the trails more technical, rutted and challenging, therefore it will be interesting to see how the duo handle the change. One thing is for sure, they both know how to run, Transvulcania showed us that! 

Mira Rai would probably prefer a longer course than 55km, however, Mira is always one to watch and USM will be no different. One thing is for sure, she will smile her way around the course. 

MEN’S RACE

Jonathan Albon is the returning champ and based on his 2017 race and his overall SWS championship victory, it’s fair to say that he is the favourite for the 2018 win. His recent 4th at the World Trail Champs confirms good form and we all know he prefers technical and challenging terrain.

Dmitry Mityaev gets stronger and stronger, he did well in 2017 and just recently made the podium at Transvulcania, Dmitry will be in the mix in Madeira, for sure.

Marco De Gasperi was 4th in La Palma recently and admitted post-race that he didn’t take enough risks. This was primarily due to the races distance, he rarely races over 42km and Transvulcania’s 75km was an unknown. With USM being 55km, I think we will see a different Marco and is we all know, he is the Skyrunning master!

Pau Capell is an interesting addition to the race. He is without doubt a master over longer distances and as we saw in 2017, he can do welt Skyrunning after a top run at Transvulcania. He is a savvy and clever runner and I expect him to trade blows with the best in Madeira.

Andre Jonsson races everything and usually very consistently. He once led USM from the front only to be passed in the latter stages. I would anticipate he will have a similar tactic in 2018.

Alex Nichols i

Alex Nichols was a pioneer for American’s running in Europe on the Skyrunning circuit. In recent years he has moved to longer distances, in particular, 100-miles. He is a class act who manages to combine speed and technical ability – he is one to watch!

Cody Lind had a tough race in China with a below par performance. That will have no doubt knocked his confidence, but I think we wills him back at the front in Madeira and looking to impact on the front of the race for atop-5and maybe podium.

Franco Colle, Luis Fernandes, Daniel Jung, Armando Teixeira, Phillip Reiterand Fulvio Dapit make up the other main contenders for the male podium, it is going to be an exciting race!

Action starts on Saturday June 2nd at 0600.

 

Race website HERE

 

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Episode 156 – Kelly Wolf, Brittany Peterson and Alex Kurt

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Episode 156 of Talk Ultra and bringing you interviews with Kelly Wolf and Brittany Peterson who placed 3rd and 4th at Transvulcania. The Godfather of Trail, Kurt Decker, brings us a chat with Alex Kurt and Speedgoat is co-hosting.
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00:21:38 NEWS
Apology! Folks, sometimes, work, life and well ‘shit’ just gets in the way of producing a podcast. Sincere apologies that I (we) missed couple of shows…. I hope you understand why. Thanks!
MARATHON DES SABLES check out the summaries and images:
Day 1 HERE
Day 2 HERE
Day 3 HERE
Day 4 HERE
Day 5 HERE
IAU WORLDTRAIL CHAMPS
Luis Alberto did it again, 3rd time in a  row, wow! Cristofer Clemente 3rd and Tom Evans 4th – 8:38, 8:46 and 8:49.
Ragna Debats took an incredible and well deserved victory in 9:55, Laia Canes was 2nd and Claire Mougel 3rd, 10:11 and 10:15.
108km Racewas won by Hayden Hawks and Fernanda Maciel
TRANSVULCANIA
Ida Nilsson did it again ahead of Monica Comas Kelly Wolfe –  8:40, 8:46 and 8:49. For the men,  Pere Aurell Bove took a surprise win in 7:37, Dmitry Mityaevwas 2nd and Thibaut Garriver was 3rd, 7:38 and 7:42.
Transvulcania VK HERE
Transvulcania Ultra HERE
QUICKSILVER 100km
Cat Bradley and Ben Eysenbach took the Victories in. 11:15 and 9:53.
QUADROCK 50
Won by Addie Bracy in 8:51, Abby Levene and Ginna  Ellis 2nd and 3rd. Jimmy Elam 7:40, Frank Pipp was 2nd and Oliver Knauer 3rd.
MIWOK 100km
Franz van der Groen in 9:23 ahead of Chris Jackson and Misha Shemyakin Megan Arauzo 10:36 ahead of Emily Sabo and Coral Candlish-Rutherford.
WINGS  FOR LIFE
Vera Nunes ran 53.78km and Andreas Stabner ran 76.77km for the longest distances.
TRAIL MENORCA – Cami de Cavalls
Read the summary HERE
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00:37:54 Interview with KELLY WOLF
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00:59:06 Interview with BRITTANY PETERSON
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01:31:37 Interview with ALEX KURT
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UP and COMING RACES
Check out the world ultra calendar on https://marathons.ahotu.com you can do a specific search for the ultra calendar HERE
Ultramarthon calendar HERE
Race calendar forJune 2018 HERE
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02:05:31 CLOSE
02:10:05
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Compressport Trail Menorca – Cami de Cavalls 2018 Race Summary

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The Compressport Trail Menorca Cami de Cavalls is a series of races, five in total, that take a 360-degree journey around the stunning island of Menorca. The shortest distance 32km’s and the longest, 185km’s.  Rocks, technical trail, beautiful beaches, turquoise sea, lush green vegetation and coves that are hidden away that need to be discovered. The weekend of racing offers a simple concept, to provide runners of all ability an opportunity to see the best of what Menorca has to offer over. distances of 32km, 55km, 85km, 100km and 185km.

The TMCDC is the main event stating and concluding in Ciutadella in two waves, the first at 0830 and the second, for faster runners, at 1430.

Anything can happen in185km’s and the ladies’ race had its fair share of action and changes. Gemma Avelli was a clear favourite coming into the race as the 2017 champion. Despite cooler temperatures, less heat and no intense sun, things did not go well for the defending champion and shows forced to withdraw at 30km.

For the remainder of the day and into the night, Alice Modignani took the race by the scruff of the neck and dictated the pace ahead of Sasha Roig. The night took its toll and by dawn, Eva Orives had the lead. Tina Ameller also had passed Modignani and was now 15-minutes behind the leader. 

Timing her race to perfection, Ameller closed gap and in the final 20km and took the lead, no doubt local knowledge providing a great help. Orives finished 2nd over 30-minutes later and Modignani fought hard for the final podium place with just over. 1-minute to spare over. 4th place. 

Ameller at the finish gave her thoughts, “I didn’t expect it as last year I had to retire. The only thing I wanted to do was to finish it one way or another. I corrected my mistakes. I ran very slowly for the first 100 km, but in the end it’s about your level of endurance. At Cala en Bosc I took the lead, but I had to run. During the last kilometers people were really encouraging me. I’m absolutely elated and now I’m going to enjoy it.” 

Antoine Guillon was a firm favourite in the men’s race, he won last year, knows the island and 100-miles seems to cause this long-distance specialist little or no problems. He started the day relaxed hovering around 10th place. But after 20km’s he took the lead with. Gerard Morales and. The duo ran side-by-side for much of the first 100km. Pere Luis Garau like Guillon had started the day relaxed but finally moved to. 3rd in pursuit of the duo. 

Guillon finally made a move around the 115km mark, the pace too fast for Morales. Guillon pushed on, now Luis Garau and Morales were together, workings a team and the question was all about whether they could close the gap?

At 130km, the aid station Cala en Porter, confusion hit as Morales and Luis Garau arrived first. Unfortunately, Guillon had got lost and wasted a valuable 35-minutes. Showing pure class, Guillon closed the gap to the duo and then pushed ahead, no doubt frustrated by his error. Luis Garau matched the Frenchman and Morales slowly slipped back to 3rd place. 

The duo pushed at the front and it is unclear if Guillon could not drop Luis Garau or if they decided to finish together? Finish together they did, hand-in-hand, and just 3-minutes off Guillon’s 2016 course record time. It was great moment for Luis Garau, you could see his emotion on the finish line and Guillon gave him respect, “Pere Luís is very strong and I’m happy to have reached the finish line alongside him. I’ll return to Menorca next year to try to get under 19 hours, as I have realised that it’s possible for me to do that”.

Morales finished 3rd just over 10-minutes later looking very tired, a job well done achieving the final podium place.

Men’s Result

  1. Pere Luis Garau and Antoine Guillon 19:21:21
  2. Gerard (Blacky) Morales19:32:01
  3. Marc Sole 20:58:27
  4. Carlos Herrero 21:23:44

Full results HERE

Women’s Results  

  1. Tina Ameller. 26:56:53
  2. Eva Orives 27:31:09
  3. Alice Modignani 28:38:27
  4. Maria Fiol. 28:39:55
  5. Buha. Bali30:01:35

Full results HERE

Race Images available HERE

Trail Menorca – Cami De Cavalls 2018

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The Trail Menorca Cami de Cavalls is a group of races that show the islands beauty to its full potential. Five races encompass the whole of the island by following the way-marked ‘Cami de Cavalls’ route.

Walking or running 32km’s to 185km’s, there is possibly no better way to embrace the island of Menorca.

Three day’s of running and five races. The TMCDC (Trail Menorca Cami de Cavalls)is the longest race at 185km’s, starting in Ciutadella at 0830 and 1430, runners take in the whole perimeter of the island in a clockwise direction to finish back where they started. They have 46-hours to complete the journey! A quality elite line-up will contest the distance and the men’s race includes Gerard Morales, Antoine Guillon, Eugeni Rosella, Casey Morgan, Pere Lluis Garau, Isma Marques, Toni Contesti and Miguel Capo. For the ladies’ Gemma Aveli, Tere Nimes, Alice Modignani-Fasoli and Tina Ameller.

The TMCN (Trail Menorca Costa North) (100km) starts at 0030h but finishes at the opposite end of the island after weaving in, out and up and down the jagged north coast.

At 0600, the 85km TMCS (Trail Menorca Costa South) starts in Es Castell located in the east at 0600. There is a stark contrast in terrain the west and east. The west is rugged, aggressive and relentless whereas the east is lush and the journey south is a plethora of coves, beaches, rock and of course turquoise sea that makes Menorca so appealing to tourists.

The 32km TCN (Trekking Costa North) starts in Addaia at 0800. Running into coves, forest, beaches and trail turn Menorca into a playground illuminated by the moon and the glow of head torches.

And finally, at 0900 on day 2, the TCS (Trekking Costa South) 55km runners start their journey back to Ciutadella from Calan Porter.

Trail Menorca have a simple concept to provide runners of all ability an opportunity to experience the best of Menorca. Of course, it’s a huge challenge for the race organisation to cover so many races over so much terrain, however, they have been doing this for many years and the race grows in stature each time. Menorca has a casual, relaxed way of life, for one weekend, the island becomes alive with athletes as they journey around the island.

“I was amazed by the beauty, the varying terrain and the scenery. The final 20km of the 85km event although flat were brutal. I had just not anticipated that the terrain would be so technical,” said Elisabet Barnes post race in 2015. Two bloody knees confirmed her effort and commitment.

“I have to agree, this island was a surprise. I run in Mallorca a great deal,” said Casey Morgan. “I had not anticipated that the island would be as flat as it is but in sections the trail is extremely technical. The contrast from north to south is also quite amazing. It’s a beautiful island.”

The next pedition will soon be underway as runners from all over the world arrive in Menorca from May 16th in anticipation of the 2018 Cami de Cavialls.

More reading:

HERE

HERE

Transvulcania Ultramarathon 2018 Race Summary and Images

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The second race of the 2018 Migu Run Skyrunner® World Series kicked today on the island of La Palma (La Isla Bonita). The stunning Fuencaliente lighthouse once again providing an epic backdrop as 1000+ head-torches rushed north for a 74km journey  of tough and challenging terrain on the islands iconic GR131 route. It was a day of mixed temperatures and the Route of the Volcanoes was bathed in glorious sun as the runners broke through a cloud inversion before heading to the mist, grey and damp of El Pilar. Pushing onwards, the wind increased causing a challenging chill that resulted in many runners reaching for wind proofs. As often happens on La Palma, push through the cloud and a new weather system awaits, it was no different for the 2018 Transvulcania. Running around the Caldera to Roques de Los Muchachos, intense heat and blue skies greeted the runners all the way. Dropping back down to the sea and Tazacorte Puerto, the only thing that remained was the final challenging climb to the finish in Los Llanos.

For the ladies’ 2016 and 2017 champion and pre-race favorite Ida Nilsson lead the charge and she never really looked back. It was a strong performance.

As often happens, the chasing group can change as the brutality of the Transvulcania route takes its toll. Monica Comas from Spain placed 2nd just 6-minutes behind Ida.

The American contingent of Kelly Wolf and Brittany Peterson placed 3rd and 4th ahead of Russia’s Ekaterina Mityaeva, their times 8:49, 8:59 and 9:13 respectively.

The men’s race proved to be a real revelation… despite the early efforts of Cody Reed, he faded around the 20km mark and then all the main contenders and protagonists made their moves. It was a close race and the long descent to Tazacorte Puerto was always going to be decisive. Pere Aurell Bove held a lead over Dmitry Mityaev, Thibaud Garriver, Marco De Gasperi and Xavier Thevenard. For perspective, it is arguably one of the closest top-5 the race has experience, 7:37, 7:38, 7:42, 7:44 and 7:47 respectively. It is fair to say, that for Pere Aurelio, this is one of the biggest victories of his career and one that he will savour for a long time.

Image gallery available HERE

Route Summary:

Leaving Fuencalientie lighthouse, black sandy trails lead to Los Canarios. From here, the route weaves in and out of pine forests – underfoot the trails are good, at times technical but it is as the runners break the tree line that the challenging volcano sections await. The arrival of the sun provides some clarity and the push begins to El Pilar and notable marker in the race progression.

At least 5km of relatively flat and easy running follow El Pilar. It provides an opportunity for the ‘runners’ to stretch their legs and either extend or reclaim lost time. A left turn and suddenly they are climbing again, high trees with a canopy of green shelter the runners and then from El Reventon the true splendor of this mountain range is exposed with Roques de los Muchachos visible in the distance.

The harder sections of technical running around the Caldera, combined with heat and altitude provided the next challenge. From the high point, dropping 2400+m in 18km requires legs and nerves of steel. Believe me, it’s one hell of a ride. The early sections are open and the heat hits hard. Tree cover finally arrives and underfoot the single-track changes from dusty sand perpetuated with rocks to sand trail covered with a blanket of pine needles. In the latter stage pine needles giveaway to rocks and then the final zig-zag steep path to the port follows.

At Tazacorte Puerto, a short run along the beach, a technical run through a gulley and then a relentless claim all the way to the finish line in Los Llanos would decide the overall winner of the 2018 Transvulcania La Palma

Transvulcania VK by Binter – 2018 Race Summary and Images

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The island of La Palma today hosted the Winter Transvulcania Vertical Kilometer® (VK) one of many VK’s in the 2018 Vertical Kilometer® World Circuit.

Just last weekend in Italy the Trentapassi Vertical, rising 1,000m above Italy’s Lake Iseo took place and many of the runners who participated followed up with the VK in La Palma.

To clarify, a VK is a uphill mountain race that climbs for 1,000m over a course that is less than 5 km in length. Certain courses on the circuit do obtain special dispensation – Transvulcania one case in point.

The route here in La Palma covers over 1200m of vertical gain over a distance of 7.6km and re-traces sections of the Ultramarathon course and concludes at the forest lookout tower at an altitude of 1600m and stunning views of the Aridane valley and the north east of the island.

From sea to sky, today in La Palma, the BBinter Transvulcania VK provided a wonderful showcase for the sport as runners departed from Tazacorte Puerto. However, the usual glorious skies of blue and intense sunshine were replaced with cloud, grey and at times, light rain.

The line-up for the VK was impressive with Stian Angermund, Pascal Egli, Aritz Egea and Ondrej Fejfar heading up a world-class field.

Pascal Egli dominated with a strong performance ahead of Stian Angermund-Vik and Rui Ueda. Their times 47:55, 48:03 and 48:08.

Christel Dewalle set blistering pace and set a new course record ahead of Laura Orgue and Zuzana Krchova. Their times 56:52, 57:19 and 1:01:13.

Attention now turns to the main event of the weekend, the Transvulcania Ultramarathon that starts in the early hours of the morning on Saturday at Fuencalienti lighthouse. You can read the race preview HERE.

Full set of race images available HERE

Transvulcania Ultramarathon 2018 Race Preview

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Transvulcania is upon us! Since 2012, the race has been an ever-present in the Skyrunner World Series and now it is acclaimed the world over as a pinnacle event. Taking place on the Isla Bonita (the beautiful island) of La Palma, the race personifies the pure ethos of Skyrunning. It is a wonderfully logical race route that starts next to the sea in the south of the island and concludes on the west of the island in the town of Los Llanos. The route offers 74km’s of amazing trails, wonderful views and technical trail and some real vertical ascent (4350m) and descent (4057m) that tests the legs, lungs and mind of the most experienced runner.

Taking place on the GR131, Rute del Bastion, the route starts low and climbs and climbs into the National Park of the Caldera de Taburiente. Runners then traverse the rim to Roques de Los Muchachos before dropping over 2400m in one leg busting drop of 18km’s to the sea and Tazacorte Puerto before a final push upwards to the finish in Los Llanos.

A decade of Transvulcania and La Palma magic. In 2009, just 378 runners toed the line, in 2018, 2000 runners will embark on the majestic journey. One only has to look at past winners of the race to understand the importance of Transvulcania on the world running map – Luis Alberto Hernando Kilian Jornet, Miguel Heras, Dakota Jones, Emelie Forsberg, Anna Frost and the 2017 champions, Ida Nilsson and Tim Freriks.

As in previous year’s the race has a stellar line-up of world-class talent and notably includes the Italian Skyrunning master, Marco De Gasperi. For Marco, this race will be a departure for him as he will arguably race one of the longest races ever in his remarkable career. He is, one of the first ever official Skyrunner’s who has pioneered and paved a way for the rest. His inclusion in the 2018 Transvulcania is an exciting prospect.

Competition will come from all sides, in particular Xavier Thevenard who comes to the race with incredible results, however, he has raced at Transvulcania before and has always seemed to just miss the performances shown at the UTMB series of events which he has dominated. Will 2018 be his year?

Zaid Ait Malek is a pure Skyrunner. He placed 3rd last year and this year may well place 2nd or take the top slot. The race is there for the taking and Zaid has all the skills to make it happen.

Jason Schlarb raced in La Palma last year and had a solid result. He knows the race now and will be finely tuned to move up the ranks and potentially break into the top-5.

Dmitry Mityaev has risen in the Skyrunning ranks over the last few year’s with a string of excellent performances. He has got better and better and it is fair to say we can expect a solid performance in La Palma. He prefers the longer distances, so, Transvulcania may well be ideal for the Russian.

Michel Lanne rarely these days but when he does, he always excels. He has won CCC and TDS and last-year had a great run in Norway at Tromso SkyRace. For me, on his day, Michel is a potential winner for Transvulcania.

Franco Colle was missing in 2017 from the Skyrunning ranks but he is back. A past winner of the Rut 50km, Franco is an experienced Skyrunner who will make his presence felt in La Palma.

With a stellar line-up, other contenders to watch are as follows:

Morgan Elliott – 2016 and 2017 Skyrunner National Series champion.

Cody Reed – 2nd Bandera 100km and winner of Mt Bachelor 50km.

Cole Watson – 1st Canyons Endurance Run 50km.

Daniel Jung – 2nd Hong Kong 100 in 2017.

Fulvio Dapit – Consistent Skyrunner with great experience. 

Pau Bartolo – 1st at Buff Epic Trail in 2017 and 1st TDS 2015.

Alfredo Gil – 8th Dolomites SkyRace.

Pere Aurell – 4th at The Rut and 3rd at Royal Gran Paradiso.

Thibaud Garrivier – 6th at OCC and Marathon du Mont-Blanc 2017.

Ivan Camps – 5th at Ultra Pirineu.

Francesc Sole – 7th at UTMB and 6th at Ultra Pirineu.

Peter Kienzl – Long distance runner won won 360 Transgrancanaria.

Stephen Wassather – 1st Silver State 50 and 4th Bandera 100km

Jan Bartas – 4th Devil’s Ridge and 8th High Trail Vanoise.

Plus many more…

The ladies’ race has the 2016 and 2017 returning champion and course record holder, Ida Nilsson. In all honesty, if Ida shows any potential of her 2017 form, she will be unstoppable in 2018. She knows the course and has the speed and skills.

Ekaterina Mityaeva like her husband, Dmitry, has grown in experience and stature over the last few years and we can expect her to bring that experience to La Palma. The podium is a distinct possibility! 

Anna Mae Flynn has won Speedgoat 50km and placed 3rd at Lake Sonoma 50, two races that indicate a solid performance at Transvulcania. However, racing in Europe is always different than the US. I still think we will see something solid from this lady.

Cassie Scallon has won Bandera 100km and so we know the distance will not be an issue. In 2017 she had two notable wins at Gorge Waterfalls and Nine Trails.

Brittany Peterson has won Moab Red Hot 55km and placed 2nd at the 50km event at Run Rabbit Run. She is a slid runner with a good skill set that should transfer over to Transvulcania well.

Kelly Wolf may well be a dark horse after her recent win at Tararwera in New Zealnd. Arguably though, her 2nd at Speedgoat 50km and victory at Flagstaff SkyRace is more indicative of a good performance in La Palma.

Francesca Canepa prefers the longer distance races and although she brings a wealth of experience I believe the Italian will lack the speed required to penetrate the top 5.

Emilie Lecomte like Francesca is a long distance specialist and although she will perform well, it is unlikely she has the speed for the podium.

Meredith Edwards placed 2nd at TDS which confirms that climbing is not an issue, the question mark will be does she have the speed required to make the podium?

Eva Moreda is a solid Skyrunner who placed 5th in the 2017 Skyrunner World Series.

Ildiko Wermescher 3rd at TDS, 2nd at Swissalpine T133 and 2nd Swiss Irontrail confirms that Ildiko can run and handle the vert, however, I think Transvulcania may well be around 30km too short for a podium performance.

Laura Besseghini won the 2016 Dolomite Sky Run and in 2017 won Valmalenco Ultra Trail.

Paloma Lobera potentially could impact on the top-10 but lacks the pace or speed for the podium. She placed 8th at Matterhorn Ultraks in 2017.

Zuzana Bartasova – 7th at Trofeo Kima in 2016.

Natalia Roman – 1st Ultratrack Supramonte 2016 and 2nd Mustang Trail Race 2017.

Juan Maria Jimenez – 10th UTMB and 7th Oman Desert Marathon

Maylis Drevon – 11th Transvulcania 2017 and 2nd Marathon du Mont-Blanc 80km.

Plus many more…

Race Website HERE

As a point of note, other races take place over the Transvulcania weekend:

In the marathon, a key name to watch out for is Ryan Sandes, and in the half marathon, Stian Angermund-Vik for the men and Laura Orgue for the ladies.

Action starts on Thursday with the Vertical Kilometer Transvulcania Binter starting in Tazacorte Puerto at 1700 hrs.

The main events take place on Saturday with Transvulcania starting at 0600 and it is estimated that the first finisher will arrive in Los Llanos around 1230pm.

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Yading SKY and KORA ULTRA 2018 Summary and Images – Yading Skyrunning Festival

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The 2018 Yading Skyrunning Festival concluded today with two incredible races, the 29km Sky Race and the 46km Kora Ultra. Both races started in Shangri La at the same time and both concluded at the Monastery in the Yading National Park.

It turned out to be quite a day for both races!

The predicted snow came and with it wind, cold temperatures and snow flurries; the landscape turned into a winter wonderland. It made the conditions very difficult for the runners. Fighting the challenging terrain and at times bitter cold, the 2018 Ultra and Sky race will be remembered for many years to come.

It was a day when finally the ever-present Skyrunner, Oscar Casal Mir topped the podium after many years of commitment to the Skyrunner World Series. He was just behind Andy Wacker at the iconic prayer flag turn and then used his descending skills to clinch victory. Andy finished just over a minute later and rising Nepali star, Bed Sunuwar placed 3rd, particularly notable after placing 2nd in the previous day’s VK.

The ladies’ race turned out to be an epic battle between Holly Page and Ruth Croft. The duo were pretty much together throughout the race with Holly having the edge.

Ruth used her road skills on some of the earlier section but it was Holly who triumphed clinching victory. Sheila Aviles clinched the final podium spot in a very competitive race.

  1. Oscar Casal Mir 3:06:26
  2. Andy Wacker 3:07:30
  3. Bed Sunuwar 3:07:57
  4. Yongning Gao 3:11:27
  5. Finlay Wild 3:13:14
  1. Holly Page 3:32:04
  2. Ruth Croft 3:33:38
  3. Sheila Aviles 3:37:20
  4. Hillary Gerardi 3:42:36
  5. Lina El Kott Helander 3:45:57

In the Kora Ultra it was a record breaking day with both the male winner and female winner beating the 2017 times; truly remarkable when one considers the conditions. This was reflected in the words of Francois D’Haene, ‘I went 10-minutes quicker than last year and still came 4th!’

The talk though was all about the ladies’ winner, Miao Yao who obliterated the field and smashed the course record setting the new level at 5:50:28. For perspective, Mira Rai was a distant second in 6:32:40. Many of the elite men could feel the pressure, the speed and skill of this lady who placed 7th overall.

The men’s race was equally impressive, let’s face it, anyone who betters Francois D’Haene deserves respect, especially when setting a CR 4:49:02, that credit goes to Dongrenjia Jia. But also a great nod to 2nd and 3rd, Yousheng Guan and Ji Dong.

  1. Dongranjia Jia 4:49:02
  2. Yousheng Guan 5:04:10
  3. Ji Dong 5:13:54
  1. Miao Yao 5:50:28
  2. Mira Rai 6:32:40
  3. Qiao Wen 8:17:44

Yading, the impressive landscape and the mountains were the true stars of the festival though. It’s an incredible place to race, run or hike and will doubt make it to many a bucket list.

IMAGES available HERE