Tag Archives: trail

Cajamar Tenerife Bluetrail 2018 Race Preview

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The island of Tenerife this coming weekend will host the Tenerife Bluetrail, three races – Trail, Marathon and Ultra.

The MARATHONdeparts from Pista de Mamio and covers a total distance of 43 km’s and concludes in Puerto de la Cruz.

The TRAIL race is 66km race which starts at 1387m from Vilaflor and using a mixture of path, track and asphalt will reach an altitude of 2520m. It’s a tough race with 14-hours allocated for completion. Total +/-elevation is 7886m.

The main event of the weekend is the ULTRA. A brutally tough and challenging race of 101.5km’s. It’s an amazing concept race that is truly logical as it offers a traverse of the island, from sea, to summit and returning back to the sea. The highest point of the race is the iconic Mt Teide at 3550m. Made up mostly of paths and tracks, the route also includes a small section of asphalt, just 13%. An allocated 24-hours is provided to complete the event. Departing from Playa Fanabe at 2330 on June 8th, the route will pass through La Quinta, Ifonche, Vilaflor de Chasna, Degollada de Guajara, Roques de Garcia, Pico Viejo, La Rambleta, Montana Blanca, Lomo Hurtado, Recibo Quemado, Ladera de Tigaiga, Chanajiga, Tigaiga, El Asomadero, El Mirador de la Corona, Mirador San Pedro and Rambla de Castro before finishing in Puerto de la Cruz.

Race Website HERE 

A quality line-up of elite runners will participate over the three races:

Andrea Huser needs no introduction, she is consulate professional who has boundless energy to race week in and week out. She is a UTWT champion and has adorned the podium of UTMB and Transgrancanaria. Recently she raced the Marathon des Sables but has been plagued with a recurring injury.

Bernadette Benson is a Canadian who lives in Australia. A long-distance specialist she is an expert at 24-hour racing. Notably in 2010, she was the outright winner of the Brisbane 24-hour championships.

Jose David Lutzardo Barraso is from Tenerife, a real motivation when racing the Bluetrail. Notably, he has won the Haria Extreme race in Lanzarote, the Reventon Trail in La Palma and most recently he was 5th at the 2018 Transgrancanaria. 

Marco Zanchi is a long-distance mountain running specialist from Italy. UTMB, Tor des Geants and Diagonale des Fous rank amongst his greatest results where he placed 11th, 6th and 7th respectively.

Cristofer Clemente recently adorned the podium of the IAU World Trail championships placing 2nd behind Luis Alberto Hernando. Earlier this year he was 2nd in Transgrancanaria and he has been a prolific racer and achiever in the Skyrunner World Series. His presence in Tenerife is a huge bonus for the race.

Pau Capell just this last weekend placed 4th in Madeira at the Ultra Skymarathon Madeira, a tough and challenging 55km mountain race. He is a two-time champion of Transgrancanaria, for sure, his racing ability will put all those who go against him to the test in Tenerife.

Azara Garcia also a winner of Transgrancanaria and prolific racer in the Skyrunner World Series brings her mountain and trail running expertise to the Bluetrail. She was a runner up at the Buff Epic Trail in 2016 and has represented her country at the IAU World Trail champs on multiple occasions.

Yeray Duran is a previous winner of the Tenerife Bluetrail and is a popular favourite amongst runners from Spain and the Canary Islands. He competes regularly over varying distances and highlights include top-10results at TDS, CCC and 3rd in the Transgrancanaria.

Marc Pinsach is an athlete very much in the mood of Kilian Jornet, also a good friend. He mixes ski mountaineering and running seamlessly, excelling in both.

Sange Sherpa is two-time participant of Bluetrail having won in 2016 and placing 3rd last year. Coming from Nepal and an experienced mountain runner, he is a prime candidate for victory in Tenerife.

Augustin Vicente Garcia Perez placed 3rd at Bluetrail in 2015 and returns in 2018 with high hopes for 2nd or the top of the podium.

Finally, Lorena, Juana and Mario Rodriguez Raramuri will travel to Tenerife to participate. Residing in the mountains of Mexico, these Tarahumara runners bring spice to an already quality line-up. The Raramuri brothers personify pure mountain spirit.

Runners will arrive from all over the world to the stunning island of Tenerife to participate in one of the challenging races that make up stunning weekend of running, be that the MARATHON, TRAIL or the ULTRA.

Action stars on June 7th 2018.

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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 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 VK 2018 Summary and Images – Yading Skyrunning Festival

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Lung busting, calf bulging and full-on max heart rate was the order of the day for the Yading VK, the first event of the 2018 Yading Skyrunning Festival taking place in the Yading National Park, China.

The VK is notable not only for its stunning location, but also for the altitude that the race takes place at… It is the only VK in the world to go from 4000m to 5000m.

The day started with blue skies and glorious sunshine but as the 11am start approached the sky started to turn grey and a few specks of the predicted snow started to fall. It was a day of very mixed weather, at times sunny and hot, at other times bitterly cold and snowing.

– Bed Sunuwar

From the gun, Nepali runner Bed Sunuwar dictated the pace and as he approached the glacial lake in the final 25% of the race, he looked set for victory. However, last years winner, Douji from China had different ideas.

– Douji

He passed the Nepali relegating him to second. France’s ultra-running legend Francois D’Haene placed 3rd using the VK as altitude training for a long season ahed and tomorrow’s Kora Ultra.

– Francois D’Haene

Lina Elkott dictated the pace and never looked in doubt of clinching victory. She made the altitude and 1000m of vertical gain look relatively easy.

– Lina Elkott

Hillary Gerardi who has raced extensively on the Skyrunning circuit for the last 18 months showed great form placing second ahead of the winner’s sister, Sanna Elkott.

– Hillary Gerardi

– Sanna Elkott

Times for this VK are considerably longer than more traditional VK’s which are usually under 5km’s. This race has special consideration and covers a distance of 7km.

Many competitors took part and the difficulty of the terrain and altitude could be seen on their faces.

Attention now turns to tomorrow am when the Yading SkyRace and Kora Ultra will take place. Both events start at 0700.

Top 3 Men and Women

  1. Douji
  2. Bed Sunuwar
  3. Francois D’Haene
  1. Lina Elkott
  2. Hillary Gerardi
  3. Sanna Elkott

IMAGES available HERE

Full timings and results will be posted at http://yadingskyrun.livetrail.run/

Marathon des Sables 2018 #MDS2018 – Stage 5

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What a day! The 2018 Marathon des Sables concluded today on the edge of the Mezouga dunes on what will bee remembered as one of the toughest marathon stages in the races history.

The day started at 0700 with the majority of the field departing in strong winds and sand storms. The top 200 departed 90-minutes later also in sand storms.

The winds never eased and for the duration of the day, the runners encountered a full-on headwind all the way to the line.

The course was in comparison to other stages of this years race, a relatively easy one despite some large dunes in the final third. However, the combination of cooler temperatures, relentless wind, and drifting sand made for a tough day.

In reality, the race was over yesterday for the podium places and Rachid El Morabity and Magdalena Boulet were crowned 2018 Marathon des Sables champions. On the day, Magdalena won the final stage in 4:19:39 and Rachid placed 4th in 3:31:41.

The overall men’s final podium stands as:

  1. Rachid El Morabity 19:35:49
  2. Mohamed El Morabity 20:01:28
  3. Merile Robert 20:41:00
  4. Abdelkader El Mouaziz 20:51:59
  5. Gediminas Grinius 21:31:23

Gemma Game from the UK followed up a solid and consistent week placing 2nd on the final stage. 4:29:31 to Magdalena’s 4:19:39. Bouchra Eriksen placed 3rd in 4:30:58 and without doubt has been a revelation this year. Natalia Sedykh won the first three stages, gained a 1-hour time penalty, had very sore knees and stomach issues to have a very tough week in the Sarah. Today she placed 4th in 4:39:25 ahead of the USA’s Jacqueline Mariash in 4:40:22.

The overall female final podium stands as:

  1. Magdalena Boulet 25:11:19
  2. Bouchra Erksen 26:36:00
  3. Gemma Game 27:00:23
  4. Natalia Sedykh 28:26:56
  5. Anna Marie Watson 29:04:43

Of course, the final day is all about emotion and runner’s of all abilities a lifetime goal and achievement. Many a tear is shed on the finish line as Patrick Bauer embraces each and every runner, kisses them on the cheek and places a medal around their necks.

MDS is more than a running race. It is a life changing adventure of 250 km’s with intense highs and lows, elation and pain, laughter and crying. The bonds created in the Sahara are not forgotten. The pain and the joy will be remembered.

Tomorrow, a short stage of 7.7km transitions the runners from the Sahara and back to buses for the journey back to civilisation – a shower, some food, drinks, a bed and clean white sheets. Believe me, everyone has earned it!

Full Results HERE

Ultra Mirage© El Djerid #UMED 2018 Race Package

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Join Marathon des Sables champions, Rachid El Morabity, Elisabet Barnes and the Ultra Mirage© El Djerid 2017 champion, Mohamed El Morabity for the ultimate 100km desert experience. Soft sand, rocks, small dunes, dried river beds, oasis and a multitude of soft-sand, Ultra Mirage© El Djerid is a single-stage race to test the minds and legs of runners who are looking for a new adventure.

The Ultra Mirage© El Djerid (UMED) is the first 100km Ultra Trail taking place in the stunning Tunisian Sahara Desert. A 20-hour time limit, five checkpoints, medical and technical help to ensure safety, the UMED is open to all runners. Importantly for the fleet of foot, prize money is available totaling 10.000 euros split equally between the male and female fields.

Rachid running at the 2017 MDS Peru which he won.

Tunisia and in particular the area of the Djerid was the background of famous movies including Star Wars and the English Patient just to name a few. The diversity and the beauty of the Djerid makes it a major attraction for tourists from all around the world. Tozeur is the main city of this area, it is very well known for its stunning surroundings with a mixture of Rocky Mountains, valleys, salt lakes and desert dunes and most of all for the generosity of its people.

Elisabet Barnes at the 2017 Marathon des Sables.

“Ultra Mirage© El Djerid 100K’s first edition was full of emotions! It was one of those moments where total strangers gather in a single event to release the best humanity has to offer: friendship, kindness, camaraderie, sport, courage, endurance, perseverance, love, compassion, respect, just to name a few, and all of that in the most amazing surrounding of the Sahara Desert! For 2018, we are looking to build on that outstanding success, organizing a race which will be bigger on all fronts, from the number of runners which should top 300, to a more diverse path and scenery! Hope to see you at the starting line on the 29th of September 2018!!” – Amir Ben Gacem, Race Director.

The race will take place on September 29th 2018, and a special package price has been arranged for 350 euro:

  • Domestic flights from Tunis
  • Ground transport
  • 2 nights’ accommodation in a 4* hotel
  • Race entry
  • Race Shirt, cap, bag, medal and certificate

It’s an incredible package at a stunning price. Runners expected to fly into Tunis Carthage Airport (connected to all major European cities) at their own cost. Departure will be on Friday 28th September from Tunis to Tozeur international airport. Return on Sunday 30th September late afternoon.

Planning schedule:

Friday 28th September

16:00 Meeting at Tunis-Carthage Airport

17:30 Departure to Tozeur

18:40 Arrival at Tozeur-Nefta Airport

18:45 Transfer to Hotel

19:00 Check-in / Dinner / Race Briefing

 

Saturday 29th September

05:00 Breakfast opens

05:45 Departure to start line by bus

06:00 Last bus departs

06:30 Arrival at start line / Ultra Mirage village

07:00 Race starts

 

Shuttle buses will assure runners transfer from Ultra Mirage village to hotel every hour.

 

Sunday 30th September

03:00 Race finish

06:00 Breakfast opens

11:00 Closing ceremony

14:00 Transfer to Tozeur-Nefta Airport

16:00 Departure to Tunis

17:10 Arrival at Tunis-Carthage Airport

 

WIN A FREE PLACE

In conjunction with Amir Ben Gacem and Ultra Mirage© El Djerid we are offering readers of this website and listeners to Talk Ultra podcast the opportunity to win a 350-euro package place.

The winner will need to cover return costs to Tunis.

QUESTION:

Name the home planet of Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars movie?

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

Race Information and entry

Race website HERE

Enter the race HERE

Facebook page HERE