October/November 2024

Milestones

UltraRunning Magazine
Oct 2024

A New Course Record at UTMB

At this year’s Ultra Trail du Mont-Blanc in Chamonix, France, Katie Schide prevailed in the women’s race with a time of 22:09:31, breaking the previous course record set by Courtney Dauwalter by 21 minutes. Ruth Croft of New Zealand came in second with a time of 22:48:37, and Marianne Hogan of Canada finished third in 23:11:15.

In the men’s race, Vincent Bouillard took the win in 19:54:23. In second was Baptiste Chassagne of France in 20:22:45 and in third, Joaquín López of Ecuador finished in 20:26:22.

Over 1,700 finishers completed the 106-mile race with over 32,800 feet of climbing around France’s Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps at an elevation of 15,700 feet.

In the 62-mile race (CCC), Hayden Hawks took the overall win in 10:20:11. Peter Frano of Slovakia finished in second with a time of 10:27:17, and Adam Peterman came in third, just a minute behind, in 10:28:50.

In the women’s race, Toni McCann of South Africa finished in 11:57:59. Martyna Mlynarczyk finished second in 12:11:12, and Rosanna Buchauer of Germany finished third in 12:16:55.

Fast Times at the Wasatch 100

In Kaysville, Utah, at the final race in the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning, the Wasatch 100, Jimmy Elam took the lead early on. He won in 19:08:35, the second-fastest-time ever run on the historic course. Jose Cruz placed second in 20:27:42, and Tyler Fannin finished in 21:13:32 to take third. In a tightly contested women’s race, Elizabeth Butler claimed the win in 26:22:10, crossing the finish line less than 5 minutes ahead of second-place finisher Laura Hansen in 26:26:43. Andrea McAffee completed the podium in third in 26:47:10. 

King Prevails at Dragon’s Back

Max King won the 6-day, 236-mile Dragon’s Back race in Wales, which includes over 53,800 feet of climbing. King won with a time of 45:39:18, almost 2 hours faster than second place, Simon Roberts of Wales, who finished in 47:18:16. Third place went to Gabe Joyes of the US, finishing in 49:31:27.

In the women’s race, Jo Meek of the UK won in 60:30:11. Elsa Morgan, also of the UK, finished second in 64:22:14 and third place finisher was Zoe Murphy of England in 65:25:38.

Top Finishes at TOR 330

Women finished the Tor des Géants 330 with Switzerland’s Katharina Hartmuth coming in first and finishing seventh overall in 79:10:40. Sabrina Verjee of Great Britain finished in second in 84:03:21 and France’s Claire Bannwarth rounded out the podium in 85:02:47.

In the men’s race, François D’Haene of France won with a time of 69:08:32. Beñat Marmissolle, also of France, finished in second in 73:10:18 and in third, Martin Perrier of Switzerland finished in 75:35:59.

The 250-mile (330k) race is steep and technical, traversing over 78,000 feet of elevation gain through Italy’s Aosta Valley.

IAU Continental Championships

The IAU hosts a World Championship Event for 24 hours every other year on the odd numbered years, the last one being in Taipei, Taiwan, on Dec 2, 2023, and the next one to be in Albi, France, in October 2025. In the interim years, the IAU Continental Championships help provide a venue for high level international 24-hour competition. This year, athletes Pam Smith, Stella Springer and Jenny Hoffman traveled to Mar del Plata, Argentina, along with captain/crew teammate Rebecca Brown to represent the United States.

A total of eight different countries were represented, and the US ladies put up three solid efforts with strong second half racing to claim the team gold medal. Pam Smith was the women's individual champion, and Stella Springer claimed the individual bronze. This was a great first showing for the United States at the IAU Continental Championships and the team is hoping this will be a catalyst for growth of the event and US participation in the future.

Carpenter Gets World Record

Doyle Carpenter, 85, of Thornhill, Tennessee, finished 129 miles for a new GOMU 72-hour age group world record at A Race For the Ages in Manchester, Tennessee.

New 6-Day World Record

Matthieu Bonne, 30, of Belgium, ran 1046.31k (650.15 miles) for new new 6-day world record at the GOMU-EMU World Championship in Hungary. The previous record was set by Yiannis Kouros in 2005 when he ran 1,036k (644 miles) at the Cliff Young Australian 6-Day Race.

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