The world goes Ultra...
Joelle Vaught at the Sonoma 50
Of course this doesn’t mean that ultra trail hasn’t been around for a very long time, but the propensity of big races around the world at the moment is staggering. All you have to do is look at last weekend’s global race scene (bearing in mind it is still only April).
There were a glut of ultra trail races in France including another win for Andy Symonds at the Trail de Sainte-Victoire and Francios d’Haerne at the Trail du Beaujolais.
The Trail de la Sainte Victoire podium
Miguel Heras, winner of 2012 TNF 100 Taiwan
There was a win for Miguel Heras at the TNF 100 Taiwan in humidity of 80%, the continuation of the ever popular Endurance life CTS series on Exmoor in the UK, and some great racing Stateside at the stacked Sonoma 50, once again expertly covered on iRun Far, which saw big wins for Dakota Jones and Joelle Vaught.
iRunFar.com man Bryon Powell
Dakota Jones
With such races as the recent Viking Way Ultra race, The Wall, The Fellsman, The West Highland Way race, UTSW and the Lakeland 100 / 50 to name but a few in this country over the coming months, it seems people are running further in the UK too. All of this in addition to those huge races across Europe (Transvulcania, UTMB), the US (WS100, Hardrock, Leadville) and beyond (TNF 100 Australia) in the coming season.
Gone are the days when the marathon was enough, it seems!
Reactions so far
Paul Bateson Apr 20, 06:53 PM
Great to see although I already envisage a saturation point, more events could mean smaller fields, smaller fields means some events can’t cover costs so they fail. Runners in general have only so much time (and money) to spend so they will stay ‘local’ maybe concentrate on weekend ultras and this could see the demise of stage races. Already seeing this with the lower UK entry for Al Andalus Ultimate Trail and that is one of the easiest ones to get to as well as the best value race on the planet (and one of the hardest). We still have a very good international field but I think the UltimaFrontera160 weekend in October will bring in the bigger overseas entry, especially for those looking to do a fast 100miler (if you consider 15hr 43min fast for a mountain race). Both events count for UTMB points so fingers crossed for a good entry for both events.