Kilian speeds to US trail win
Kilian at Speedgoat 2012
Though his victory and course record will not go down in history (due to him cutting switchbacks, which is against US trail running rules), Kilian Jornet emerged victorious at yesterday’s Speedgoat 50k in Utah…
There are no problems with his actions under Skyrunning rules, but the cutting of the course in this case would, it appears, warrant DQ’ing in normal US trail racing circumstances – however RD Karl Meltzer viewed his actions as innocent in their nature and allowed Kilian to be named ‘winner’.
So, the $4500 booty went to Salomon team-mate Rickey Gates, who stormed around the Speedgoat course just four minutes back, a clear five up on third placer Max King, taking the course record into the bargain.
Anton Krupicka continued his comeback from injury with a solid 4th on the day, just a handful of seconds down on King. With Frenchman Thomas Lorblanchet in 5th, German young-gun Phillip Reiter in 6th and the likes of Nick Clark in 10th, the Speedgoat field was deep with talent.
Philipp Reiter
In the women’s race there was never really any doubt as to who the favourite would be. However, after her recent injury issues it was all about whether the shin and ankle would hold up for Anna Frost. Her fitness was not in doubt either, as weeks spent ‘power hiking’ seem to have kept her in good condition.
So, it was great to see the injury hold out and for the New Zealander to storm around the 50k course in 6:26, a full 30 mins up on fellow Salomon runner Kerrie Bruxvoort, with Sarah Evans in third. Frosty’s efforts were just shy of the Keri Nelson’s 6:20 course record, meaning that her cash haul was ‘just’ $3500 for a pretty good payday!
Frosty on her way to yet another ultra win
Full results are now online here, with more race images here and look out for all of the usual post-race goodies via iRunFar
Men’s Top 10
1. Kilian Jornet (Salomon) – 5:14:00
2. Rickey Gates (Salomon) – 5:18:27
3. Max King (Montrail) – 5:23:10
4. Anton Krupicka (New Balance) – 5:23:36
5. Thomas Lorblanchet (Salomon) – 5:38:51
6. Philipp Reiter (Salomon) – 5:40:11
7. Jason Schlarb (Hoka One One) – 5:44:26
8. Dylan Bowman (Pearl Izumi) – 5:47:39
9. Jason Loutitt (The North Face) – 5:49:10
10. Nick Clark (Pearl Izumi) – 5:53:20
Women’s Top 10
1. Anna Frost (Salomon) – 6:26:23
2. Kerrie Bruxvoort (Salomon) 6:56:33
3. Sarah Evans – 6:58:51
4. Emily Sullivan – 7:10:03
5. Denise Bourassa (Patagonia) – 7:31:54
6. Silke Koester – 7:31:59
7. Jennifer Benna – 7:34:07
8. Mindy Campbell – 7:45:13
9. Gina Lucrezi – 7:48:56
10. Missy Gosney – 7:51:17
Reactions so far
Rob Jul 29, 07:44 AM
I would hardly say he was a class apart when the next man was only 4mins behind and didn’t cut corners. Sounds fairly evenly matched to me.
Matt MST Jul 29, 08:03 AM
Fair comment Rob, but 4 mins is a fair distance and we are not clear on how many he ‘cut’, could have been a couple, in which case it would be seconds not minutes?
Jason Jul 29, 11:55 AM
Rickey cut too. So yeah Kilian was a class apart. He just happend to be the leader and so he was caught.
James coates Aug 2, 08:26 AM
Let’s remember too that kilian wasn’t doing the chasing he was leading. 4 mins up on second place and he is going to ease off I always wonder how much faster he could go if he “needed” to!
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