Courtney Dauwalter is baaacccck!
In what was a thrilling women’s race at the Chianti Castles 120K race in Italy, the queen of ultrarunning made a stunning comeback to win in a sprint finish over Norway’s Yngvild Kaspersen and American Rachel Entrekin. While that was by far the biggest race headline of the past week, there were plenty of exciting race results, including those at the third-annual Big Alta trail races in California, the legendary Chuckanut 50K in Washington, the Mount Mitchell Heartbreaker in North Carolina, Three Days of Syllamo in Arkansas and the Get Lucky 50/50 in Ohio.
In other news, you should clear your schedule and plan on tuning into the next free UltraSignup Live at 5 p.m. ET on March 25 when Amanda Basham will talk about how to juggle training and racing amid a busy life. Other key recent news reports include an overview of 12 of the best trail shoes for this spring, a critique of UTMB’s latest livestream plans, how the $20 billion trail running industry is ripe for investment, and how the October 10-11 Midstate Massive Ultra Trail will celebrate 100 years of the Midstate Trail.
Read more in this week’s Trail and Ultra News Recap below, cutting through the noise to the trail running headlines you don’t want to miss from media outlets across the sport. And be sure to browse for your next trail or ultra race on UltraSignup.
Headlines
Courtney Dauwalter, Thomas Cardin Win Chianti 120K
After pivoting from the canceled Tenerife Bluetrail 110K race in the Canary Islands, Courtney Dauwalter wound up winning the Chianti Castles 120K in the Tuscany region of Italy on Saturday. It was Dauwalter’s first race since last year’s UTMB in which she led for most of the race but then faded to 10th place.
With 15K left, Norway’s Yngvild Kaspersen held a two-minute gap over American Rachel Entrekin, who in turn had a minute on Dauwalter. But it was Dauwalter who surged ahead and assumed the lead to cross the line as the women’s champion in 11:31:55. Kaspersen finished second (11:33:34) and Entrekin was third (11:38:13). “A sprint finish after 11.5 hours of racing?! The coolest!” Dauwalter posted on Instagram, celebrating her competitors. “Better together.”
Dauwalter, Entrekin, and fourth-place Gemma Hillier Moses declined the Western States 100 Golden Tickets, allowing second-place Kaspersen and fifth-place finisher Lauren Puretz to take the automatic entries.
In the men’s race, French runner Thomas Cardin (9:58:38) outlasted Italy’s Andreas Reiterer (10:06:16) for a commanding victory, while France’s Vincent Bouillard, the 2024 UTMB champion, finished third (10:06:52) for the second year in a row. Cardin officially accepted his Western States Golden Ticket, while Reiterer declined, allowing Bouillard to take it.
Read More: iRunFar
700 Runners Take Part in 3rd Annual Big Alta Trail Races
The Big Alta Trail Races, a collaborative trail running event produced by Daybreak Racing and Freetrail now with Salomon backing it, came back bigger and better than ever. A total of 215 of the 271 starters earned a finish in Saturday’s inaugural 100k race. Kellen Blumberg ran away from the field to win the men’s race in 8:18:28 amid warm weather and sunny skies. Rob Molke (8:38:12) took second, and Matthew Zupan (8:49:53) came in third. In the women’s race, Robyn Lesh won in 9:45:34, followed by Anna Louden (9:49:32) and Sylvie Abel (9:51:01).
In Friday’s 50K amid very hot conditions, Dan Green took the early lead, but it was David Norris (pictured) who won in 3:43:07 by outrunning Drew Holmen (3:50:24) and Ryan Montgomery (3:57:50) for victory. On the women’s side, Klaire Rhodes (4:12:41) bested Helen Mino Faukner (4:15:31), and Erin Moyer (4:17:24). In Sunday’s 28K, Ares Reading won the men’s race in 1:51:28 by blazing the hilly course just off Andy Wacker’s course record ahead of Johen Deleon (1:53:57), while Tayler Tuttle won the women’s race and was seventh overall in 2:06:35 over runner-up Rena Schwartz (2:10:59).
Full Results: UltraSignup
Tune Into UltraSignup Live on March 25 to Hear Amanda Basham Talk About How to Juggle a Busy Life
Want to gain some training knowledge from a top American trail runner and an experienced coach? During our next free UltraSignup Live online virtual session, elite ultrarunner and coach Amanda Basham will be offering insights about how to prepare for a season of trail running, how to approach your first or next ultra-distance races, strength training for women, training for ultras after having a baby, and balancing family life. Be sure to tune in on March 25th at 5 p.m. ET (3 p.m. MT)
Register for free: UltraSignup Live
Read More: UltraSignup’s Trailhead Media
A New Colorado “Trail House” Will Document Runners as They Try to Go Pro
The initiative—hosted by Lever, a brand that supports athlete recovery—is centered around four runners living in a shared training environment. Backed what is says are “committed brands in trail running,” the Trail House is an opportunity for four post-collegiate athletes to live together, train together, and be professionally coached on the trails of Colorado.
Read More: Instagram
Trail Running Investment Thesis Predicts Huge Opportunity
California trail runner Seth LaReau has emerged as one of the prominent new voices of the trail and ultrarunning space with his detailed reports and smart takes in his Trail Waves Substack columns. Last week, he posted “The Trail Running Investment Thesis” that explores the business, economics, and emerging opportunities in what he calls one of sport’s most underestimated consumer categories.
Read More: Substack
An Interesting Critique of UTMB’s Livestream Plans
Meanwhile, British writer Matt Walsh, another notable Substacker, takes on “UTMB’s Broadcasting Pipedream” in a report in which he says UTMB’s latest broadcast announcement reads like a sport trying to convince itself it’s something it isn’t.
Read More: Substack
A Look Back at the First U.S. Skyrunning Race in 1994
In the summer of 1992, after setting a series of individual speed records on the Gran Paradiso, Matterhorn, and Mont Blanc, some of the iconic 4,000-plus-meter peaks lining the Aosta Valley in the northwest Italian Alps, Italy’s Marino Giacometti put together the first real outline of a skyrunning race circuit composed of three races in Italy. Two years later, it came to the U.S. for the first time with the Aspen-Castle Peak SkyMarathon. A new four-race SkyRunner USA series debuts this summer.
Read More: iRunFar
Midstate Massive Ultra Trail To Celebrate 100 years of the Midstate Trail
In what will be a landmark moment for New England trail running and regional heritage, the Midstate Massive Ultra Trail will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the historic Midstate Trail with a special edition of its challenging trio of ultra-distance races on October 10–11.
Organized by New England Race Events, this year’s races (50K, 50 miles, 100 miles) pay tribute to a century of trail history, drawing runners from across the region and beyond to take on sections of the iconic Midstate Trail—a scenic route that stretches the length of Massachusetts, linking communities from north to south.
Read More: UltraSignup’s Trailhead Media
More Coverage of Trail and Ultra Races
UltraRunning’s Ultra Weekend Recap: March 22
Read More: UltraRunning Magazine
iRunFar’s This Week in Running: March 23
Read More: iRunFar
GEAR
Kiprun Kipsummit Reviewed
Kiprun is a relatively new running shoe brand that’s a subsidiary of French sporting goods giant Decathlon. It’s bringing its road running and trail running shoes to the U.S. market in April and all indications are that they’re very good shoes.
Read More: Believe in the Run
VIDEOS
Rock the Ridge: A Runner’s Quest to Finish His First 50-Mile Ultramarathon
This is video from UltraSignup is about Jon Antonucci, a full-time sales professional, a husband, a father, and someone who set out with one thing to prove: That he can do hard things. Follow along as Jon as he trains for Rock the Ridge, one of the most beloved 50-mile ultras in the Northeast, held every May among the dramatic ridge lines of the Mohonk Preserve in New Paltz, New York.
The Memphis Mamba Trail Runners Documentary
Step into the world of Mamba Trail Runners, where miles turn into memories, pain becomes purpose, and ordinary runners do extraordinary things. From the quiet early miles to the darkest hours deep in the night, this documentary captures the heart of the trail running community in Memphis, Tennessee.
A Peek Behind the Bib: Dark Horse Endurance Run
In this episode of UltraSignup’s YouTube series “Behind the Bib,” Pennsylvania runner and RD Blake takes on the Dark Horse Endurance Run from Yeti Trail Runners in South Carolina.
PODCASTS
Singletrack News
This week’s edition of Singletrack News breaks down a massive weekend of racing at Chianti, Chuckanut, and Big Alta. It also digs into the the “Trail House”, a Boulder-based initiative aiming to create a uniquely styled pipeline for post-collegiate runners into professional trail running, with built-in support, structure, and storytelling.
The Trailhead Podcast: Philosopher C. Thi Nguyen on Why Ultrarunning Is a Game
According to philosopher C. Thi Nguyen, not only is it a game, it might be the meaning of life. In this episode of The Trailhead podcast, Zoë Rom and Brendan Leonard sit down with Thi to unpack his new book The Score: How to Stop Playing Somebody Else’s Game and what philosophy of games reveals about why we run, race, and obsess over metrics.
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