Katie Schide breaks Courtney Dauwalter's UTMB course record
Katie Schide sliced 21 minutes off Courtney Dauwalter’s women's course record at the 2024 Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc. The 32-year-old American clocked 22 hours, 9 minutes and 31 seconds to take her second victory in the iconic race.
Schide conquered a 176km (109.3 miles) route that includes around 10,000m (32,500ft) of elevation gain around the Mont Blanc massif through France, Italy and Switzerland.
Ruth Croft of New Zealand finished runner-up 39 minutes behind with Canada’s Marianne Hogan third.
Vincent Bouillard caused a surprise in the men's race as he took victory in 19:54:23 ahead of fellow Frenchman Baptiste Chassagne and Ecuador’s Joaquin Lopez.
Bouillard doesn't have a sponsor but works full-time in the product innovation department for Hoka in Annecy.
Defending champion Jim Walmsley of the United States was one of many elite men to withdraw as he pulled out just after 50 miles due to a knee injury which has bothered him in recent weeks.
Britain's Tom Evans also stopped after fuelling problems left him "running on empty". He won the Western States last year and was third at UTMB in 2022.
OCC wins for Eli Hemming and Miao Yao as Kris Jones is sixth
The first race of the UTMB World Series finals was run on Thursday (August 29). The OCC race takes its name from the initials of the three main settlements it runs through. Starting in Orsierres and running via Champex Lac before finishing in Chamonix covering 57km with 3498m of climbing, Adrian Stott reports.
In the men's race, American Christian Allen built up an early lead. Behind him, running at a more conservative pace were a group including Francesco Puppi of Italy, Remi Bonnet of Switzerland, Benjamin Rouibol of France and Allen’s countryman Eli Hemming.
Allen continued to lead to the Triente Checkpoint at 24km. However, on the long climb up to the Col de Balme, Hemming made a move and took the lead, soon opening up a gap on a chasing group that included Puppi, Spaniard, Antonio Martinez Perez and Britain's Kris Jones.
Despite slowing on the third and final big climb up to Flagiere, Hemming was to maintain his lead to the finish in Chamonix to become the first American to win OCC in 5:11:48.
Puppi and Peres had a battle for the other podium places, with the popular Italian securing second place for the second year running as Peres held on for third. Ju Wei Ji continued the emergence of China as a major force on the World Trail Scene, taking fourth.
Jones, who had placed in the top 10 of the two previous World Short Trail championships, held on well to take sixth in a high-quality field.
He said: ”That was about as good a race as I could have hoped for. My legs struggled on the downhill in the second half. I had cramps coming off Col de Balme when I climbed to fourth. The heat was tough, but neither of those is massively surprising given my training and where I live. Very happy with my race all the same.”
Robbie Simpson, who over the last three years has comfortably moved up in distance from shorter classic mountain races finished 10th just behind Tao Luo and Hu Zhao, two other emerging Chinese runners.
In the women's race, there was a victory for China’s Mio Yao who improved on her third place from 2023. Like Hemming in the men's race, she pushed hard on the long climb up to Col de Balme and surged on the long downhill to Argentierre to open up a gap that she was to hold to the finish.
Her time of 5:54:03 was almost six minutes ahead of Switzerland’s Judith Wyder, who was second with 6:00:05 as Clementine Geoffray of France took third in 6:02:10.
Gemma Hillier-Moses was the first British finisher in 6:56:54. Kate Avery, who had come into the race with high hopes, had to drop out at the Col de Balme at 33km.
Hayden Hawks and Toni McCann win CCC
The CCC is named after the three main towns it travels through. The race starts in Courmayeur, continuing through Champez-Lac and on to Chamonix, covering 101km with 6062m of climbing, Adrian Stott reports.
It is the 100km distance of the UTMB World Series and, as with the other UTMB series finals, involves a very competitive field.
Hayden Hawks of the United States, a previous winner of CCC in 2017, took his second win in the CCC this year, holding off a spirited challenge from Peter Frano of Slovakia and fellow American Adam Peterman.
While a small group, including GB’s Luke Grenfell-Shaw, made a fast start on the first 17km to Arnouvaz, Hawks, along with others, started more cautiously,
He made a move on the second steep climb up to Col de Feret at 31km and went into the lead.
He dropped back to third on the steep descent to La Fouly, as Peterman and Seth Ruhling briefly took the lead, but by 54km at Champex Lac, he was back in front. He would not relinquish the lead from then on, as he maintained a steady pace to finish in 10:20:11.
Behind him, Peterman, Frano and Kiwi Daniel Jones were trading places for the other podium spots. Frano, seventh in last year's race, fifth in 2022 and the bronze medalist from the 2023 World Long Trail in Innsbruck, was to prove the stronger. He finished in 10:27:17, just 90 seconds ahead of Peterman, the 2022 World long trail champion and Western States winner. Jones finished fourth in 10:36:20, the same position he occupied at this year's Western States.
With Grenfell-Shaw having to withdraw at La Fouilly (40km), Harry Jones, who ran a steady race, was the first British runner home in 17th place.
South Africa’s Toni McCann made a successful step up in distance to take the women's CCC title. Winner of the OCC in 2023, it was her first race beyond 60km.
The Polish runner Martyna Mlynasczrk put up a good challenge and, up until the 75km checkpoint at Les Tseppes, was never more than minutes behind.
Over the last 25km, McCann was to increase her lead and reached the finish in 11:57:59, over 13 minutes ahead of the Polish athlete who recorded 12:11:12.
Germany’s Rosanna Buchauer, winner at Lavaredo 120km in June, moved steadily through the field to take third in 12:16:55.
Holly Page, who had been enjoying her best form for a few years in 2024, was in the first six for much of the first 80km. She seemed to go through a bad patch on the long descent to Vallorcine but hung on in the last stages to finish in 14th in 14:49:56.
Full results of all UTMB races here.
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