British ultra-distance runner enjoys win at iconic and gruelling trail and mountain race

Tom Evans achieved arguably the most prestigious feat in mountain and trail ultra running on Saturday (Aug 30) when he won the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc title.

The British runner was well clear of his rivals as he enjoyed the final strides in Chamonix, France, with the streets lined with thousands of spectators.

Taking a Union flag in the home straight, he tied it to his back like a cape and then paused a metre or so before the UTMB finish line before making his trademark salute – a nod to his background in the British Army.

He then embraced his wife, the international triathlete Sophie Coldwell, together with their daughter, Phoebe. Taking one of his ASICS' shoes off and cracking a can of Red Bull, he then poured the drink into it and enjoyed a celebratory "shoey" drink.

His time was 19hr 18min 58sec although it was set on a slightly shorter course than usual due to the weather causing minor changes as the athletes covered more than 100 mountainous miles through France, Italy and Switzerland.

The 33-year-old, who is based in Loughborough, finished third in the UTMB in 2022 behind winner Kilian Jornet. He was then forced to drop out of the UTMB in 2023 and 2024. But this time the Briton was a class apart from his rivals.

"To have a victory at UTMB is a dream come true and I'm joining a special and small list of incredible athletes," he said.

"This was just the most bizarre race where driving down the weather was okay but then we had rain and snow. I formed a buddy-buddy system with fellow runners at one stage and we were checking in with each other because the weather was so bad.

"I've had two DNFs in the past two years but this shows if you put your mind to it then anything is possible."

Ben Dhiman of the United States finished runner-up – just over half an hour behind Evans – with another Brit, Josh Wade, excelling in third to make the podium.

Wade, who is based in the Lake District, has improved from 11th place in the UTMB last year as he moved steadily through the field as the runners faced gruelling conditions.

After winning the Western States ultra-race in 2023, this is former military man Evans' biggest win yet.

Evans' first ultra-distance race was the 2017 Marathon des Sables, which he entered for a bet. Surpassing expectations, he finished third and realised he had a talent worth pursuing.

The following year Evans won the UTMB's sister race – the 'CCC' (Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix). A great all-round runner, he has also represented Britain in the World Half-Marathon Championships and World Cross Country Championships, the latter in Belgrade last year.

In Chamonix this weekend, Evans became the first British man to win the UTMB since Jez Bragg, who won in 2010 on a course that was much shorter than usual due to bad weather.

In addition, Evans has become the first Brit to win at the UTMB since Lizzy Hawker enjoyed five victories in the women's race during the 2005-2012 period.

Third-placed Wade said: "I had a great training block leading up to this and took a different approach this year and went out a bit harder. Last year I had stomach problems in the early stages and that didn't happen this year.

"It's crazy to make the podium of the UTMB and I didn't expect this to be honest. I'm over the moon and love this race. Super chuffed."

Ruth Croft was the first woman home on Saturday as the 36-year-old gave New Zealand its first-ever win in the event as she clocked 22:56:20.

"I did the CCC in 2015 and that was my first year in Chamonix so it's taken 10 years to get to this point," she said. "I DNF'd in Transvulcania with hypothermia in May so that really helped me for the conditions here overnight!

"I knew if I wanted to do well I had to start more aggressively than I did last year. Then when it began to get very cold in the middle of the night I backed off a bit and tried to stay as warm as possible. In the day time I was able to see better and had better sensations overall."

Croft beat, among others, Courtney Dauwalter – the American was going for her fourth victory at the UTMB but fell back in the second half of the race.