The world’s best trail runners rise to the top on a big weekend in the UTMB World Series

Hot, hard and unrelenting, the Western States Endurance Run based at Auburn in California – the world’s oldest 100-mile trail race – saw Adam Peterman, one of the top-ranked male athletes in the UTMB® Index, produce a spectacular win on his race debut.

Peterman found the going hard over the first 30 miles of the classic course set in the Sierra Nevada mountains, but then settled in on a day when the heat made this phenomenal UTMB World Series challenge even tougher.

The American runner from Missoula, Montana overtook his friend and fellow countryman, Hayden Hawks, with about 25 miles to go as they powered up a short, steep climb. From there Peterman did not look back, though he kept reminding himself how far he still had to go as he ventured into new territory to win this epic race at the first time of asking, something not done since 1986.

“I had a chance, but you never know what’s going to happen over 100 miles,” he said at the finish, looking remarkably composed, given what he had just been through. “So I just tried to run my own race the whole time and hoped that that would make me podium at the end, and it worked. I felt like I was within myself the whole time. It was really hard – hard to believe really.”

Peterman was asked what his secret was when it came to delivering such a mature performance in this toughest of races, despite having never done it before.“I had a great crew – a large support staff of all my best friends,” he said. “I have a lot of really good friends who have run 100 miles, like great mentors in the sport, so they gave me good advice.”

In the female category, Ruth Croft, the runner-up from last year, dominated proceedings from early on as she overcame a build-up that included an Achilles issue, two sprained ankles and an episode of Covid-19. Like Peterman, she struggled initially but then found her rhythm to post the third fastest time by a woman in Western States history. “I actually felt pretty horrible ‘till the second canyon,” said the runner from New Zealand. “I just put one foot in front of the other and kept moving.”

After taking a full dip in the river at El Dorado Creek to cool down, Croft took control of the race from the front. She said the secret of her success was enjoying the challenge with her crew and running partners. “I think a lot of it is having fun,” she said. “100 miles is a really long way and if you’re not having fun, it’s just a lot further.”

Full results can be found here.

At La Sportiva Lavaredo Ultra Trail by UTMB® at Cortina d’Ampezzo in the Italian Dolomites, the highlight of a weekend that saw more than 5,000 runners from more than 75 countries take on four race distances, was Hannes Namberger’s second consecutive record-setting victory on the 120km Lavaredo Ultra Trail race.

The German runner topped the podium with a time of 11 hours, 56 minutes and 28 seconds, finishing 10 minutes and 34 seconds ahead of Gian Marchet Schicktanz of Switzerland, with the Chinese athlete Jiasheng Shen third. Told he was now the undisputed “King of the Dolomites,” Namberger modestly said: “Thank you very much for this compliment, but I’m only a runner who can run fast.”

“It means a lot to me,” he added, “because it is my second time, my second win and the second record. I come to the Dolomites for training and for holidays and this is the best thing ever. It was very risky for me to come back here after my success last year but I wanted to have this challenge. At the end, I had only a 20% chance but I took it and risked everything and I’m first again and that makes me very proud.”

In the women’s division, the victor was a beaming Mimmi Kotka of Sweden, ahead of Katarzyna Solińska of Poland and Esther Fellhofer of Austria. “It is such a magical place, so that adds to all the good feelings about the race,” said Kotka who fell at one point on the course and was competing in the race for the second successive year. “We have had such a great time here in Cortina and this race is really special to me, so it feel really great to be able to finish on the podium for this one,” she added.

Kotka spoke of her love for ultra-trail running. “We all suffer but that’s what’s great with this sport – everyone who (takes part) in these races is suffering the same,” she said, adding that the last finishers share the same experience as the winners. “They did just the same as I did and you feel this connection with people and I think that’s the beauty of this sport,” she said.

Full results from all La Sportiva Lavaredo Ultra Trail by UTMB races – the 120km, 80km, 48km and 20km distances – can be found here.

In Andorra, meanwhile, in the Pyrenees mountains, the storied American trail runner Zach Miller showed his full power after a long recovery from foot surgery. Miller dominated the Trail 100 Andorra by UTMB® that started from Ordino, with the Norwegian runner Sebastian Krogvig second and Ionel Cristian Manole of Romania third.

“It was very hard with the injury,” Miller said afterwards, reflecting on the last few years. “It hindered me for a really long time. So it was very hard mentally and emotionally – it’s really good to be back, although it’s really hard and I need some time to forget how much that hurt!” he added of the Andorran course.

“Today was a special day,” he went on, “it was a long journey to get back to racing like this and sometimes it felt like it would never happen, but today went as well as it could have gone.”

In the female division Ildikó Wermescher of Hungary took the win in the 100-mile contest, with Maria Silvina Pérez of Argentina second and Basilia Föster of Italy third.

Full results from Andorra for the Ultra 105Km, Trail 50km and Trail 21km can be found here.