The last Golden Trail World Series race took place in Muju, on a technical 29-kilometre course with 2,441 metres of elevation gain. The men’s race was held on Sunday and the women’s race on Saturday. Elhousine Elazzaoui (Morocco) won the men’s race and also claimed the series overall standings for the third consecutive year.
On this route, Elazzaoui took the win in 2:49, with a clear margin: 44 seconds ahead of second place, Patrick Kipngeno (Kenya) in 2:49:58, and just over 1 minute 30 seconds on the third, Timothy Kibett (Kenya) in 2:50. The account focuses on mastering the course and the rainy, slippery conditions.
On the women’s side, Andrea Kolbeinsdóttir (Iceland) signed up the victory in a time of 3:19:56. The text describes a lead of close to six minutes over the other competitors, while stressing that rain, slippery steps and rocks did not hold her back. Mădălina Florea (Romania) finishes second in 3:25:46 and wins the series overall standings for a second consecutive year.
Before the Skyrunner World Series finale, the last race of the year was held in Spain, at the Sobrescobio Skyrace in the Redes Natural Park. In the men’s race, Frédéric Tranchand (France) leads the event and sets a course record in 2:39. The following places remain tightly packed: Jan Torrella and Marcos Villamuera (Spain) are level on 21 seconds, in 2:42 and 2:42.
Finally, the Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra World Team Championships took place with teams from different countries. The event begins with 67 countries, each running a 4.16-mile loop per hour, meaning “yard” in the jargon. The text adds that four countries were still running after 100 yards, but that France stops at yard 101 and Japan at yard 105.
