Trail racing hits global high spots in August around Mont Blanc

Top performances in astonishing times characterised the world’s biggest trail event at UItra-trail Mont Blanc at Chamonix in the French Alps on the weekend, closing out a big month for trail running, while closer to home elite trail runners strutted their stuff at two major events during the month.

USA athlete Lauren Gregory held off Scot Naomi Lang by just three seconds to win the 61,4km OCC, run between Orsieres in Switzerland and Chamonix, in the closest finish of the 23-year-old history of the Ultra-trail Mont Blanc bouquet of races, which take place every year in and around Western Europe’s highest peak.

Martyna Mlynarczyck’s 18 second win over Sylvia Nordskar in last year’s 101km CCC and Jim Walmsley’s 20 second victory over Christian Minoggio in last year’s OCC were the previous closest UTMB finishes.

The OCC contest between three of the world’s best in women’s trail racing – Gregory, Lang and Spanish athlete Sara Alonso – left the crowd of thousands at the finish in Chamonix and millions around the world watching the impressive livestream, breathless.

Lang joined Alonso up front after 18km and took command shortly after. She was two minutes clear of Alonso at Col de Balme just beyond halfway with Gregory another two minutes in arrears.

Just 10km from home of mostly fast downhill running, Lang was 90 seconds up on Alonso and with Gregory two minutes off the lead, Lang looked a winner. But Gregory, making full use of her 4 min 31.8 sec mile track speed, closed with every stride, overtaking Alonso before catching Lang with less than 2km to run.

Lang fought back and was in contention until the last, crossing the finish line in Chamonix just three seconds back of Gregory’s 6:08:07 with Alonso just a minute further back in third.

“My coach told me to be a combination of the tortoise and the hare – sort of being the fastest turtle out there!” said Gregory.

Kenyan Nashan Kiplimo, running in his UTMB debut, finished a strong second to World Marathon-distance Trail Champion, Frédéric Tranchand of France, in the men’s OCC, clocking 5:14:37 to Tranchand’s 5:10:08.

Just 24 hours after the drama of the OCC, adidas TERREX teammates, Norwegian Yngvild Kaspersen and South African Toni McCann, delivered another thrilling finish after contending strongly in the 108km CCC race.

Double UTMB champion McCann (OCC in 2023 and CCC in 2024) bounced back strongly after a fall forced her to withdraw during last year’s CCC. The French-based South African lost the lead to Chinese athlete and winner of last year’s OCC, Miao Yao, when forced to stop at a train crossing while leading the race, shortly before the Martigny Aid Station 68km into the race.

McCann missed the open crossing by just seconds and spent two minutes cooling her heels, allowing Miao to draw level shortly before the gates opened.

Miao, who had led in the early stages, took over the lead on a long climb shortly after Martigny and was almost three minutes ahead of McCann through Trient 10km further on. The Chinese athlete was still 90 seconds clear through the final aid station at Vallorcine with just 17km left to race, but within two kilometres, McCann had regained the lead, before opening what looked a winning gap on her rival.

Kaspersen started conservatively and was well back of the field and 23 minutes adrift of race leader McCann through halfway at the picture-postcard Champex-Lac. She began to close but looked out of contention when still over seven minutes back 24km from home.

But Kaspersen was moving strongly and had closed to 4:30 behind Miao and 3 minutes behind McCann through Vallorcine, setting up a dramatic final sector into Chamonix.

As daylight faded, Kaspersen flew past Miao on a climb 10km from the finish and took the lead from McCann 2km further on as the TERREX teammates shared a brief greeting of encouragement.

Kaspersen raced to a 12:01:15 victory with McCann five minutes back in second and Miao completing the podium, nine minutes further adrift.

One hour and forty minutes earlier, 42-year-old Italian, Christian Minoggio, crossed the finish line at Chamonix in 10:21:48 in a triumph for ‘mature’ runners. Pushed all the way by 26-year-old American, Hans Troyer, Minoggio’s hill strength ultimately broke Troyer who finished third behind Portugese athlete Miguel Arsenio.

There was no shortage of strong performances from American athletes, however, with the outstanding Ben Dhiman turning in an astonishing run in the UTMB ‘100 miler’ over 174km.

Born in Cincinnati, Dhiman has lived with his wife and three sons in France for several years, following the lead of fellow-Americans Jim Walmsley and Katie Schide, who moved to France before winning at UTMB.

Second last year to Tom Evans over a similar course in 19:51:37, Dhiman went for broke and ran 90 minutes faster this year, becoming the first athlete to run faster than 19 hours for the circumnavigation of Mont Blanc.

Dhiman won in 18:16:29, 31 minutes clear of French athlete Baptiste Chassagne, with another American, Caleb Olson, just 46 seconds back in third.

Because of the wet weather, this year’s course, as last year’s, was rerouted to avoid the technical and exposed Pyramides Calcaires section in Italy, eliminating the possibility of a course record, despite Dhiman running more than 9 km further than French athlete Francois d’Haene, whose 19:01:54 in 2017 is the official race record.

According to official statistics, the length of the 2026 UTMB race was 173.6 kilometres with a vertical gain of 9700 metres after organisers removed the technically challenging Pyramides Calcaires section, which reduced the length by 3km and the vertical gain by 200 metres.

However, the 2017 course was also modified due to weather issues. Although it increased the vertical gain to 10 253 metres, its length was shortened to 166.9 kilometres.

With relatively minor changes to the race routes occurring virtually every year, there have been calls to allow all race times, short of a major re-routing as occurred in 2010 and 2012 where the race was reduced to little more than half-distance, to stand as race records.

Enhanced shoe and gear technology, new developments into nutrition and generally raised bars of professionalism in the sport have led to similar gains in trail running speeds as have been witnessed in road running in recent years.

Before this year’s race, the UTMB miler had been won in under 20 hours on only five previous occasions. This year the entire men’s top 10 were under 20 hours, with the leading four finishing faster than the official course record.

French athlete, Blandine L’Hirondel, completed the legendary ‘triple crown’ winning the UTMB after victories in the OCC (2021) and CCC (2022) and became the first woman to finish inside 22 hours. She won in 21:54:49, 15 minutes inside Katie Schide’s official course record set in 2024 (over 176,4km – the longest in the history of the race) and an hour inside Ruth Croft’s winning time last year.

First African athlete to finish was South Africa’s Daniel Claasen, who moved through the field steadily to claim 21^st in an excellent 21:23:44.

Closer to home, Remaketse Lekaka, who hails from Magoebaskloof in Limpopo, raced to an impressive debut victory at the Whale of Trail over 53km in De Hoop Nature Reserve.  Lekaka, who won this year’s Cape Town Trail 22km in May, came home in 4:55:49, 3:21 ahead of Jacques du Plessis.

American athlete, Cody Reed, finished close behind in third with last year’s runner-up, Mvuyisi Gcogco, fourth.  Johardt van Heerden, who holds the race record with his 4:30:20, set in 2019, finished fifth.

Free State biokineticist, Simone Malan, retained her title in her fourth successive Whale of Trail outing, holding off last year’s third-placed finisher, Kerry-Ann Marshall, to win by 11 minutes in 5:53:34. Toni McCann’s 5:28:36, set in 2019, stands as the race record.

And in Cape Town, Roelof Mostert bade farewell to South Africa with a win in one of the oldest trail races on the continent. Mostert, who leaves shortly for an overseas position, won the 65km Puffer, run over the mountain chain between the entrance to Cape of Good Hope and Green Point, in 6:16:28.

Davide del Fante finished six minutes back after a close contest, with early leader, Henco Visser, third in 6:38:05 after struggling with navigation on the approach to Constantia Nek.

Zibele Bala, a key figure in promoting trail running in Khayelitsha, finished in joint fourth with Hassen Looqman, and paid tribute to his trail companion. “I was mentally finished and ready to quit at Silvermine near halfway,” remarked Bala, “when Hassen encouraged me to keep going and to stay the pace with him. I owe my finish to him.”

Steph van Gelderen overhauled Heleen Mills in the second half to win by eight minutes in 7:31:43 with Brigitte Melly third in 8:17:31.

Sean McGibbon and Jessie Walden delivered impressive ultra-distance performances in winning the 130km Tougher Puffer by decisive margins while former Puffer winner, Karoline Hanks, created history by being the first runner to finish the “Treble Puffer”.

Hanks completed the exhausting 194km in ‘38 moving hours’ and raising R86 400 for the rehabilitation of Sage, an oliver ridley turtle, listed as vulnerable on IUCN’s red data list.

Results

UTMB

OCC 61,4km 3500m+ (Orsieres, Switzerland to Chamonix, France)

Men

1 Frédéric Tranchand (Merrell, France) 5:10:08; 2 Nashon Kiplimo (Salomon, Kenya) 5:14:37; 3 Miguel Benitex (ASICS, Spain) 5:17:43; 4 Sylvain Cachard (Hoka, France) 5:21:35; 5 Alain Blanco (X-Bionic Integrity, Spain) 5:28:24

Women

1 Lauren Gregory (Nike, USA) 6:08:07) ; 2 Naomi Lang (ASICS, Scotland / GB) 6:08:10; 3 Sara Alonso (ASICS, Spain) 6:09:11; 4 Makena Morley (USA) 6:16:37; 5 Ida Robsahm (ASICS, Norway) 6:27:34

CCC 107,8km 6200m+ (Courmayeur, Italy to Chamonix, France)

Men

1 Christian Minoggio (Kailas Fuga, Italy) 10:21:48; 2 Miguel Arsenio (Fuga-Sporthg, Portugal) 10:27:25; 3 Hans Troyer (Hoka, USA) 10:33:29; 4 Luke Grenfell-Shaw (Brooks, GB) 10:47:23; 5 Simon Paccard (Salomon, France) 10:50:59

Women

1 Yngvild Kaspersen (adidas TERREX, Norway) 12:01:14; 2 Toni McCann (adidas TERREX, South Africa) 12:06:14; 3 Miao Yao (China) 12:15:41; 4 Jennifer Lichter (Nike, USA) 12:24:01; 5 Caitlin Fielder (adidas TERREX, New Zealand) 12:25:17

UTMB 174km 10 000m+ (Chamonix, France to Chamonix, France circumnavigation of Mon Blanc)

Men

1 Ben Dhiman (ASICS, USA) 18:16:29; 2 Baptiste Chassagne (On, France) 18:47:38; 3 Caleb Olson (All Conditions, USA) 18:48:24; 4 Virgile Moriset (ASICS, France) 19:00:23; 5 Joaquin Lopez (Kailas FUGA, Ecuador) 19:06:48

Women

1 Blandine L’Hirondel (Kiprun, France) 21:54:49; 2 Rachel Entrekin (Norda, USA)  22:15:54; 3 Emily Schmitz (Hoka, USA) 22:17:28; 4 Careth Arnold (Altra, USA) 23:05:20; 5 Jazmine Lowther (Arc’teryx, Canada) 23:21:55

Merrell Whale of Trail 53km; De Hoop Nature Reserve, Southern Cape

(South Africa unless otherwise indicated)

Men

1 Remaketse Lekaka 4:55:49; 2 Jacques du Plessis 4:59:10; 3 Cody Reed (USA) 5:02:03; 4 Mvuyisi Gcogco 5:14:28; 5 Johardt van Heerden 5:21:15; 6 Tonic Masilo 5:35:24; 7 Bradley Claase 5:37:48; 8 Andrew Whiley 5:41:54; 9 Hamish Laing (New Zealand) 5:54:19; 10 Melikhaya Msizi 6:16:40

Women

1 Simone Malan 5:53:34; 2 Kerry-Ann Marshall 6:04:41; 3 Nadia Jooste 6:41:16; 4 Hanri Dalton 6:57:14; 5 Kate Arnold 7:02:48; 6 Megan Skowno 7:05:17; 7 Sara Archdeacon 7:59:40; 8 Nicola Steinhaus 8:01:36; 9 Janeske Oosthuizen 8:04:07; 10 Melindie Van Zijl 8:21:42

Puffer 65km Cape Point Road to Green Point

Men

1 Roelof Mostert 6:16:28; 2 Davide del Fante 6:22:57; 3 Henco Visser 6:38:05; 4 Zibele Bala 6:57:29; 5 Hassen Looqmaan 6:57:39; 6 Pieter Calitz 7:04:43

Women

1 Steph van Gelderen 7:31:43; 2 Heleen Mills 7:39:52; 3 Brigitte Melly 8:17:31; 4 Bronwen Moodie 8:28:49; 5 Chantel von Saint Ange 8:48:41

Tougher Puffer 130km – Puffer out and back

Men

1 Sean McGibbon 17:56:53; 2 Modisa Mogale 20:35:16; 3 Murray Hollan 21:39:15

Women

1 Jessie Waldman 19:04:37; 2 Philippa Law 24:02:22; 3 Elizabeth Brink 25:59:46

Phufhie 24km – Beau Constantia to Green Point

Men

1 Liam Matthews 2:22:00; 2 Trevor Jacobs 2:45:37; 3 Nicholas Rupanga 2:50:36

Women

1 Bella Tooley 3:01:47; 2 Hanlie Rennie 3:11:10; 3 Cloudia Rose Barr 3:19:36

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