Jornet Shatters UTMB Course Record
Kilian Jornet set a new course record at Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) on August 27 in 19:49:30. Jornet became the first person to run under the 20-hour mark on the full 106-mile course that starts and end in Chamonix, France, and includes 32,000 feet of climbing. Runner-up, Mathieu Blanchard, also eclipsed the previous course record by finishing in 19:54:50. Tom Evans rounded out the men's podium in 20:34:36, while the top American was Jim Walmsley in fourth place coming in at 21:12:12.
On the women’s side, Katie Schide, who is an American residing in France, won in 23:15:12, with Canadian Marianne Hogan taking second in 24:31:22 and American Kaytlyn Gerbin finishing in third in 25:07:45.
For the second year in a row, the UTMB festival had a participant pass away during the week-long event schedule. A 40-year-old Brazilian runner, whose identity remains anonymous, was fatally injured on the first evening of the 186-mile Petite Trotte à Léon (PTL) team race near the Refuge de Plan Glacier. Our thoughts go out to his family.
Kuenzle Breaks Jornet’s Bob Graham Round Speed Record
Jack Kuenzle, a former Navy Seal from California, established a new Bob Graham Round speed record on September 2 in 12:23:48, nearly 30 minutes faster than Kilian Jornet’s record-setting time in 2018. The 66-mile loop is in the English Lake District and one of the three classic mountain challenges in the UK.
The route starts and finishes at Moot Hall in Keswick, England, accumulates roughly 27,000 feet of elevation gain and passes over 42 different fells in the mountainous region of northwest England.
Sinclair’s Sizzling Summer Continues
The #9 UltraRunner of the Year in 2021, David Sinclair, took the win and Kilian Jornet’s course record at the Rut 50K in Big Sky, Montana. Sinclair won the race in 5:04:17, beating Jornet’s 2014 time by just 5 minutes. He also won and set the course record at the Broken Arrow Skyrace 52k in June and took the title at July’s Speedgoat 50k.
Located in Big Sky, Montana, the Rut 50K is a single-loop course with a wide variety of terrain that includes fire roads, single track and exposed alpine ridgelines, gaining 10,500 feet. Nestled in the Rocky Mountains of southern Montana, the Rut’s high point is Lone Peak at 11,167 feet.
US Women Win Gold at the IAU 100K World Championships
Team USA won the gold medal in the women’s race at the 31st IAU World 100K Championships in Bernau, Germany. Led by Courtney Olsen, Anna Kacius and Nicole Monette, Team USA claimed the title by exactly 2 minutes over France. Olsen finished in 7:15:29 in fourth, Kacius clocked 7:24:41 which was good enough for seventh, and Monette ran 7:34:36 finishing in 11th. Japan took home the bronze medal. Other Americans on Team USA included Elizabeth Northern who finished 16th in 7:45:46, Kalie Demerjian, who was 60th in 8:56:04 and Sarah Cummings, who didn’t finish due to injury.
In the men’s race, Team USA took 13th, led by Eric LiPuma in 29th with a time of 6:53:33, Geoff Burns finished in 41st in 7:09:55 and Kris Brown ran 7:14:38, coming in 45th. Japan took the gold, with France again claiming silver and South Africa securing bronze. Other Americans on the team included Rajpaul Pannu, who was 49th in 7:23:19, and Craig Hunt and Zack Beavin who did not finish.
Aleksandr Sorokin Breaks His Own 24-Hour World Record
40-year-old Aleksandr Sorokin of Vilnius, Lithuania, ran 319.614 kilometers (198.599 miles) at the IAU 24-Hour European Championships on September 17 and 18, in Verona, Italy, establishing another new World Record for the second consecutive year. Averaging approximately 4:30 per kilometer (7:15 per mile), Sorokin broke his own record set at the 2021 UltraPark Weekend 24-Hour race in Pabianice, Poland, on August 28 and 29, by just over 10 kilometers.
Hughes and Lockwood Win $15,000 at the 10th Annual Run Rabbit Run 100
Annie Hughes of Leadville, Colorado, and Richard Lockwood of Seattle, Washington, claimed the titles and the $15,000 that came with them, at the decade-old Run Rabbit Run 100 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, on September 16-17. Hughes was 10th overall in 21:26:01, besting second place by almost 2 hours, and Lockwood ran 18:01:44, over an hour ahead of his nearest competitor. For Hughes, this was her fourth win in an ultramarathon of 100 miles or longer in 2022, and sixth consecutive win dating back to the 2021 Leadville 100. Arlen Glick of Massillon, Ohio, was second in 19:04:03, and Nick Elson out of Squamish, British Columbia, was third in 19:12:06. Tara Dower of Wake Forest, North Carolina, came in second for the women at 23:08:04, while Mary Baughman from Boulder, Colorado, rounded out the podium just a couple minutes back in 23:10:51. 67-year-old Billy Simpson of Hotchkiss, Colorado, finished the challenging high-altitude course in 30:56:50, the race's oldest finisher.
In Memoriam
Ray Piva
Ultrarunning legend Ray Piva died at his home in California after a fall. He was 96.
“Papa Ray” as he was widely known in local running circles, took up running in his late 50s. A few years later, he ran a 2:57 marathon at age 62. He then took up ultras and ran the 1994 Western States in 23:29, eight days shy of his 68th birthday – the oldest runner ever to break 24 hours. At his fourth Western States in 1998, he ran 28:09, setting a course record for the 70+ age group. A quarter of a century later, both records still stand. He also set numerous age group records, notably running 109.1 miles in 24 hours at age 78.
Ray Piva was born on July 4, 1926 in San Francisco, California, and lived in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood for his entire life until moving to a retirement community near his son in recent years. He married his high school sweetheart Eva (yes, Eva Piva), and they were wed for more than 50 years when she passed away about 20 years ago. He worked for many years as a sausage maker at Columbus Salame Company in south San Francisco, and was an old-school, blue-collar, salt-of-the-earth guy. Despite his many stellar accomplishments, he wasn’t particularly impressed with himself, once proclaiming, “I’m just trying to get something done while I can. I ain’t getting any younger, ya know!”
TruMan
Catra Corbett’s beloved dog TruMan passed away on September 14 at the age of 18. TruMan was well known throughout the ultrarunning community as an ultrarunning dachsund and was loved by all.
