Trailhead: UTMB week, another big new FKT, and a new episode of The Trailhead podcastUltraSignup
It’s UTMB week in Chamonix and it’s hard to talk about anything else. But pay attention there was a new FKT on the Pacific Crest trail.
TOGETHER WITH
Happy Tuesday, runners!
It’s a Courtney Dauwalter world, we’re just living in it. Huge congratulations are in order to Courtney and Jim Walmsley for first place finishes at Dacia UTMB Mont Blanc this weekend; both history-making performances. If you missed it (how?), get the full story on the 106 mile epic race at iRunFar.
Beyond UTMB… In the United States, yesterday’s Labor Day holiday marks the unofficial end of summer, so we sat back with a cuppa’ coffee and some runner data to reflect. Between Memorial Day (May 29) and Labor Day, here’s how the community ran races on UltraSignup:
Unique Racers: 52,928
Total Race Results: 63,273 (1.2x per person)
First Time Racers: 18,114
Total Miles: 1.5 Million
Maybe surprising to some, 33.3% of race results are for races in the 10-27 mile category and 29.5% are for races <10 miles. In every category, every distance, we’re glad to see you all out there continuing to expand the sport and welcome in new runners.
THE WEEKEND COOL DOWN
While the world’s eyes were fixed on Chamonix, the World Mountain Running series continued in Casto, Italy with wins by Andrea Mayr and Patrick Kipngeno in the VK, while Philemon Kiriago (?: 1) joined Andrea Mayr in victory on the long course.
UTMB put on a nailbiter of a show in both the men’s and women’s field. Xiang Fuzhao (?: 2) fought hard until the end, narrowly beat by Blandine L’hirondel for third. See the results for all distances here.
Former track star Allie Ostrander (?: 3) stepped into a new trail running arena, completing her first ultra at Washington’s Three Corner Rock PCT 50k and nabbing the course record.
Want more racing? Check out Justin Mock’s “This Week in Running,” then take a look at these upcoming events that are still open for registration.
While the weekend’s running news was dominated by coverage of Courtney Dauwalter winning her third major 100+ mile ultra race this summer, the UTMB race footnote reads, “growth in all women’s participation, with 22% female runners on all events [at UTMB] this year, and a gender balance among elite runners.” While we’re glad to see a gender balance among the elites, why does the field skew so male? By looking into the UltraSignup database we can see that the average female participation in 100 mile races in 2023 is only 21.4%.
Back in 2021, Marta Fisher recognized another gender gap and decided to do something about it. In “Women Who FKT” from the UtraSignup News archive, Jen Sotolongo tells us how Marta launched an initiative that encouraged women in the Pacific Northwest to pursue new speed-record benchmarks.
Dirt Circus is just around the corner and space is filling up! Join us to celebrate the trail running community, hang out with friends, support local running stores and race directors, try out gear, and win prizes.
Giveaways: Attendees are eligible for raffle prizes including a GoPro Hero 11 camera (including the virtual event), brand giveaways, coaching credit, race entries, and discounts to local running stores!
Demos: Each Circus stop will have a variety of brands on site. Try shoe demos from brands like Topo Athletics, On Running, Hoka and others!
Connect with friends and with local experts. Hear from race directors, coaches and more in our panel sessions.
Bentonville Finale! Test yourself at the Bentonville Dirt Circus 5K and 10K. Both runs are technical, challenging, exhilarating routes. Enjoy all the run of the Dirt Circus spectacle plus celebrate with friends in the 5K or 10K races. Feeling fast? Go for the podium and the big cash prize.
Get Your Shirt: Preorder your shirt at registration to get a limited city-specific design.
If you did, congratulations! For the rest of us, there’s still a lot of days, miles, and races left this season. The days may be getting shorter, but your training sessions don’t have to.
Get up, get going, and stay out there with a Petzl headlamp. Whether it’s the long-lasting NAO RL, or the light, uber-comfortable IKO CORE, we’ve got you covered.
For those who see darkness as an opportunity. Experience the Difference — with Petzl
⬆️ Zach Miller’s 2nd place UTMB finish will live on in meme history.
?️ Tim Tollefson has been a professional ultrarunner for years, but only recently has he begun to share his experience with body dysmorphia. Tune in to the latest episode of Rich Roll podcast to hear Tim’s story of his long-fought battle with himself.
Whether you’re training for your next big challenge on the world stage or just getting into trail running for the first time, share your adventures with us in the UltraSignup Strava club and tag us on Instagram where we share the community’s posts every Monday.
