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It was a relatively quiet 4th of July weekend in the ultrarunning community, with just 17 races taking place across North America. In this week’s Ultra Weekend Recap, we highlight ultramarathon results from Québec, Minnesota, Ontario and Wyoming. Let’s get to it.
Québec Mega Trail
A top field of endurance athletes gathered 100 kilometers northeast of Québec City for the 2025 Québec Mega Trail, a Gran Canaria World Trail Majors event featuring 135k, 80k and 50k ultramarathon races. Xavier St-Cyr raced to victory in the inaugural 135k distance, winning in a time of 17:18:05. Matthieu Saliou was the second man across the line in 17:43:42. Sébastien Camus (19:00:02) came in third. Maryline Nakache (19:11:41) earned the win in the women’s contest and placed fourth overall. Geneviève Nadeau (20:26:04) finished second and ninth overall, and Mylène Sansoucy (20:33:31) took third and rounded out the overall top ten.
Over 300 runners completed the 80k race, with first-place female honors going to Claudine Soucie in 10:02:22. Britta Clark (10:20:32) finished second, and Kelsey Hogan (10:41:18) was third. Eric LiPuma won the men’s event in 8:29:13. Jean-Philippe Thibodeau finished just behind in second (8:36:32). Rémi Hogue claimed third (9:08:38).
Saturday’s 50k doubled as both a short series event for the Gran Canaria World Trail Majors and the Canadian Trail Running Championship. While we don’t yet have the official times of all runners, we can report that Dany Racine ran to a commanding win in the men’s race in 4:46:25. Christopher Lévesque-Savard finished second, and Sebastien Brochu came in third. Élisa Morin broke the tape in 5:09:42 to win the women’s race. Sarah Bergeron Larouche placed second, and Stephanie Ryall finished just back in third.
Results from the 135k and 80k can be found here.
Afton Trail Run
The 31st annual Afton Trail Run 50k took place Saturday at Afton State Park in Minnesota’s beautiful St. Croix River Valley. There were 230 runners who completed this year’s race, with Jess Guile earning the women’s crown in 5:32:31. Sherri Schummer finished second female (5:35:49), and Carrie Miller crossed the line just five seconds behind in third (5:35:54). Alex Forte ran a blistering fast time of 3:39:35 to win the men’s race. This was Forte’s third consecutive Afton Trail win. Jeffrey Lanners finished second (4:15:09), and Andrew Elvester snagged the last podium spot in third (4:20:38). Full results here.
Limberlost Challenge
Returning north of the border, we travel to the Limberlost Forest and Wildlife Reserve in Huntsville, Ontario, for the 15th running of the Limberlost Challenge 56k. Dan Quigg distanced himself from the competition early on and never looked back, winning the men’s race in 6:15:14. Ben Burlholder ran to second in 6:42:14, and Derek Milroy (6:44:15) placed third. Sherri Callahan secured the win in the women’s race in 7:57:51. Results show that Bryana Van Leeuwen and Stephanie Leduc tied for second place, both finishing the race in 8:01:52. Full results here.
Grand Targhee Wildflower Run
Our final stop takes us to Alta, Wyoming, for the Grand Targhee Wildflower Run. There were 46 runners who completed the 50k event through Grand Targhee’s beautiful trail system, with Alistair Clark racing to a commanding win in 4:15:10. Christian vanBlommestein took second (5:00:05), and Nate Bowser finished third (5:02:50). Megan Tattersall won the women’s race in 5:55:48. Kelly Bettner placed second (6:24:29), and Maria Echavarria Eikhof completed the women’s podium in third. Full results here.
Other results from this weekend include: Finger Lakes 50s (Hector, NY), Badwater® 135 *Live Tracking* (Death Valley, CA), Rancho Hills Trail Run (Morgan Hill, CA), and Big Butt 50k (Lancaster, SC).
Congratulations to everyone who raced this weekend!