Chamonix, France, August 27. Kilian Jornet of Puigcerdá, Spain and Lizzy Hawker of England won the 169.9-km (105.5-mile) Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc today. Jornet, 23, won for the third time by pulling away from compatriot Iker Karrera in the final downhill miles. The two had entered the final checkpoint at Argentière, 8.7 km from the finish, side by side.
Hawker led the women throughout and steadily moved up in the overall field, finishing in 13th place.
The start of the race was delayed for 5 hours by a cold, steady rain. It was started at 11:30 p.m. local time after the worst of the rain had passed through.
Top American runners fared poorly, with Geoff Roes and Scott Jurek both dropping out at Courmayeur, 77.7 km. Dakota Jones dropped at 90 km and Krissy Moehl, a two-time women’s champion here, dropped at 110 km. Mike Wolfe of Helena, Montana ran near the lead for much of the first 125 km before struggling in the later stages of the race, eventually finishing 26th. Two-time Western States champion Hal Koerner finished in 38:55:39.
Mike Foote of Missoula, Montana was the top American finisher, in eleventh place at 24:25:12. Nick Pedatella of Boulder, Colorado was 14th in 25:51:33 and Jack Pilla of Charlotte, Vermont won the men’s 50-59 age group, placing 22nd overall in 27:35:26.
Darcy Africa of Boulder, Colorado doubled back from her recent Hardrock second place in fine fashion, finishing in third place for women, and 31st overall. Helen Cospolich of Breckenridge, Colorado finished sixth.
Men
1. Kilian Jornet, 23, Puigcerda, Spain, 20:36:43
2. Iker Karrera, 36, Tolosa, Spain, 20:45:30
3. Sebastien Chaigneau, 39, Thorens Glieres, France, 20:55:41
4. Németh Csaba, Miskolc Hungary, 22:35:48
5. Carlos Sá, Barcelos, Portugal, 22:48:24
Women
1. Lizzy Hawker, Scuol, England, 25:02:00
2. Néré Martinez, Navalafuente, Spain, 27:55:24
3. Darcy Africa, 36, Boulder, CO, 28:30:28
4. Denise Zimmerman, Mels, Switzerland, 29:26:39
5. Maud Gobert, Valloire, France, 30:20:59