August 26

GOLDEN TRAIL WORLD SERIES 2019: KILIAN JORNET AND MAUDE MATHYS WINS PIKES PEAK

Posted by adefrutos on August 26, 2019 in golden trail series 2019, golden trail world series, golden trail world series 2019, salomon, salomon trail running, salomonrunning, trail running, trail running spain | Leave a comment

Pikes Peak Marathon has crowned Kilian Jornet and Maude Mathys. At 3PM from here (7AM local time), the 64th Pikes Peak Marathon, a mythical Colorado Alpine marathon that rises up to 4,302m altitude. Kilian Jornet and Maude Mathys led the first half of the climb at record pace, 2m30 below him and up to 6min her.
At the top, Kilian was still leading but 7min above the record time, while Maude is 4m below. And so to finish, with gold of both and record for Maude. Also shone our Aritz Egea, fourth and Eli Gordón, fifth. This is how Kilian was climbing, in this Salomon’s video…

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GOLDEN TRAIL WORLD SERIES 2019: PIKES PEAK MARATHON (42k/D+2386m)

Kilian and Mathys wins with record for Mathys

Kilian Jornet has once again won the Pikes Peak Marathon seven years after his winning it the only other time he competed. He held first position throughout the race in a bid to break the record set in 1993 by Matt Carpenter but in the end finished in a time of 3:27:29, 11 minutes short of the American’s record.

The runners set off from Colorado Springs at 7am, the 64th time this legendary mountain marathon has been staged. Kilian Jornet made a good start and at kilometre 12,2, the famous Barr Camp mountain refuge, he was leading in a time of 1:03:56, more than three minutes ahead of his pursuers. Jornet reached the Pikes summit, which at 4,302m gives the event its name, in a time of 2:09:12, the 18th best time for an ascent and eight minutes slower than Carpenter’s best time in 1993. “Great race this morning. An amazing atmosphere and a tough race climbing up and down Pikes Peak. Legs wasn’t light today but the cardio was great and allowed me to get a gap from the start and manage it for the win in front of Sage and Marc” , Jornet said.

Jornet maintained and even extended his lead during the descent. The American Sage Canaday finished second in a time of 3h39’05’’ with the Swiss Marc Lauenstein, third in 3h40’31’’.

This victory, added to wins at Sierre Zinal and Zegama, puts Jornet in the lead in the Golden Trail World Series, with two events remaining.

On the women side. the season has been spectacular for Maude Mathys, finishing with a time of 4h02m45s, after European gold WMRA and gold + record in Sierre Zinal, beating the record of 4h15 Kimmel had here. After Maude’s gold, silver for Yngvild Kasperssen, bronze for Amandine Ferrato and Eli Gordón closing the top5.

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GOLDEN TRAIL WORLD SERIES: SCHEDULE IN 2019

The season will start in Zegama with its authentic Basque fever, where the conditions are often tough but the atmosphere and excitement of the spectators almost lets runners forget the weather conditions. Kilian Jornet, Spain’s favorite son, will return this year after missing last season’s race while recovering from injury. Stian Angermund-Vik, Rémi Bonnet, Davide Magnini, Oriol Cardona, Pascal Egli and many more will try to ruin his plans. On the women side, Ida Nilsson will also be back after her 2018 win, but Ruth Croft, Megan Kimmel, Holly Page, Sheila Aviles and others will be there to challenge for the top spots.

From Zegama’s 42km jaunt up and down the Basque Country’s muddy and technical terrain, the series shifts to the French Alps for the Marathon du Mt Blanc, which is often contested under a warm sun. The early part of the race is often run at a fast pace before the course becomes more of a roller coaster and finishes with a brutal climb, meaning that the physical qualities required to perform in Zegama and Chamonix are quite different. With the level of competition expected to step to the line in Chamonix in 2019, the race will likely be run in a pack, which could create new strategies that were not seen beneath the Mont Blanc in previous years.

At 21km, the Dolomith’s Run in Italy is next, and it is the shortest race of the series. It is where the younger generation of runners will have the best opportunity to compete against more experienced competitors in the couloir of hell. Expect the top-10 finishers to be close together until the very end.

Next up is Sierre-Zinal in Switzerland, a classic fast & furious race that delivers the tightest battles of the season year-after-year. Athletes come from road running, mountain running and track and field to compete over fast terrain. The course is relatively flat after beginning with an epic climb from Sierre, and the crowd waiting at the finish in Zinal is boisterous and rowdy.

Two weeks later, the athletes will move to the high altitude of Colorado for the Pikes Peak Marathon. Climbing and descending is the order of the day, with the course reaching to 4,300 meters. In the men’s race, the question (as always) will be whether anyone touch the impossible record of Matt Carpenter? In 2018, Megan Kimmel bested the women’s record that was set in 1981. With 21km of climbing at a 12 percent grade before the furious 21km downhill back to town, Pikes Peak requires a different kind of strength in the thin air of the Rocky Mountains. This year, the race will be held on the weekend of August 24-25, one week later than normal, making it easier for athletes to race at Sierre-Zinal and Pikes Peak, which were held only six days apart in previous years.

From Colorado, it’s back across the pond to the Scottish Highlands for a case of Scottish vertigo. The Ring of Steall, the final race of the series, will offer runners their last chance to qualify for the Grand Final. Athletes will scramble over technical ridges, run through chilly rivers and negotiate slippery peat passages in predictably unpredictable Scottish weather.

Finally, the top-10 men and women after the first six races will travel together to the Grand Final, being staged this year at top of the world. The Annapurna Trail Marathon in Nepal will offer trail running’s elite an opportunity to gather together in trail running paradise, albeit at high altitude, in what is sure to be a competitive final race to close out the calendar and crown the Golden Trail World Series champions.

Elite runners must participate in three of the six races during the series in order to be eligible for the Grand Final. The top-10 men and women with the most points in their three best races will earn a trip for themselves and a person of their choice to the Grand Final in Nepal. The overall final standings (and the men’s and women’s champions) of the Golden Trail World Series will be determined again by the runners’ three best finishes during the season, plus their result at the Grand Final.