Nature had the final say on Friday 7 July, as the hotly awaited Val d’Aran by UTMB® – which doubled up at the European UTMB® World Series Major – was forced to cancel its 100M and 100K races due to adverse weather conditions.

The organization wrote: “A thunderstorm, hail, strong wind gusts and low temperatures endangered the safety of participants, volunteers, and the organization. The evacuation was carried out as quickly as possible and we thank the collaboration of the volunteers and the runners, who remained calm at all times to allow the rescue to be carried out in an agile and orderly manner.”

At the time of the race cancellation, 47 runners had already crossed the line of the 100K Camins d’Hêr (CDH) with Raul Octaviu Butaci (ROM, UTMB Index 862) taking the tape after 12:45:46 and describing it as a dream come true. Azara Garcia de los Salmones (ESP, UTMB Index 781) was also first across the line in the women’s race, thanking the volunteers, fans, and organization for making it such an unforgettable race.

Six Running Stones – double the standard amount due to the events Major status – were awarded to all runners who were on the CDH course when the race was neutralised, while the first 10 classified athletes will obtain direct access to the CCC® 100K UTMB World Series Finals. Meanwhile, all 100M Val d’Aran (VDA) starters were awarded two Running Stones for compensation, alongside an invite to race the Experiéncia d’Aran (EXP) on Sunday.

The weather played ball for the rest of the weekend, with Raúl Criado (ESP, UTMB Index 851) ringing the iconic bell at the finish line and taking the tape after 05:41:08 in the 50K PDA race on Thursday. It was an all-Spanish podium with Marcos Ramos Gonzalez (UTMB Index 869) and Aritz Egea Caceres (UTMB Index 894) finishing in 05:45:29 and 05:46:54.

In the women’s race, Oihana Kortazar (ESP, UTMB Index 758) took the win, with Anna Comet Pascua (ESP, UTMB Index 752) and Mónica Vives Vila (ESP, UTMB Index 729) joining her on another all-Spanish podium.

©UTMB