Rachel Fawcett and Mark Darbyshire (both Great-Britain) have won the 100 miles race (9.500m+) of Ultra-Trail Snowdonia in Llanberis, Wales.
Fawcett, who finished last year third in the 100k, was this time by far the strongest in the 100 miles. She raced with her brain, working her way up the overall ranking from position 55 at Bwlch Glas to 15th at the finish. Maria Pijoan Gall finished more than 5,5 hours behind Fawcett as second; 34:10:57 versus 39:47:42.
Corine Kagerer (Swiss), on paper the highest ranked, finished third, she crossed the line together with Nikki Arthur (Great-Britain) in 41:12:05.
No competition for Darbyshire
Darbyshire, who earlier this year also won the Arc Of Attrition 100 miles, was more than an hour and a half faster than runner-up Andy Berry (Great-Britain); 23:41:13 versus 25:18:51. Michael Dunstan (Australia) finished comfortably as third; 25:45:24.
Mathieu Clement (Switzerland), who was the highest ranked UTMB athlete at the start, was up until Moelwyn Mawr continuously in second or third spot, but dropped after that and left the race at 101 kilometres, being number 14 by then.
Darbyshire is a regular on the podium at Snowdonia. In 2022 Darbyshire he was second in the shorter 38,4 kilometres (2.057m+) race. In 2021 he won the 101,9 kilometres (6.660m+) race. “It was hot, but I’d rather it’s like that than rain in cold winters. I was telling myself it’s my day. I basically just thought I’d go a bit slower this year than I did last year, showing a little bit of patience. And I managed.”
Victory for Henriette and Jonathan Albon
Henriette Albon won the 50 kilometres race (3.300m+), beating the Swedish twin sisters Lina El Kott Helander (2nd) and Sanna El Kott Helander (3th) by more than 55 minutes. With her time of 6:39:54 Albon finished 5th overall: “It was a really tough race. When I was halfway, I thought I couldn’t manage this because of the heat, and I ran out of water in the last 3 kilometres. I’m really pleased with how it went today. As my husband is English, I feel a bit at home, it’s great to be able to race here. I got my sister-in-law living 20 minutes away from here so it’s very special.”
With her victory, Henriette Albon made it a special weekend, as Jonathan Albon, her husband, won the Transvulcania Ultra Marathon in the same weekend.
All results Ultra-Trail Snowdonia
