Hayden Hawks is still in Europe. The American Hoka runner won the UTMB CCC at the end of August. After that he went with his family to Italy and Slovenia. There he will run the Jat Sky Trail, the 53 kilometres (3,067m+) race, that’s part of Julian Alps.
For Hawks Julian Alps is the last race of his season. One he has been looking forward to, he said in his pre race interview: “The mountains are fantastic here. It looks very similar to Chamonix, just a smaller version of it. We’ve been enjoying ourselves as a family in Slovenia. We stayed on an eco farmstay near Ljubljana before we came here to the mountains. My kids loved that. As a family we really wanted to come and experience Slovenia. I had some athletes (Hawks works as a running coach; jk) that ran this race a couple of years ago and they talked about how amazing the area was and how amazing the people were. So I wanted to experience that for myself. That’s why I signed up for this race. This race ends our time here in Europe. A great way to cap it off.”
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Battle with Francesco Puppi
The Jat Sky Trail will be a battle between him and Francesco Puppi, the number two of the UTMB OCC. Although, with Yoel de Paz Baeza (Spain), Luca Pescollderungg, Michele Meridio (both Italy), Janez Klancnik (Slovenia) and Dimitri Chapelle (France) there are more trail runners who have set their eye on the victory. But Hawks is feeling confident: “I’m a little tired after the CCC, but I did a couple of workouts to test my fitness and I’m not feeling too bad. I actually feel pretty strong. I think the 50k distance is perfect. The big goal is to get a podium this weekend. It won’t be easy. There is some good competition. There are a few good guys from Italy coming over. Francesco Puppi is a good friend of mine. Hopefully we can run some miles together, and have a good race towards the end of the race and see who is the best on the day.”
Looking forward to the views
To prepare, Hawks already run parts of the course: “The coolest thing is the views. You’re looking into the national parks and the big mountains, almost the entire time you’re on the course. Which is extremely beautiful. I like the mix of terrain that you get on the course too. There are some very runnable sections and there are also some more technical sections. Which makes it fun, because it mixes it up a bit. It’s the type of course that suits me and my strengths.”
At UTMB Hawks had placed his family on a strategic point in the race. Seeing them gave him energy for the last kilometres. This weekend is going to be full on for his family: “My wife is racing as well on Saturday (the 17k Intersport Speed Trail; jk) and my kids are doing the kids race, but they should be able to crew me. There is one aid station (Dovje; jk) where crew is permitted, so they will be there. I can run without a crew, but I wanted to make this European trip an experience for my kids as well.. Hopefully it will do something for them in their life.”
Laukli favourite
Sophia Laukli is the favourite in the women’s 50k. She’s up against Anna Tarasova (Andora), Pina Deiana (Italy), Emily Dixon (Great Britain) and Federica Zuccollo (Italy).
The longest race at Julian Alps is the I feel Slovenia Ultra Trail. The highest ranked athletes are Helia Fumo (Portugal), Jon Lihteneger Vidmajer, Ivan Hrastovec (both Slovenia) and Gerald Fister (Austria) in the men’s race and Martina Klancnik Potrc (Slovenia), Esther Fellhofer (Austria) and Paulina Krawczak (Poland) in the women’s race.
Record number of runners
With 3,500 athletes racing Julian Alps coming weekend, the race broke a new record.“We couldn’t be more excited about our biggest edition yet”, says race director Luke Hren. “Participants are in for an incredible adventure, discovering this most authentic part of the Alps through trail running. They’ll enjoy breathtaking views of the fairytale and world-famous Lake Bled and the iconic mount Triglav, experience the incredible local hospitality and friendliness of the event, which is one of the many reasons runners keep returning year after year.”
Two more UTMB races this weekend
Julian Alps is one of the three UTMB races this weekend, September 20-22, 2024. The other races are Paraty in Brazil and Grindstone in the United States of America.
Photo: UTMB
