Mammoth Lakes; last Golden Trail race before the final

Posted on September 20, 2024•By John Kraijenbrink•News

Mammoth Lakes; last Golden Trail race before the final

Who makes it to the final and who doesn’t? The Golden Trail World Series is coming to its final event. The top 30 athletes on the rankings will advance to the final. Mammoth Lakes (USA), this coming Sunday, September 22, 2024, is the last chance to collect points.

The trail is 26 kilometres long, with 1.400 metres of climbing. The start and finish is in Mammoth Lakes, a mountain village, 2.400 metres above sea level. So it’s not just the trail that’s challenging, it’s also the elevation.

New technical course

The course has been modified, compared to last year making the downhill section more technical. Which means it isn’t as fast. That can be to the advantage of Judith Wyder. The Swiss Hoka athlete won Mammoth last year, beating Daniella Moreno (USA) and Madalina Florea (Romania). Which doesn’t say Wyder is the big favourite. Especially because Joyce Njeru is in good shape. The Kenyan Atletica Saluzzo underlined that last week by winning Headlands.

Florea finished second at Headlands and showed she can be fast at Mammoth as well. But can she win? So far the Romanian Salomon athlete hasn’t won a big race this season yet. At Sierre-Zinal she finished third, at Marathon du Mont-Blanc she was second and at the European Off-Road Championships she was third as well.

Is Yao recovered?

Miao Yao is another big name in the line-up. The Chinese Salomon trail runner won the OCC last month, but wasn’t recovered enough to fight for the podium at Headlands, where she finished sixth. Will another week of rest make her a contender again? Mammoth is a type of course that suits her.

Other interesting names on the starting list are those of the Americans Lauren Gregory (USA), number two at Headlands, Anna Gibson and Rachel Drake.

Who beats Elazzaoui?

The man to beat at the Golden Trail World Series this year is Elhousine Elazzaoui. The Moroccan Nnormal looks unbeatable this season on fast courses, as he showed last week at Headlands by beating Philemon Kiriago (Kenya) in the sprint. Earlier this year he also won the Marathon du Mont-Blanc and finished second at Zegama, behind Kilian Jornet.

Somebody who isn’t performing up to his normal standards is Rémi Bonnet, last year’s winner of Mammoth Trail Fest. In 2023 Bonnet was the unbeatable one. This year he was fourth at Headlands, ninth at Sierre-Zinal, second at the Marathon du Mont-Blanc, and stepped out at the UTMB OCC, because of back problems after a fall. He only won the 32k at Restonica Trail and the Course de montagne Neirivue-Moléson 10k in Switzerland. With the final around the corner, is Bonnet ready to defend his Golden Trail World Series title?

Other contenders for the victory are Christian Allen (USA), Roberto Delorenzi (Swiss), and Daniel Pattis (Italy).

Photo: The Adventure Bakery

John Kraijenbrink

I run for fun. I run to be in the mountains, in the forest. I run, because running fascinates me. That’s why I study all the science about running. What I discover, I share with you. To help you to be a better runner, but above all to help you having fun running.