Jack Chamberlain and Fiona Pascall have won the Mozart 100, part of the UTMB World Series. Both Britisch ultra trail runners handled the horrible weather and trail circumstances of the 106 kilometres long race (6.643m+) in Austria best.
Pascall’s victory was undisputed. The Salomon athlete, who won last year the 100 miles at the Julian Alps Trail Run and the Arc of Attrition 82 kilometres race, had with her time of 12:06:04 almost a 40 minutes lead over Claudia Chmielows (Poland), who finished second in 12:44:42. Maryline Nakache (France, Cimalp) took third place. She finished after 12 hours, 52 minutes and 32 seconds.
Maite Maiora (Spain), one of the big favourites for the win, just missed the podium. The Vibram athlete finished fourth in 13:10:55.
Chamberlain surprises
Looking at the UTMB ranking, Jack Chamberlain surprised the rest of the field. The British ultra runner had ‘a slow start’. At Hinterwinkl he was third, but in the hilly section to Hof he lost 3 places. Yet, 10 kilometres later, at Tiefbrunnau he was already in second place. Another 10 kilometres later at Sausteigalm he took the lead and didn’t look back. He finished in 11 hours, 19 minutes and 37 seconds.
Paweł Czerniak (Poland, Black Hat Pro) finished second in 11:28:17. Carlo Salvetti (Italy, Elle Erre ASD) grabbed third place in 11:33:21.
Bowman returns to ultra
The Mozart 100 also meant the return of the American ultra runner Dylan Bowman, who finished fourth. Like all the others, he was struggling with the weather, which was so bad the organisation was forced to change the course. On his Instagram he wrote; “It was definitely the most challenging weather conditions I’ve ever encountered in a race. Torrential rain and horrendous underfoot conditions made for a mental and physical battle for 66 miles and 16k’. Though it was far from perfect, I’m pretty darn happy with the day. A few strategic errors led to a heroic implosion at halfway, then 2.5hrs convinced I was in for another Hardrock-style death march. Luckily, I was able to keep my head in the game, problem solve, and rally pretty well in the last 4hrs. Even with so many of these silly quests under my belt, each one presents new and valuable lessons. I just love it.”
Photo: Olivia McCulla
All race results from Mozart 100
