Storm Ingrid Spices Up the Arc of Attrition: This Week's Trail Tally

The start of Arc 50 © UTMB World Series

It’s never an easy run to finish a challenge like the Arc of Attrition by UTMB, but this past weekend saw extremely stormy weather hit the Cornish coast as runners took on the 100- and 50-mile races amid strong winds, torrential rain, crashing waves, and lots of mud. All the events were absolute nailbiters, including the shorter distances on Sunday, where we saw a little better weather, but tough underfoot conditions. Huge congratulations to all the runners!

Anne-Sofie Pollestad and Hugh Tibbs Dominate the Arc 100

The Arc of Attrition by UTMB 2026 started with the 100-mile race on Friday, with runners heading straight into Storm Ingrid conditions and facing one of the roughest nights on the Cornish coast. 

The longest race kicked off on Friday at 1pm, covering 161.2 km from Coverack to Porthtowan on the South West Coast Path. The course has climbs and descents totalling 5300 m of ascent, less than other big 100-milers (particularly mountainous ones), but its difficulty lies in the relentlessness of these - with a profile looking like the teeth of a comb! The underfoot conditions can be really tricky, with very muddy and technical sections, and of course, the weather in January isn’t to be taken lightly. All these combined to make it a tough night as the front runners turned on their head torches and headed into the storm. Finland’s Juuso Simpanen, who set the pace early on and was leading from 40km in at Porthleven, abandoned in the early hours of the morning. In the women’s race, top 3 contenders Sara Eydmann and Mathilde Dufour, also stopped in the night. Knee troubles, asthma attacks, and relentless tough weather took out a lot of the field, including Harrier PRO athlete Sanna Duthie. 

By the following day, it was Norway’s Anne-Sofie Pollestad, who had run a measured race and took the lead later in the race, who came away with the win in 22:28:24. She placed ninth overall, followed by Charlotte Fisher (23:49:08) and Hannah Rickman (24:47:38).

Anne-Sofie reaching the finish line © UTMB World Series

In the men’s race, British 100-mile record holder and last year third-place finisher Hugh Tibbs put on a pacing masterclass to take the crown. He ran much of the race behind earlier contenders, then moved into the lead alongside his friend Simon Withers, braving the elements together. Putting in a late surge after the last aid station, Hugh crossed the finish line in 19:10:09, followed by Simon 4 minutes later and Sam Skinner in third place (20:14:33).

A fantastic effort in a race where only 261 runners finished out of 630 starters!

Hugh at the finish © UTMB World Series

A Windy 50-Miler Crowns Gemma Hillier-Moses and Kristian Jones as Victors

A year on from fantastic results in the 25-miler, Gemma Hillier-Moses and Kristian Jones both increased their distance this year, with brilliant outcomes and despite much tougher weather. 

The 50-miler started in the iconic Minack Theatre in Porthcurno on Saturday morning, straight into the storm as well. Keith Wigley and Kris Jones, teammates in the Elite Trail Team and good friends, set the pace from the start, running conservatively to preserve their legs during the first half, which is more technical. But, as Kris recounted in his recap on Instagram, “the hours of up, down, slip, slide, rock hopping and bog hopping took their toll. The underfoot conditions were brutal, more bog and stream than path at times.” This made for a challenging second half - but one that Kris managed well, breaking away and securing the win in 7:09:41. Keith followed in 7:27:45, improving on his third place from last year. Lewis Bowness was third (7:38:32).

In the women’s race, Gemma got a win after being second in the Arc 25 last year. She moved through the overall field all day, finishing in 8:12:56 and 8th position overall. Aroa Sio was second in 9:31:30, followed by Katie Kaars Sijpesteijn in third (9:33:15).

Gemma and Kris at the finish © UTMB World Series

Arc 25, Arc 12, and Stories from the Ground

Michelle Wang took on the Arc 25 to give herself a new challenge: “I’ve never run a winter race and the idea of experiencing the harsh conditions and learning how my body and mind would cope really appealed to me. The Arc of Attrition has always stood out to me as an iconic race, and being part of something with such a strong reputation felt special.” Michelle has previously completed the 100 km CCC at the UTMB and the Ultra-Trail Snowdonia 50k, among other events - but all hot weather runs!

In Cornwall, she loved the views, the crowds, and even the weather! The sun had come out by Sunday morning and she could take a few photos, but the mud churned up by hundreds of runners made the running quite a challenge. Overall, having a crazy storm on top of a challenging marathon made it all feel like a “real adventure.”

One of Michelle's photos

I was curious how the wave start worked for her, because it seemed essential to split runners up given that most of the race is run on very narrow coastal path. Michelle agreed: “having everyone start together would have caused a lot of congestion… this made the race flow much better. It really took the pressure off and made the whole experience far more enjoyable.”

Michelle was one of the 848 runners who did the marathon, starting from St Ives. She finished in 5:39:03 and was 72nd woman and 412th overall. A huge well done to her!

Also in the Arc 25, we saw Britain’s Naomi Lang and Robbie Simpson claim exciting wins. The men’s race was very tight, with the top three finishing within the space of two minutes. Raoul Raus from Belgium was second and Ben Rothery from the UK was third. Naomi was joined on the women’s podium by Spain’s Nuria Gil Clapera and France’s Maëlle Beauvir - by far the most multinational of the four races of the weekend!

Arc 25 front runners © UTMB World Series

Naomi during the race © UTMB World Series

Finally, a new event took place this year, the Arc 12 - a 24 km race with 980 m of elevation. Congratulations to Fiona German, who took the win in the women’s race, followed by Katrina Entwistle and Amelia Williams. In the men’s race, well done to Oscar Subuh-Symons for his victory. The podium was completed by Finn Lydon and Samuel Deller.  

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The Arc of Attrition stays very true to its name: every year, it’s a tough challenge to take on, with very little daylight, difficult weather conditions, and a relentless coastal path that takes no prisoners. This year’s race looked fiercer than ever. The most experienced runners were slipping and sliding on thick mud; the waves crashed continuously against the shore; and the howling winds were awe-inducing. Although by Sunday, runners had better overhead conditions, the underfoot slog was real. What a fantastic effort from everyone, huge congratulations to everyone who started!

Alecsa Stewart