Pyrenean Adventures for British Internationals: This Week's Trail Tally

On the Long Trail route at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships

Chasing Trails: Week 40

This week, we’re reporting on over 10 days of trail running achievements, as we look back at five sets of races taken on by Team GB & NI at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in the Spanish Pyrenees, Lucy Gossage’s superb FKT on the South West Coast Path, and Elle Twentyman’s success at the Ben Nevis Skyline, in her own words. A massive well done to all the athletes that represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and hats off to Lucy and Elle for their inspiring runs!

- Kate Parker, Director - Founder 

GB & NI Uphill Teams Claim Seventh Place in the World

The World Mountain and Trail Running Championships took place last week in Canfranc-Estación in the Spanish Pyrenees. Against stunning backdrops and on technical, demanding trails, the best runners in the world competed in a range of events, starting with the Uphill only race (6.4 km with 990 m of elevation). 

Jacob Adkin led the British men with a superb time of 39:34, which earned him fifth place behind multiple vertical races record holder Rémi Bonnet of Switzerland (37:50), Kenya’s Richard Omaya Atuya and Patrick Kipngeno, and the United States’ Christian Allen. Next from the GB squad were Matthew Knowles (24th, 41:54), Finlay Grant (46th, 44:01), and Oscar Subuh-Symons (47th, 44:05). The team finished in seventh place. 

The women’s vertical race had Kirsty Dickson competing for Team GB & NI - she set a brilliant time of 48:23 for 12th position (the race was won by Germany’s Nina Engelhard in 45:33). Scout Adkin was 15th in 48:43, followed by Ruth Jones (38th, 52:17) and Eden O’Dea (39th, 52:24). The women’s team also claimed seventh place in the rankings.

Jacob Adkin during the Uphill race © Jamie Rutherford

Naomi Lang Continues to Shine

Moving to the second day of racing, the Short Trail challenged competitors with some technical terrain and steep climbs and descents, in 45 km and 3,657 m of elevation. 

Continuing in the amazing form she has shown all year, Britain’s Naomi Lang ran a very controlled race, rounding out the women’s podium in third place after she had often been in second position during the day. Tove Alexandersson from Sweden put on an unbelievable performance to win in 5:04:20, almost 34 minutes ahead of second placed Sara Alonso from Spain (5:38:15). Naomi was hot on her heels, finishing in 5:38:54.

Naomi during the Short Trail race © Alecsa Stewart

Emily Cowper-Cowles was the only other female British competitor, finishing in 44th place (6:29:34). 

In the men’s race, Ben Rothery put on a strong performance for 27th place in 5:23:15. Bertie Houghton was 51st (5:35:27), Grant Cunliffe 61st (5:39:06), and Joe Wright 91st (5:56:52). Unfortunately, a dead leg on the start line stopped Thomas Roach early on, while an early wasp attack sidelined a few elite runners on the first climb, including Kristian Jones. 

Stunning International Debut for Hugh Chatfield

Next up was the Long Trail race, arguably one of the most competitive 50 milers we’ll have witnessed on the international stage this year. The race was 82 km long with 5,400 m of elevation, going over very steep and technical terrain and spending a good portion of time at altitudes above 2,000 metres. In the men’s event, 2023 World Champion Benjamin Roubiol from France lined up alongside a strong French team including last year’s Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc winner Vincent Bouillard. Also on the start line were former UTMB and Western States champion Jim Walmsley, multiple UTMB podium winner Zach Miller, and another Western States champion Adam Peterman from the United States. Not to mention Italy’s Francesco Puppi, hot off winning the 100 km CCC at this year’s UTMB Finals; Cristian Minoggio (3rd this year in the 50 km OCC); Peter Frano (third at the previous World Championships)... and many more!

Team GB & NI’s Hugh Chatfield ran a controlled race, gradually moving up the field in the first half and running in the top 12 for the rest of it. He held off a charging Joaquin Lopez from Ecuador (third at the UTMB 2024) to seal 12th place on the finish line (9:30:17 total time), for a fantastic result for the team in his first time being called up to represent his country. We caught up with Hugh at the finish line, where he summarised his experience:

“The race was a true mountain test, not your normal run of the mill ‘trail’ race. The altitude, terrain, and competition all packed a punch. And there was also pressure and a sense of importance from not only wearing the GB vest, but having put so much training, thinking and time towards this one day.  It was emotional to start and even more emotional to finish well.”

Although he held his own against the world’s best, notably finding himself “in a UTMB sandwich with the only people in sight those who have previously podiumed in Chamonix” for many miles at a time, Hugh feels like he still had more to give. “I’m taking away pride and confidence, but like any athlete, that niggling question: what do I need to change to perform even better?“ More to come from Hugh, we are sure!

The rest of the team battled hard all day, putting in more performances to be proud of: Luke Grenfell-Shaw 30th (10:05:16), Andrew Symonds 35th (10:07:52), Alastair Graves 73rd (11:02:06), Keith Wigley 76th (11:05:10), and Jack Scott 90th (11:33:01). Altogether, Team GB & NI placed fifth in the men’s race. The winner was the United States’ Jim Walmsley in a time of 8:35:11.

And in the women’s race, Lizzie Richardson came away with a hard-fought 37th place in 12:20:41, moving steadily through the field all day and holding off Spain’s Barbara Ruiz right to the end. The United States’ Katie Schide cemented her ultra running legend status with a dominant win in the women’s race (9:57:59, a little over 25 minutes over Nepal’s Sunmaya Budha in second). 

Hugh during the Long Trail Race © Kristian Jones

Brilliant Under 20s Men Secure Team Silver

On the final day of racing, it was time for the shorter and faster Mountain Classic races. We began with the women’s Under 20s, who covered 7.8 km with 397 m of elevation. Team GB & NI secured seventh place overall, with Isla Paterson finishing first Brit in 15th place (42:06), followed by Jessica Taylor (20th, 42:56), Amelie Lane (31st, 44:31), and Hania Czebreszuk (34th, 44:38). Germany’s Julia Ehrle won in 38:47.

The Under 20 men put on a fantastic show, with Jack Sanderson running a blistering 34:36 for sixth place, followed by last-minute addition to the team Sam Bentham in tenth (35:51), Ewan Busfield in 13th (36:18), and Rowan Taylor in 28th (37:05). Sam replaced Tom Hilton, being called up to join the team just on the previous Tuesday night!

These results put Team GB & NI in second place - earning a brilliant team silver. The race was won by Uganda’s Titus Musau in 33:09.

The Seniors were next, running two laps of the same course for 14.3 km and 775 m of elevation. Jacob Adkin secured 19th place in 1:06:35, followed by Felix McGrath (30th, 1:08:33), Andrew Douglas (34th, 1:09:07), and Lawrence McCourt (52nd, 1:11:17). They also secured a team seventh place.

In the ladies’ competition, the team placed eighth overall, with Scout Adkin leading the charge in 1:16:30 for 16th place, followed by Nancy Scott (23rd, 1:18:09), Kate Maltby (32nd, 1:20:17), and Sara Willhoit (37th, 1:21:26).

The race winners were Philemon Kiriago from Kenya (1:02:30) and Nina Engelhard from Germany (1:11:00).

Men’s Under 20 Team Silver © Mountain Run UK Instagram / Jamie Rutherford

Lucy Gossage Sets New FKT on the South West Coast Path

We are late to report on this, but we cannot fail to mention Lucy Gossage’s brilliant effort setting a new Fastest Known Time on the South West Coast Path. She ran the entire 630 miles with 35,031 m of ascent in 11 days, 9 hours, 6 minutes, fully self supported, improving on the previous record held by Sarah Perry (13 days, 11 hours, 31 minutes). In her own words, Lucy reports that “this was one of the most incredible, challenging and life affirming experiences of [her] life.” She timed her runs along with ferry crossing timetables, having to take one taxi from Exmouth to Starcross only. 

An inspiring effort from this year’s Spine Race and South Downs Way 100 champion! 

You can find all of Lucy’s Strava files and tracking information here. And check out her daily vlogs detailing the experience on her Instagram account.

Lucy at the end of her journey © Lucy Gossage’s Instagram

Catch-up with Ben Nevis Skyline Winner Elle Twentyman

Last week, we reported on the return of Skyline Scotland races and notably, Elle Twentyman’s win in the Ben Nevis Skyline women’s race. We’ve since spoken to Elle about her race, which she summarises as “tough, but fun!”

Elle set off at a steady pace on the runnable first 15 km, trying to get into a nice rhythm without tiring the legs before the more technical sections to follow. Then came tough miles along the ridge and on the subsequent descent, with lots of scrambling: “It was very foggy on the top so the visibility was poor and it was hard to pick out the little red flags... I actually missed the left turn onto the ridge and almost ended up dropping off the wrong side of Ben Nevis!”

Despite having spent a long time training on more runnable terrain on European trails recently, Elle pushed herself beyond her comfort zone, on wet and slippery rocks, down into the boggy valley with no clear path to follow. One more steep climb and then “the real fun began: The final 7kms were down a fast (but twisty) MTB track to the finish. I had been counting down the kms to get to this point and was relieved to be able to open the stride back up and get running again. I knew that I had a big gap to the next girl at this point so I kept it nice and smooth and just enjoyed every second!”

Elle wore the Harrier Kinder 10L pack to ensure she could carry all her mandatory kit while staying comfortable and quick on the demanding course. Congratulations again on the win!