The 2024 Transvulcania Ultramarathon getting underway. All photographs courtesy of race.
The Transvulcania Ultramarathon is well-known for bringing in gifted runners worldwide and being a extremely aggressive race. The 2024 version was no totally different.
Early on the morning of Saturday, Might 11, racers set off on their 72-kilometer (44.7 miles) journey, beginning on the southern tip of La Palma island, one of many Canary Islands, on the lighthouse of El Faro de Fuencaliente. The race’s end line is about on the island’s west facet within the metropolis of Los Llanos de Aridane. Racers had to make use of their energy as they accrued round 14,000 ft (4,350 meters) of acquire.
The course is as stunning as it’s difficult. Except for the seemingly continuous climbs to the course’s excessive level simply after 50k and a 1,000-foot (320-meter) climb from the ocean to the end, racers should in some way handle the practically 8,000-foot (2,400 meters) descent from the excessive level to the ocean over the course of lower than 11 miles (18k). Dominated by singletrack, the course tackles difficult terrain, together with free volcanic pumice and sharp lava rock.
5 years after making an attempt the Transvulcania Ultramarathon and coming in fourth place, Jon Albon lastly discovered his means again to the island of La Palma. He claimed his crown, profitable the 2024 version. On the ladies’s facet, Ruth Croft additionally discovered her means again to the island, in her case eight years had handed. She made up for the misplaced years and never solely got here away with the victory but additionally the ladies’s course document.
Learn on for extra of how the race performed out.
There have been no fewer than 9 earlier Transvulcania wins represented on the beginning line, together with Dakota Jones (left, 2 wins) and Luis Alberto Hernando (proper, 3 wins).
2024 Transvulcania Ultramarathon Males’s Race
The boys’s race was one which wouldn’t be misplaced early, as at the very least 10 males rolled into the second assist station at Deseadas (17k) inside 73 seconds of the lead. There was a definite lead pack with Jeshurun Small and Dakota Jones of the U.S., Tom Evans and Jon Albon of the U.Okay, and Thibaut Baronian of France. Ben Stout (U.S.), Dimity Mityaev (Andorra), Davide Cheraz (Italy), and Antoine Thiriat (France) had been all inside a minute of the lead.
Fourteen kilometers later, at El Reventón (31k), 4 of the 5 primarily remained within the lead pack, with solely Jones dropping again to sixth whereas Stout moved up into fifth at 2.5 and a couple of minutes off the lead, respectively. Technically, Baronian was 19 seconds off the lead trio of Albon, Small, and Evans. Cheraz, Ionel Manole (Spain), Mityaev, and Tobias Geiser (Italy) rounded out the highest 10.
Quick ahead to the excessive level at El Roque de los Muchachos (51k), and we lastly began to see some gaps between the highest males, even when that was largely Albon pulling away from the remainder of the leaders. Certainly, Albon hit el Roque with a 4.5-minute lead on Small and a 5.5-minute lead on Mityaev, whereas Baronian and Evans sat 6 minutes again.
Jon Albon within the lead in La Palma’s excessive nation.
From there, gaps rapidly grew with Stout at 8.5 minutes, Manole at 18 minutes, and Manuel Anguita (Spain) at 19.5 minutes again in sixth by eighth as the one different runners inside 20 minutes of the lead. Not lengthy after El Reventón, Jones rapidly fell behind the lead pack to finally end in seventeenth.
The colossal 8,000-foot, 11-mile descent right down to the seaside city of Tazacorte noticed two of the earlier high 5 runners fall again, whereas three held their place or moved up. Albon hit the ocean with the identical 4.5-minute lead he had an hour and a half earlier excessive atop the island. Ah, however Evans made up 90 seconds to maneuver into second together with teammate Mityaev over the descent.
Dmitry Mityaev and Tom Evans operating collectively in second late within the 2024 Transvulcania Ultramarathon.
On the similar time, Small fell into fourth at 8.5 minutes off the lead. From there, there was a considerable hole again to the subsequent runners with Manole, Stout, Pere Aurell (Spain), and Anguita all below 20 minutes off the lead. Baronian deployed his parachute on the descent and ended it in ninth, greater than half-hour off the entrance.
As the lads made their means into town middle of Los Llanos de Aridane, Jon Albon held on to win in 7:03:10.
Making up 2 minutes on Albon over the ultimate 5k climb, teammates Dmitry Mityaev and Tom Evans completed hand in hand, tying in 7:05:16.
Though he misplaced a while on the descent, Jeshurun Small ran robust over the ultimate kilometers to take fourth in 7:10:54. Ionel Manole threw down a livid last dash to beat out Ben Stout and maintain onto fifth by 11 seconds, with the pair ending in 7:19:21 and seven:19:32, respectively.
Jeshurun Small (middle) lined up in the beginning of the 2024 Transvulcania Ultramarathon.
2024 Transvulcania Ultramarathon Males’s Outcomes
- 1. Jon Albon (U.Okay., lives in Norway) – 7:03:10
- T-2. Dmitry Mityaev (Andorra) – 7:05:16
- T-2. Tom Evans (U.Okay.) – 7:05:16
- 4. Jeshurun Small (U.S.) – 7:10:54
- 5. Ionel Manole (Spain) – 7:19:21
- 6. Ben Stout (U.S.) – 7:19:32
- 7. Manuel Anguita (Spain) – 7:20:24
- 8. Pere Aurell (Spain) – 7:27:10
- 9. Antoine Thiriat (France) – 7:39:41
- 10. Tobias Geiser (Italy) – 7:39:467
Ionel Manole (left) and Ben Stout (proper) congratulate each other after a dash end for fifth on the 2024 Transvulcania Ultramarathon.
2024 Transvulcania Ultramarathon Ladies’s Race
Regardless of having a stacked area, the ladies’s race was dominated already in its early kilometers. By Deseadas (17k), Ruth Croft (New Zealand) had a 2.5-minute lead on Ida Nilsson (Sweden, lives in Norway), however Nilsson was, in flip, practically 5 minutes in entrance of the remainder of the ladies’s area.
Right here, Azara García (Spain) and Ekaterina Mityaeva (Andorra) ran in third and fourth at 7 minutes off the lead with Marianne Hogan (Canada) and Hannah Allgood (U.S.) lower than a minute again. Keely Henninger (U.S.), Sunmaya Budha (Nepal), Emilie Collomb (Italy), and Hillary Allen (U.S.) had been the remainder of the highest 10 girls at 9, 9.5, 10.5, and 13 minutes off the lead.
Ruth Croft operating within the lead late within the 2024 Transvulcania Ultramarathon.
Croft continued to drag away from the sphere en path to El Reventón (31k), the place she constructed a 4.5-minute lead on Nilsson. Budha held robust to maneuver into third place at 12 minutes off the lead whereas the remainder of the ladies’s area continued to fall off Croft’s livid tempo. Hogan and García ran 13 and 14 minutes off the lead in fourth and fifth, respectively. Whereas we don’t have a break up for Mityaeva at El Reventón, she was sixth on the assist stations earlier than and after that location.
After which Nilsson dropped the hammer with an amazing surge to catch Croft earlier than El Roque de los Muchachos at 51k. On the similar time, the lead duo continued to construct time on the remainder of the ladies’s area. Budha continued to run in third on the excessive level at quarter-hour off the entrance. On the similar time, Allgood had run her means up into fourth roughly 24 minutes off the entrance with Hogan holding onto fifth at 28 minutes off the lead.
Ida Nilsson (proper) briefly main Ruth Croft on the race’s excessive level.
For perspective on simply how nicely Croft and Nilsson had been operating up entrance by 51k, the sixth by ninth girls at 50k had been Mityaeva, Katharina Hartmuth (Germany), García, and Henninger, all of whom have world-class ultrarunning resumes and but ran from 32 to 47 minutes off the leaders.
Wow! Of Croft and Nilsson, it was Croft who had the downhill legs on the day. The Kiwi put 8 minutes on the Swede over the 8,000 ft and simply over 90 minutes of descending to the ocean. Budha held her personal on the descent, truly gaining a minute on Croft, however nonetheless sitting in third 14 minutes off the lead. At that time, the ladies’s podium appeared set with simply 5k to go.
Nonetheless, solely 6 minutes separated the ladies in fourth by sixth. Mityaeva had made up floor on the descent to maneuver into fourth at 34 minutes off the entrance. Allgood and Hogan raced in fifth and sixth, at 2 and 6 minutes behind Mityaeva.
Ruth Croft continued her phenomenal run to the end, coming throughout the road in a girls’s course document time of 8:02:49, reducing Ida Nilsson’s time of 8:04:16 from 2017.
Ida Nilsson rolled into the end to take second in 8:16:32.
Sunmaya Budha continued to shut in on Nilsson, however finally completed in third in 8:20:31.
Ekaterina Mityaeva held onto fourth in 8:40:59, whereas Hannah Allgood completed in fifth in 8:43:23.
Sunmaya Budha operating in third late within the 2024 Transvulcania Ultramarathon.
2024 Transvulcania Ultramarathon Ladies’s Outcomes
- Ruth Croft (New Zealand) – 8:02:49
- Ida Nilsson (Sweden, lives in Norway) – 8:16:32
- Sunmaya Budha (Nepal) – 8:20:31
- Ekaterina Mityaeva (Andorra) – 8:40:59
- Hannah Allgood (U.S.) – 8:43:23
- Marianne Hogan (Canada) – 8:51:09
- Katharina Hartmuth (Germany) – 8:57:34
- Azara García (Spain) – 9:14:48
- Marina Cugnetto (Italy) – 9:18:57
- Keely Henninger (U.S.) – 9:23:44
Ruth Croft celebrating her win on the 2024 Transvulcania Ultramarathon.