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2025 Mont Blanc Marathon Preview and Picks · Let's Talk Trail Running

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hello hello hello and welcome back to let's talk trail running
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this is your host
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robert crosser and today we're going to be talking about the
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marathon du mont blanc
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going on this weekend it is one of four different races we have
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to choose from on
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fantasy free trail uh this weekend and for those of you that
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might be new to the
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podcast this is the show where we talk about um upcoming trail
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races both ultras
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and several ultra events anything that ends up on fantasy free
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trail for making
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picks we usually try to talk about um and that once again is uh
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free trail uh being
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the big media entity and trail running and they have a fantasy
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arm that's free to
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SPEAKER_00: play fantasy.freetrail.com
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um and occasionally you can win really cool prizes i meant to
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actually include that
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um on my last episode we talked about western states really big
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exciting race one
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of the two races they let you choose 10 runners deep for the
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year just because of
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how competitive it is i think last year i looked at the results
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i think like 6 000
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or 7 000 almost 7 000 people picked for it which is pretty big
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for these type of
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races um and every now and then too uh free trail teams up with
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whoever is
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sponsoring the race and so pretty much every year at like oka
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and then occasionally
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SPEAKER_00: some of the golden ticket races maybe like bandera black canyon
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SPEAKER_00: Not Bandera, sorry, either Black Canyon or Canyons.
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SPEAKER_00: They give away Hoka stuff as well,
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SPEAKER_00: and I'm sure that more companies will start to do that as well.
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SPEAKER_00: But yeah,
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SPEAKER_00: basically,
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SPEAKER_00: I haven't officially heard the announcement,
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but I'm pretty sure you could probably win some stuff if you do
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well enough in the
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SPEAKER_00: picks for Western States this year.
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SPEAKER_00: So that's added incentive.
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SPEAKER_00: Since I released and recorded my Western States podcast,
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SPEAKER_00: which I was pretty happy to get out early for once,
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SPEAKER_00: there has been tons of Western States stuff coming out.
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But I'm sure if you're anything like me,
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then the more Western States talk,
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the merrier.
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And so hopefully that's just one more thing you can listen to
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in deciding your picks.
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SPEAKER_00: I'm for sure going to shuffle around my top 10 like a bajillion times.
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And I actually went back and looked at my picks last year to
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see where I fell.
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SPEAKER_00: And I think I was in the top 10% out of the 6,000.
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SPEAKER_00: I think I was like 400.
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300 or something like that so or maybe even 200 it was it was
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better than i thought
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i thought i tanked and i was trying to go back to two years ago
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as western states
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picks um because i don't think i did as good two years ago in
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picking for western
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states um because yeah it's just such a big race and there's a
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lot of people to
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choose from since i've released my western state spot i'm sure
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everyone is already
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in the know about this uh but there have been some drops uh
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especially even in the
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athletes we talked about so lynn chen is not going to be racing
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unfortunately and
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SPEAKER_00: then um
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Lin Chin,
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Terra Fraga,
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Priscilla 4G are the three drops on the women's side.
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SPEAKER_00: And then on the men's side,
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SPEAKER_00: I don't think there was anyone that has dropped since I did my preview.
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SPEAKER_00: So that's another thing to keep in mind is, yeah, when making your picks.
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But Fantasy does a pretty good job of scratching those people
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out when they're not racing.
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SPEAKER_00: So that's good to know.
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SPEAKER_00: And then with regards to where'd they go?
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SPEAKER_00: I guess I haven't made picks yet.
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SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so that's Western States.
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SPEAKER_00: Lots of good media.
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SPEAKER_00: I just finished this morning watching Jim's interview with Fruit Trail,
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SPEAKER_00: which was really interesting,
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SPEAKER_00: talking about his training.
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Anytime Jim gets on the mic,
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I feel like there's a lot of wisdom to be had.
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SPEAKER_00: So yeah, he talks about his training.
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He doesn't really make picks,
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but he talks about some people to look out for.
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SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm trying to think what else.
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SPEAKER_00: Talking about his training,
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talking about different nuggets of wisdom that he has about the
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Western States
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SPEAKER_00: course.
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SPEAKER_00: Things like that.
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SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, I mean, really exciting.
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SPEAKER_00: And then I'm about to watch single tracks podcast with their men's picks.
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SPEAKER_00: And I've listened to some of the free trail stuff that's come out,
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but it's just going to keep coming out all week and there's
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lots of good stuff.
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And I love how this whole week is kind of just like a hype
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train for Western States.
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SPEAKER_00: It's well-deserved.
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SPEAKER_00: I think it's still,
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SPEAKER_00: yeah,
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SPEAKER_00: one of the most worthy and exciting races,
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SPEAKER_00: even though I don't think it's exciting for,
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SPEAKER_00: I don't think it's something that I want to race in the future,
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but I really love the hype around it and I love the race and I
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love everything
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SPEAKER_00: about it.
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SPEAKER_00: So that's exciting.
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SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
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SPEAKER_00: But yeah, I think that's enough of an introduction.
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SPEAKER_00: Like I said,
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SPEAKER_00: a funny thing,
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SPEAKER_00: too,
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SPEAKER_00: is the Boys Got Jerk memes are going to be really good this week.
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SPEAKER_00: They always are in Western states.
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And he kind of joked about everyone having a podcast and picks
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about Western states.
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SPEAKER_00: And so I am just contributing with...
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one more person contributing to the madness,
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I guess,
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and one of many voices.
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SPEAKER_00: But based off the metrics,
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SPEAKER_00: which I don't watch super closely,
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SPEAKER_00: but the metrics for the last one that dropped,
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SPEAKER_00: yeah,
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SPEAKER_00: I think people are appreciating Western States previews.
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SPEAKER_00: And I'm sure it'll only grow as the week goes on.
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SPEAKER_00: So hopefully it's something that helps.
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SPEAKER_00: So with that being said,
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SPEAKER_00: without further ado,
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SPEAKER_00: I guess we'll get into the Marathon de Mont Blanc.
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SPEAKER_00: In choosing between Marathon de Mont Blanc,
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SPEAKER_00: Lavarado,
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SPEAKER_00: and the 90K de Mont Blanc,
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I was the most excited to talk about Marathon de Mont Blanc
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because I thought it
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SPEAKER_00: was the deepest field.
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SPEAKER_00: I'm still considering doing a preview for Lavarado and 90K de Mont Blanc,
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SPEAKER_00: but I don't feel like they're as deep,
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SPEAKER_00: even though it's going to be exciting in Lavarado.
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SPEAKER_00: We're going to see
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SPEAKER_00: Courtney race.
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SPEAKER_00: So that's always super exciting to talk about.
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And then the 90K to Montblanc has some big names,
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but there's also been some big drops.
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SPEAKER_00: Tom Evans isn't racing it anymore.
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And some of the favorites that I would say are usually
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favorites like Dmitry Metiev
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SPEAKER_00: has kind of a question mark going around this year with injuries.
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SPEAKER_00: And then, yeah, coming back to injuries or just drops,
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SPEAKER_00: I was really,
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really excited to talk about Marathon de Mont Blanc because it
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had a really deep
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SPEAKER_00: field on both sides.
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SPEAKER_00: It still has a pretty deep field,
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SPEAKER_00: I would say,
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SPEAKER_00: but some of the really big names on the men's side dropped.
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SPEAKER_00: I knew Remy wasn't going to be racing,
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whether or not they had a line through his name because he
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announced on social
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SPEAKER_00: media that I think he has a little bit of stress factor.
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SPEAKER_00: So it's going to be the rest.
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SPEAKER_00: There goes his running season,
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which is really sad to hear because Remy is an amazing athlete
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and it's always
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SPEAKER_00: super fun to have him in the mix.
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SPEAKER_00: And I know he really wanted to
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SPEAKER_00: to kind of redeem himself on the golden trail circuit this year.
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SPEAKER_00: So it doesn't seem like it's in the cards.
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SPEAKER_00: But I'm sure he'll come back healthy and focused.
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SPEAKER_00: And I'm sure he's focused on, honestly, getting as healthy as possible.
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So he can do...
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I don't know if he's doing the ski mountaineering Olympics.
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SPEAKER_00: I know he's one of the best ski mountaineers.
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SPEAKER_00: But I don't know if he's going out for...
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SPEAKER_00: the Olympic team for Switzerland.
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SPEAKER_00: So I imagine he's trying to get ready for that if he is.
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And then the big names that I was really bummed to see drop on
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the men's side,
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SPEAKER_00: we had John Albin is showing his no-go.
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SPEAKER_00: Per his podcast with Henry, his wife, the Albin way is what it's called.
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I've been hearing him talking and they were kind of teasing
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that who's going to
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SPEAKER_00: tune up and do a faster,
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SPEAKER_00: shorter,
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SPEAKER_00: shorter stimulus.
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SPEAKER_00: And I was stoked to see his name on this.
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You know,
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he's won marathon to Montblanc before he's got one of the
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fastest times ever.
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SPEAKER_00: And he's just one of those like next level.
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SPEAKER_00: I would say he's,
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he's on that goat trajectory of like being up there with guys
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like Killian and,
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SPEAKER_00: He's up there with like Tom Evans,
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probably people that are just off of like the Killian gym and
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whoever trained.
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He's kind of like on the Tom Evans,
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but for a little bit shorter old rows.
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SPEAKER_00: Anything he runs is just like he's so well prepared for it.
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SPEAKER_00: He comes in and does so well.
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SPEAKER_00: So long to see.
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SPEAKER_00: I hope it's not injury related.
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SPEAKER_00: Maybe he just decided that wasn't a good idea or has an angle pop up.
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SPEAKER_00: because I'm pretty sure he's in France right now training,
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SPEAKER_00: and I think he just posted about doing some shakeout run in Mont Blanc or
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SPEAKER_00: something.
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SPEAKER_00: So hopefully he's well.
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SPEAKER_00: Bum to see him not racing.
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SPEAKER_00: And then other names being scrapped from the men's side,
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SPEAKER_00: Mander Marias,
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SPEAKER_00: he's probably one of my favorite racers.
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SPEAKER_00: Just the kind of ethos that he gives off,
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SPEAKER_00: mountain athlete,
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SPEAKER_00: formerly for Scarpa and now for New Balance.
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SPEAKER_00: Basically just this dude running around in the mountains in Spain,
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SPEAKER_00: living in a super tiny mountain village.
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SPEAKER_00: Has this really cute shepherd-type dog.
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uh czar who comes with him everywhere hugs him at finish lines
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all that good stuff
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so bummed bummed to see that he's not racing but i also um in
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the preview i had
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some big question marks around his name because he did just
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race picos de europa
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which was like an 11 hour effort for him and it's only two
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weeks before this race
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so it didn't seem like probably the best idea to come in um
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wanting to do out
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marathon de mont blanc with that big of an effort so close um
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and he did win so i
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mean i think he's won that event like seven times now it's one
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of his favorites for
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SPEAKER_00: sure
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And then the last scratch from the men's list that was a bummer
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was Cesare Maestri,
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SPEAKER_00: the Italian athlete who's really been on a heater this year.
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SPEAKER_00: Two top fives,
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SPEAKER_00: I think two fourth places in two Golden Trail Series events,
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SPEAKER_00: the Great Wall Race and the Noli Race,
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SPEAKER_00: which were two of the more competitive ones.
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SPEAKER_00: So bummed to see that,
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but we still have lots of good names to choose from on both the
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men's and the
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SPEAKER_00: women's side.
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SPEAKER_00: So with that being said, yeah, I guess we'll go in.
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SPEAKER_00: I mean,
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SPEAKER_00: I already kind of started the preview for the men's side,
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SPEAKER_00: so I'll go in on the men's side.
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SPEAKER_00: I think the women's side at this point might be more exciting, though.
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SPEAKER_00: So preview on the men's side.
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SPEAKER_00: So Marathon de Mont Blanc, it's a 42K, so it's a marathon distance.
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I want to say it has about 10,000 or 11,000 feet of hurt,
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but don't quote me on that.
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SPEAKER_00: Let's see if I can get it pulled up.
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Yeah,
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it's kind of a nice in-between of,
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let's see,
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23K,
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42K,
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2,540 meters.
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SPEAKER_00: So I'm pretty sure that is around 10,000 feet of vert.
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Marathon of Mont Blanc kind of feels like that sweet spot in
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between stairs and all
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SPEAKER_00: and something like,
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SPEAKER_00: sorry,
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SPEAKER_00: I'm doing public math and that's never a good idea,
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SPEAKER_00: 25,
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SPEAKER_00: 40 times.
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SPEAKER_00: Cool.
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SPEAKER_00: 8,331 feet.
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SPEAKER_00: So not quite as much.
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SPEAKER_00: So between 8,000 and 9,000 feet.
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SPEAKER_00: But Marathon of Montblanc is kind of like that sweet spot.
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SPEAKER_00: I would say it's not as fast as here as in all.
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SPEAKER_00: You won't see as many Kenyan runners.
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SPEAKER_00: So I think it's got a little bit more technicality to it.
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SPEAKER_00: But it still is a pretty fast and runnable course.
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We saw two course records being set last year on both the men's
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and the women's side.
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um so last year we saw one of my favorite battles probably one
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of the best battles
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of the year in golden trail series i know the finish wasn't as
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close as some of the
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other finishes but they're on a back and forth that these guys
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were doing up front
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and that's elozine and remy was awesome and if you watch the
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live footage you see
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that there's like tons of strategics and tactics going on they
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constantly were kind
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of pushing each other um remy or excuse me elozine took the
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lead multiple times on
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an uphill which you don't really think of as somebody taking
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the lead from
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remy on the uphill but he did it multiple times and they were
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kind of just testing
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each other and jockeying for position the whole time they must
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have swapped
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positions i want to say like eight times in the last hour so
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it's really awesome if
9:50
you haven't seen it the highlights from it are super second
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even if you just go
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watch some of the like if they have the whole three hour race
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up um go and watch it
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SPEAKER_00: so
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SPEAKER_00: Anyways, last year's results, we had a course record.
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SPEAKER_00: So I'm going to read out the top 10 on the men's side.
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SPEAKER_00: And then we'll notice that a lot of these dudes,
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SPEAKER_00: there's only one,
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SPEAKER_00: one of the big themes for the men is no Remy.
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In my mind,
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there's no clear favorite,
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especially now that John Albans out.
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SPEAKER_00: And it's not a Golden Trail series race.
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SPEAKER_00: So that's another theme, but it's still deeply competitive.
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SPEAKER_00: It seems like they support professionals really well.
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I think there's still a big prize first,
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10,000 euros,
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something like that.
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SPEAKER_00: Don't quote me on it.
10:22
SPEAKER_00: So it still seems to be iconic and super competitive,
10:25
SPEAKER_00: even though it's the first,
10:26
SPEAKER_00: in my understanding,
10:26
the first year that Golden Trail Series has not had Marathon of
10:29
Mambalaka on here,
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SPEAKER_00: but it's still a classic,
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SPEAKER_00: so people are going to keep coming.
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SPEAKER_00: So yeah, the themes in the men's top 10.
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So from last year's top 10,
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there's only one returning athlete in the entire top 10.
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SPEAKER_00: That's Ezekiel Ruto.
10:42
SPEAKER_00: We're talking about him a little bit.
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SPEAKER_00: He's a Kenyan athlete.
10:44
SPEAKER_00: But last year's top 10,
10:45
SPEAKER_00: we had first place was Elozine and course record three hours,
10:48
SPEAKER_00: 30 minutes and 10 seconds with a battle up front with Remy.
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SPEAKER_00: Second place was Remy Benet.
10:53
SPEAKER_00: Third place, Roberto Di Lorenzi.
10:55
SPEAKER_00: Fourth, Kevin Kivet.
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SPEAKER_00: Fifth, Ezequiel Rudo.
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SPEAKER_00: Sixth, Robert Camoy.
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SPEAKER_00: So we had three canyons in the middle.
11:01
SPEAKER_00: Seventh, Fred Trenchard.
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SPEAKER_00: Eighth, Francesco Pupi.
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SPEAKER_00: Ninth, Miguel Corbera Rubio.
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SPEAKER_00: And tenth, Daniel Pattis.
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SPEAKER_00: So that was the top 10 for last year.
11:10
And like I said,
11:11
it's kind of anyone's race with all of these favorites dropping
11:14
out.
11:14
SPEAKER_00: So that'll be exciting to see.
11:16
We have some people that have done really well at Marathon of
11:18
Mont Blanc in the past.
11:19
SPEAKER_00: So we'll talk about them.
11:19
SPEAKER_00: And then we have some news faces that...
11:23
It's kind of a good mix,
11:24
kind of some new blood that I'll be curious to see how they do.
11:27
And then kind of some people that had success at this race in
11:29
the past are coming
11:30
SPEAKER_00: back from injury or coming back from different problems.
11:32
SPEAKER_00: So with that being said, yeah, no John Albin, no Amanda Marias.
11:35
First guy we'll talk about on the top of the list is going to
11:37
be Tomal Cardin,
11:39
SPEAKER_00: Thomas Cardin,
11:40
SPEAKER_00: French runner for Kip Run.
11:42
SPEAKER_00: He's really super solid, super fast.
11:44
SPEAKER_00: He had a killer year last year winning both A6 St.
11:47
SPEAKER_00: Leon, which is like a flat, fast 50-miler.
11:49
SPEAKER_00: And he also won Le Templier.
11:52
SPEAKER_00: And then he also won the Euro Trail Champs of the 50K.
11:55
SPEAKER_00: So kind of was really killing it last year.
11:57
SPEAKER_00: I was really excited to see him run Zagama this year.
11:59
SPEAKER_00: He had an interesting race at Zagama.
12:00
SPEAKER_00: He was out there with a lead pack for a while,
12:02
SPEAKER_00: and it looked like he was going to make big moves.
12:04
SPEAKER_00: And then he faded.
12:05
And I think he faded as far back as like 11th or 12th,
12:07
if I remember correctly.
12:08
SPEAKER_00: And usually for somebody like that to fall off that far,
12:11
SPEAKER_00: that's usually a pretty good sign they went out too hard.
12:13
SPEAKER_00: And it's probably a death sentence with how competitive Zatama is.
12:16
But it was kind of the wrong interpretation by me in that part
12:19
because he actually
12:20
SPEAKER_00: ended up not only hanging in there,
12:22
SPEAKER_00: but coming back and moving up to sixth place.
12:25
So it seems like maybe he went out a little hot and realized
12:27
the pace was a little
12:28
SPEAKER_00: bit hot and fell off.
12:29
kind of regrouped refueled whatever and then came back so
12:32
really good race maturity
12:33
and a really good showing i mean i think zadama is one of those
12:35
races that you
12:35
really are advantaged the more you run it and the better you
12:37
know it and having not
12:39
run the course before and getting a sixth place in a fast year
12:42
well i guess it
12:43
wasn't a historically fast year but in a fast year um
12:46
especially after falling off
12:47
SPEAKER_00: that much i thought it was really impressive so um
12:52
SPEAKER_00: And then other things,
12:52
SPEAKER_00: I mean,
12:52
SPEAKER_00: he might not have the marathon course knowledge,
12:55
SPEAKER_00: but he has raced and won the 23K for Marathon of Mont Blanc last year.
12:58
SPEAKER_00: So presumably he knows at least part of the course.
13:01
SPEAKER_00: I definitely see him in the top five.
13:02
SPEAKER_00: I would not be surprised if he wins this at all.
13:04
SPEAKER_00: I think he might even be the favorite at this point.
13:08
SPEAKER_00: just because of how good his recent results are,
13:10
SPEAKER_00: how healthy he's been,
13:11
SPEAKER_00: and just how dominant he's been.
13:14
Next guy on the list is going to be Petter Engdahl,
13:16
a Didis Terix athlete.
13:18
SPEAKER_00: He's Swedish, but he lives in Norway.
13:19
SPEAKER_00: He lives in Rama, where all the goats live.
13:22
John Albin lives there,
13:23
Ida Nielsen,
13:24
Killian Jornet,
13:25
of course,
13:26
his partner Emily Forsberg.
13:28
SPEAKER_00: I think there might be one other person too,
13:29
SPEAKER_00: but basically it's just like this little valley in nowhere,
13:33
SPEAKER_00: Norway,
13:33
that has really sick mountains and a bunch of really good
13:35
athletes happen to live.
13:37
SPEAKER_00: So something in the water, maybe.
13:39
SPEAKER_00: Who knows?
13:40
SPEAKER_00: And so he is the winner and course record holder at CCC in 2023.
13:46
the 10 hours i want to say i think like 9 40 something 9 50
13:49
something even though
13:50
he like had a full ankle roll in the middle of the race it was
13:52
crazy his ankle bent
13:53
like 90 degrees in the not correct direction is kind of nuts um
13:57
but the big
13:57
question mark around him he has done well this race he's got a
13:59
third place um he's
14:01
SPEAKER_00: got a third place at this race in 2023 which was pretty impressive um
14:08
And he likes doing this sub-ultra type stuff,
14:11
but he is coming back from injury.
14:12
SPEAKER_00: So it's tough to tell where he's at.
14:13
He's only done one race,
14:15
a local race in Norway,
14:16
it looks like,
14:17
this year.
14:18
He's been pretty vocal about kind of rehabbing,
14:20
coming back from that injury.
14:22
SPEAKER_00: But he did kind of turn my head when he did super well at this event,
14:25
SPEAKER_00: Golden Trail Series event,
14:27
SPEAKER_00: and got third place in 2023 and 346.
14:32
Although if he raced it last year,
14:34
I think that would have got him a little bit further down.
14:36
SPEAKER_01: Let's double check.
14:42
let's see so 346 in 2023 and pulling up remy's results on utmb
14:52
yeah 346 would have
14:55
got him like ninth place 10th i would have got him 11th place
15:01
so the race has
15:02
SPEAKER_00: gotten a lot faster um
15:04
SPEAKER_00: So that's something to keep in mind.
15:05
SPEAKER_00: But he is somebody who I think will be up there going out hard.
15:08
SPEAKER_00: I just kind of question where he's at coming back from injury.
15:10
SPEAKER_00: I hope he does well, and I hope he gets top five showing.
15:13
SPEAKER_00: Injury is just a big question mark with Petter.
15:15
SPEAKER_00: So next on the list, we had talked about Cesare.
15:18
SPEAKER_00: He's out, which is unfortunate.
15:19
SPEAKER_00: So next on the list is going to be Thomas Roach.
15:22
SPEAKER_00: He's a master's athlete from the UK, but super, super solid.
15:25
SPEAKER_00: I think he lives in Austria, if I'm not mistaken.
15:30
SPEAKER_00: And he's just a really impressive dude.
15:32
He has never raced marathon in Mont Blanc,
15:33
so he's got that going against him.
15:35
SPEAKER_00: But he's probably slept on a lot by the Western audience, especially.
15:37
SPEAKER_00: He's probably the second or third best trail runner in the UK,
15:41
SPEAKER_00: probably only behind Tom Evans and John Alvin,
15:43
SPEAKER_00: so far as I can tell.
15:44
um despite that he beat john albin at the world championships
15:47
in 2023 at endsbrook
15:48
and he was second in the world um just behind steon i want to
15:51
say and then it
15:52
doesn't like i said it doesn't appear he's run marathon of mont
15:54
blanc but he seems
15:56
to be in good form so far this year he got a second place at
15:58
austrian mountain
15:59
running vk champs so even though he kind of just like poached
16:02
it uh went over there
16:03
for the competition and still got second which is really
16:05
awesome especially for a
16:06
guy in his he's in the 45 to 49 age category so i assume he's
16:09
at least 45 and
16:11
um so yeah i think he'll be somebody to watch i think he also
16:16
won three peaks or
16:18
scaffold fell race last year um and i think he's he's really
16:24
well suited he just
16:25
seems to be a really really wise and impressive runner he did a
16:28
european masters
16:29
championship earlier this year too in june and won that as well
16:33
um i don't
16:34
SPEAKER_00: recognize most of the names in there but he did win so who cares um
16:38
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I think he's somebody who's going to do really, really well.
16:40
He also ran the Euro Trail Champs last year in the 50K and got
16:44
fourth place,
16:46
SPEAKER_00: which is a pretty good sign.
16:48
SPEAKER_00: You know, just behind Thomas Carden, Benjamin Rubio, and Loic Roland.
16:53
SPEAKER_00: So I think he's really well suited for this race and is going to
17:00
SPEAKER_00: I think he's a solid box of top five.
17:02
SPEAKER_00: Next on the list is Ezekiel Ruto, Kenyan athlete.
17:05
SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure.
17:05
SPEAKER_00: I think he's with the Mel Monte runners.
17:07
I don't know if that means he's with Solomon now instead of On,
17:09
but formerly for On,
17:10
for sure.
17:10
SPEAKER_00: That's what his UTMB profile photo shows.
17:13
SPEAKER_00: He ran a Golden Trail World Series Great Wall.
17:17
SPEAKER_00: And was in the lead pack, but faded to eighth.
17:19
SPEAKER_00: So he's one of those guys that went out hard.
17:20
SPEAKER_00: Looked like the Kenyans are going to sweep like one through six,
17:23
SPEAKER_00: but then eventually it kind of chilled out a little bit.
17:25
SPEAKER_00: And it wasn't all Kenyans.
17:26
SPEAKER_00: Some of them faded in the back half.
17:28
SPEAKER_00: He has a top ten in Sears in all last year.
17:30
SPEAKER_00: I think he was right around ninth or tenth.
17:31
SPEAKER_00: And then he finished fifth at Marathon on Montblanc last year.
17:33
SPEAKER_00: So I had a really good showing.
17:34
SPEAKER_00: I expect him to be up for up pushing the pace.
17:36
SPEAKER_00: I expect him to be taking it out hot.
17:38
And it's just kind of a matter a lot of times with these
17:40
Canadian athletes is like
17:40
SPEAKER_00: how well do they mitigate things like cooling,
17:43
SPEAKER_00: nutrition,
17:44
SPEAKER_00: heat,
17:45
SPEAKER_00: and just effort.
17:45
SPEAKER_00: So I think he'll be up front early in the race.
17:48
SPEAKER_00: I wouldn't be surprised if he leads a good portion of it.
17:49
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if I see him winning, but I do see him coming out very hard.
17:54
SPEAKER_00: Next on the list is Anthony Felber.
17:56
SPEAKER_00: He's a French runner for Brooks.
17:58
SPEAKER_00: He's got tons of experience running this race.
18:01
I looked,
18:02
and it appears to me as if he's run some version of this race
18:05
every year since 2017.
18:06
SPEAKER_00: So in the marathon distance,
18:09
SPEAKER_00: he's got a 9th in 2021,
18:11
SPEAKER_00: 8th in 22,
18:11
SPEAKER_00: 9th in 23,
18:12
SPEAKER_00: and he DNF'd last year.
18:15
But then he's also done the half marathon a ton or other youth
18:18
distances as well.
18:19
SPEAKER_00: So it seems like this is a favor for him.
18:20
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if he's from this area of France.
18:22
His only race this year so far is a 50k by UTMB in France where
18:26
he was second only
18:27
SPEAKER_00: to the World Trail Long Champion and European second place,
18:32
SPEAKER_00: Benjamin Rubial.
18:33
SPEAKER_00: So I think he's probably a favorite for a top 10 pick.
18:37
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't seem like he DNFs a lot despite him DNFing last year,
18:40
but it seems like he knows his course really well and is
18:42
somebody who's going to do
18:43
SPEAKER_00: well out here.
18:46
SPEAKER_00: Next on the list is somebody who I'm really excited to see race again.
18:49
SPEAKER_00: It's somebody who was a really big fixture on the
18:53
on the golden trail series for a long time and i think he had
18:56
to have some near
18:56
wins i don't think he ever won the series outright but he has
18:59
wins in uh in the
19:00
series races and then he really has been a little bit more
19:03
quiet um of late and i
19:06
think that's the past two years he's probably been injured in
19:09
the running season or
19:09
something along those lines so i'm really curious to see where
19:12
he is going to be at
19:14
SPEAKER_00: um and how he's going to do in this race and that is going to be
19:18
SPEAKER_00: Davide Magnini,
19:20
SPEAKER_00: formerly Solomon Athlete,
19:21
switched to New Balance and just hasn't had a lot of running
19:25
races in the past two
19:27
SPEAKER_00: years.
19:28
SPEAKER_00: So he...
19:31
SPEAKER_00: He kind of reminds me, in a lot of ways, he's similar to Remy.
19:34
SPEAKER_00: He's a world-class climber.
19:35
SPEAKER_00: He's a world-class ski mountaineer.
19:37
He often finishes just behind Remy in these ski mountaineering
19:40
races that they do.
19:41
SPEAKER_00: I think Remy's had two undefeated seasons in a row, so nobody's beat him.
19:44
SPEAKER_00: But he's often just behind him.
19:45
SPEAKER_00: And he's a really world-class climber and just world-class trail runner.
19:48
SPEAKER_00: Remy looks a lot younger than he is, in my opinion.
19:51
SPEAKER_00: And even when Remy was in his early 20s, he looked like a kid.
19:54
SPEAKER_00: Davide Magnini, I think, is the same age as me, 29 or 30.
19:57
SPEAKER_00: He still looks like a kid.
19:58
SPEAKER_00: He's very boyish-looking.
20:00
SPEAKER_00: But a really good racer.
20:03
SPEAKER_00: And so, yeah, he's won.
20:05
SPEAKER_00: He's a previous winner of the Marathon of Mont Blanc.
20:07
SPEAKER_00: He won it in 2019.
20:08
SPEAKER_00: And then he was second in 2021.
20:11
SPEAKER_00: Only race so far this year wasn't a great result.
20:12
SPEAKER_00: I think it was a 10th place in an Italian race.
20:15
So I'm not sure if he's been dealing with injury or what's been
20:17
going on the past two years.
20:18
SPEAKER_00: I really want to see him do well.
20:19
And he's an amazing athlete,
20:21
but I just don't know where he'll be coming into this race.
20:24
SPEAKER_00: in terms of fitness or health.
20:27
SPEAKER_00: But he's somebody who,
20:28
SPEAKER_00: this could be a really big comeback for him,
20:29
SPEAKER_00: and he's won it before and done well at it.
20:32
So I wouldn't be surprised at all if he has the capability to
20:36
go top five or
20:36
SPEAKER_00: potentially win it again.
20:38
But like I said,
20:38
just based off what I've seen,
20:39
hasn't raced a lot in the past two years.
20:41
SPEAKER_00: But I mean, he's got wins at, yeah, Marathon de Mont Blanc, Dolomis.
20:44
He almost,
20:45
he took Killian to the edge at Zagama on his course record
20:47
here.
20:48
That's the reason why Killian was going so fast was because
20:50
Magninia was up there pushing him.
20:53
SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, just somebody who I'm excited to watch.
20:56
SPEAKER_00: Two more names on the men's list is going to be Rayunosuke Omi.
21:00
SPEAKER_00: He's a Japanese athlete for Salomon.
21:02
SPEAKER_00: He had a top 10 at Golden Trail Series Japan and a 14th at China.
21:05
SPEAKER_00: He's raced marathon to Mont Blanc in 2022 to a 19th place.
21:08
SPEAKER_00: I think he's more fit and a sharper racer than he has been in past years.
21:12
SPEAKER_00: So I could see him being in the back half of the top 10.
21:14
SPEAKER_00: And the last one to point out is Miguel Benitez,
21:18
this Spanish athlete for ASIC's 2.14 marathon at Seville
21:23
Marathon this year.
21:25
Came across my radar when he got second to Dan Jones in the
21:28
Ultra Trail Australia
21:29
SPEAKER_00: 50K by about 10 minutes.
21:32
SPEAKER_00: Seems like somebody to watch.
21:33
He's got top fives at two sky races this year,
21:35
Accantilados del Norte and Calamaro.
21:37
SPEAKER_00: Hasn't run the Marathon to Mont Blanc before,
21:39
SPEAKER_00: but it seems like he would be the type of guy who would do well here.
21:43
so that kind of runs out the list um Davide Shiraz and Dawid
21:49
Molina from Poland
21:50
might be a guy to watch Davide Shiraz from Italy but that's
21:53
kind of who I've got on
21:54
my list so far for names to watch and who I think are most
21:57
likely to go top five um
21:59
I had top five but it's kind of been changed since uh since all
22:04
the scratches but I
22:05
SPEAKER_00: mean I think
22:06
SPEAKER_00: Tomal Cardin is probably a favorite to win.
22:08
SPEAKER_00: I think Ezekiel Arruda will be in the top five, not the top three.
22:11
SPEAKER_00: Thomas Roach is going to race at Smart.
22:12
SPEAKER_00: I think he'll be somewhere in the...
22:14
SPEAKER_00: I don't see him winning,
22:15
SPEAKER_00: but I see him being in the two through five category.
22:17
SPEAKER_00: I think Felber will probably have a good race.
22:19
And then I hope to see Davide Magnini,
22:23
but he's got a big question mark for me.
22:24
SPEAKER_00: Same thing with Petter Engdahl.
22:25
SPEAKER_00: So we'll see.
22:27
SPEAKER_00: That's kind of where I'm at with those guys.
22:29
Like I said,
22:30
I usually have picks,
22:31
but if I had to pick,
22:32
I'd probably go...
22:34
SPEAKER_00: Thomas in first.
22:36
SPEAKER_00: Second place, Ezekiel Ruto.
22:37
SPEAKER_00: Third place, Tomas Cardin in first.
22:41
SPEAKER_00: Second place, Ezekiel Ruto.
22:42
SPEAKER_00: Third place, Thomas Roach.
22:43
SPEAKER_00: Fourth, Anthony Felber.
22:45
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
22:49
SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure.
22:49
SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure about that one.
22:51
SPEAKER_00: Maybe I'd pick Peter Petter or David if I'm feeling sentimental.
22:57
If I'm feeling a little bit more of a safe pick,
22:59
I might pick somebody like
23:02
SPEAKER_00: I don't even know.
23:03
SPEAKER_00: It's tough to tell.
23:04
SPEAKER_00: It's tough to tell with these drops.
23:05
SPEAKER_00: I had better picks when John Alban and Cesare were still in,
23:08
SPEAKER_00: but now that they're out,
23:09
SPEAKER_00: it's a little harder.
23:11
SPEAKER_00: So that's a male side.
23:12
SPEAKER_00: On the female side, I think we got a lot of exciting matchups.
23:14
And unlike the men's side of the race,
23:16
we've got a lot of returning starters to...
23:20
the field so last year also had a course record on the women's
23:25
side but we got five
23:27
of the top 10 returning starters so I'm going to read out last
23:29
year's top 10 first
23:31
place Judith Weider 4-11-12 in the course record so 4 hours 11
23:34
minutes 12 seconds
23:36
SPEAKER_00: second place was Madalena Floria
23:37
SPEAKER_00: Returning from that list, we've got Yudith.
23:39
SPEAKER_00: We've got Sophia Lockley, Rosa Laura Filou,
23:58
SPEAKER_00: um,
23:58
SPEAKER_00: Therese LaBeouf and then Anastina Urkula was on there,
24:02
SPEAKER_00: but I think it shows her as a scratch.
24:04
SPEAKER_00: So I guess we'll technically only have four, um, if that is the case.
24:08
SPEAKER_00: So,
24:08
SPEAKER_00: but either way,
24:09
a lot of experience in this race and we've got a course record
24:11
holder last year's
24:12
SPEAKER_00: race.
24:13
SPEAKER_00: Um,
24:14
SPEAKER_00: Judith was up mixing up with the lead pack,
24:17
SPEAKER_00: but for a lot of it,
24:17
SPEAKER_00: honestly,
24:18
SPEAKER_00: uh,
24:18
SPEAKER_00: Madalena Floria and Yao Meao were doing the work.
24:21
SPEAKER_00: And if I remember correctly,
24:22
SPEAKER_00: Judith kind of just struck right at the right time,
24:24
SPEAKER_00: um,
24:25
and made her move and then really just put a two and a half
24:28
minute gap in the last,
24:29
SPEAKER_00: like,
24:30
SPEAKER_00: I want to say the last 10K or so of the race.
24:32
SPEAKER_00: I don't, I think it was on the descent.
24:34
SPEAKER_00: I think she was coming up on Madalena Florio,
24:36
like right at one of the last climbs and then just made her
24:39
move and had enough
24:40
SPEAKER_00: left in the tank for the descent.
24:42
Judith is like one of the legends of this sub ultra scene,
24:45
you know,
24:46
Swiss athletes.
24:48
for hoka and red bull mom had to go through some vision related
24:52
stuff um and
24:53
surgery from that and come back and it really kind of affected
24:56
her confidence she
24:57
was known as the best probably the best woman's downhill runner
24:59
in the world and
25:00
she's really got a lot of that skill back and still is one of
25:03
the one of the ghosts
25:04
uh one of the goat downhillers when it comes to these races um
25:07
she's looking at top
25:07
SPEAKER_00: form this year she's already won um let's see what did she win
25:15
she won kianti one of the kianti distances yeah kianti marathon
25:19
and then she was
25:20
only second to sarah alonso at zagama despite being her first
25:23
ever crack at zagama
25:24
and zagama is a course that definitely favorites people have
25:26
done it before and
25:26
sarah alonso this is her third second time racing it but she's
25:30
also from that area
25:30
as well so lots of course familiarity i think yudith is a
25:33
hands-down favorite but i
25:34
SPEAKER_00: don't think that doesn't mean she won't be challenged um
25:37
SPEAKER_00: I think we got three names.
25:39
These next three names are definitely going to be challenged
25:41
here up front and
25:42
SPEAKER_00: could easily take the win.
25:43
And that's going to be Clementine Joffrey,
25:45
Sophia Lockley,
25:46
and Joylene Chippegeno.
25:47
I'm going to actually start with Joylene Chippegeno because I
25:49
think that she's
25:50
probably the most likely to push Judith either to another
25:53
course record or up
25:53
SPEAKER_00: front.
25:55
SPEAKER_00: So Joylene Chippegeno,
25:57
SPEAKER_00: Kenyan athlete,
25:58
really blew everyone's mind last year when she seemingly came
26:00
out of nowhere and
26:00
SPEAKER_00: won Sears and all,
26:02
SPEAKER_00: supposedly her first trail race ever from my understanding.
26:05
And then she also doubled back and raced at the final for
26:10
Golden Trail Series and got the win.
26:12
SPEAKER_00: Didn't do the prologue, but just did the final and won.
26:14
I think she tried to come race in the States,
26:15
but at least she wasn't going to get one in time.
26:18
SPEAKER_00: And then this year,
26:19
SPEAKER_00: she's only got one race at the Golden Trail Series China,
26:22
and she was second only to this year's breakout star and
26:25
Canadian athlete,
26:25
SPEAKER_00: Caroline Kimutai.
26:27
SPEAKER_00: I expect to see Joylene up front pushing the pace,
26:29
SPEAKER_00: probably pretty similar to Maddalena's role last year.
26:33
With regards to that,
26:34
I could see Judith just kind of letting her take it out.
26:37
SPEAKER_00: And then Judith kind of making her move where she wants on this course.
26:39
SPEAKER_00: She's already won it before.
26:40
SPEAKER_00: She's the first record holder.
26:41
SPEAKER_00: She knows where she wants to make her moves.
26:43
SPEAKER_00: If Joylene has the fitness to front run it and just blow out the water,
26:46
SPEAKER_00: kind of like she does with Sierra's and all,
26:47
SPEAKER_00: then more power to her.
26:49
But I think this being a longer race,
26:50
I expect there to be extra variables.
26:53
SPEAKER_00: And I'm curious to see if Joylene will fuel and cool properly.
26:56
SPEAKER_00: This is going to be her longest race by at least 30 minutes or more,
27:00
SPEAKER_00: because I think her Sierra's and all time was around 3.30.
27:02
SPEAKER_00: So...
27:05
SPEAKER_00: or maybe even shorter.
27:06
SPEAKER_00: It might've been, it might've been around three hours.
27:08
SPEAKER_00: So that's a big deal.
27:11
SPEAKER_00: So that's a big difference.
27:11
SPEAKER_00: So that's the only question mark I have for Joylene going in.
27:14
Cause I think her,
27:15
her series and all is like two 50 or something like that.
27:17
SPEAKER_00: So maybe the longest race by an hour or so.
27:20
SPEAKER_00: But I think she will be out there pushing.
27:22
SPEAKER_00: The next two ladies,
27:22
SPEAKER_00: I think,
27:23
SPEAKER_00: will raise it a little bit smarter,
27:24
SPEAKER_00: but I think also will be in the lead pack.
27:25
SPEAKER_00: And I think Sophia Lockley was even in that lead pack last year.
27:28
SPEAKER_00: But we'll talk about Clementine Joffrey first.
27:30
So she's a French athlete,
27:32
world trail champion in 2023 in the short trail at Innsbruck.
27:36
And then she also won the European trail championships last
27:39
year in the same distance for the...
27:45
long trail if i'm not mistaken i don't know it's like
27:48
differentiated long trail or
27:49
short trail but i think it was the 50k euro champs let's see
27:52
you're offered yeah
27:54
SPEAKER_00: 50k chance so she won that event um
27:58
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, she has not raced Marathon to Montblanc from what I can tell.
28:01
SPEAKER_00: And then in my opinion,
28:03
she's super well suited to this course and a super strong pick
28:06
for top five.
28:07
SPEAKER_00: The only thing against her is not having to run it,
28:09
but I imagine she's pretty familiar with the trails between
28:11
running OCC and being
28:12
SPEAKER_00: French.
28:13
SPEAKER_00: I imagine she's had plenty of time on the course.
28:15
And then head-to-head with Judith,
28:19
Clementine and Judith are one and one against each other.
28:23
So Clementine beat Judith at Worlds in 2023 by only,
28:27
I think,
28:27
a minute or so.
28:29
SPEAKER_00: And then Judith beat Clementine at OCC last year by about two minutes.
28:33
SPEAKER_00: So they essentially like they're two races.
28:36
SPEAKER_00: They're both within two minutes of each other.
28:38
SPEAKER_00: That's crazy close.
28:40
And that,
28:40
especially when they're five and six hour races we're talking
28:42
about.
28:43
So I think that's going to be a really exciting dynamic within
28:45
the field to watch
28:46
SPEAKER_00: is Clementine and Yudas see who wins.
28:48
SPEAKER_00: I think Clementine is also supposed to be a world-class downhiller.
28:51
So maybe Yudas doesn't make her move in the same spot and try
28:53
to take it on the uphill instead.
28:55
SPEAKER_00: So that's something I may be really curious to see.
28:58
SPEAKER_00: And then the next curiosity,
29:00
dynamic with regards to this race is what form is sophia
29:02
lockley and she's coming
29:04
back um from two years ago being the golden trail series
29:08
champion uh sophia lockley
29:10
us us runner uh professional nordic skier i think she's living
29:14
in norway or sweden
29:16
SPEAKER_00: um
29:16
SPEAKER_00: Because I think she's half Norwegian.
29:18
SPEAKER_00: So living over there,
29:19
SPEAKER_00: training over there,
29:19
SPEAKER_00: and then kind of had it disappointing for her year last year,
29:23
SPEAKER_00: kind of similar to Remy.
29:24
SPEAKER_00: Wanted to come back and repeat that success and be dominant.
29:27
SPEAKER_00: And then the races just keep getting faster.
29:29
SPEAKER_00: First race didn't look good.
29:30
Didn't have the season she wanted to,
29:32
but kind of bounced back and did better at the finals.
29:34
SPEAKER_00: Wasn't as dominant as she has been in the past.
29:36
SPEAKER_00: So...
29:39
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we'll see.
29:40
SPEAKER_00: She, let's see, she raced last year.
29:42
SPEAKER_00: And I think, like I said, her first race shook her confidence.
29:46
SPEAKER_00: She still raced well.
29:46
She got fourth place here at Marathon de Mont Blanc in a
29:49
historically fast year,
29:50
SPEAKER_00: just behind Judith,
29:51
SPEAKER_00: Natalina,
29:52
SPEAKER_00: and Yao Meow.
29:53
SPEAKER_00: And it doesn't seem like she's raced yet this year.
29:54
SPEAKER_00: So this is totally her debut from what I can tell.
29:57
And then she came back to the Golden Trail finals and ran into
30:00
sixth place at the
30:00
SPEAKER_00: final and fourth of the prologue.
30:02
And then looking at her head-to-head with Judith,
30:05
that's also an interesting matchup.
30:06
SPEAKER_00: She has beat Judith twice,
30:09
but one of those was a DNF for Judith compared to Judith's four
30:12
wins over Sophia.
30:13
SPEAKER_00: So that's definitely another head-to-head dynamic to look out for.
30:16
SPEAKER_00: Judith has had the upper hand and tends to beat Sophia.
30:19
SPEAKER_00: If you guys remember,
30:19
SPEAKER_00: even in the year that Sophia won the Golden Trail World Series,
30:23
SPEAKER_00: she only beat Judith head-to-head.
30:25
excuse me in the um i speak ascent um where she just kind of
30:29
sat on her tail and
30:30
made a move late and seemed to be as good i mean she just
30:34
seemed to be fitter or at
30:34
least be doing better at the altitude so she kind of just sat
30:37
and kind of pulled
30:38
like a lozine just sitting and sitting and sitting and then
30:40
made her move when she
30:41
wanted to um and then i feel like they might have really said
30:45
to have that little
30:46
SPEAKER_00: miss at some point too but um
30:49
SPEAKER_00: And then Sophia,
30:51
SPEAKER_00: yeah,
30:51
SPEAKER_00: basically Sophia lost in the final to Judith,
30:54
SPEAKER_00: but because Madalena Floria won both the final and the prologue,
30:58
SPEAKER_00: that's the only reason why Judith didn't win the overall,
31:01
SPEAKER_00: because Sophia and her were tied for points,
31:04
SPEAKER_00: and I think she had the head-to-head tiebreaker or whatever it was.
31:08
SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, really curious to see what form Sophie is.
31:11
SPEAKER_00: And she's a dominant racer, a world-class athlete.
31:14
SPEAKER_00: Super fun to watch.
31:15
SPEAKER_00: And it's super fun,
31:15
SPEAKER_00: you know,
31:16
Western bias as an American to have an American on the Golden
31:19
Trail circuit that's
31:20
SPEAKER_00: really dominant because we don't really have those.
31:21
And so we'd have one that won it in the sub-vulture scene and
31:24
won the Golden Trail
31:25
SPEAKER_00: Series in 2023.
31:25
SPEAKER_00: It was pretty epic.
31:27
SPEAKER_00: And then on the mid side,
31:28
SPEAKER_00: we don't really,
31:28
SPEAKER_00: Kristen Allen is kind of the closest thing we have,
31:31
but we don't put a lot of people in the top 10 very frequently
31:33
for these golden
31:33
SPEAKER_00: trail races.
31:34
SPEAKER_00: So it's exciting to see somebody like Sophia,
31:36
SPEAKER_00: and she's still super young,
31:38
SPEAKER_00: still super talented,
31:39
SPEAKER_00: just out of University of Utah a couple of years ago.
31:40
SPEAKER_00: So I think she's still in her mid 20s.
31:43
SPEAKER_00: Enough about Sophia Lockley.
31:45
SPEAKER_00: A couple more names on this list.
31:47
SPEAKER_00: Rosa Lara Filu.
31:48
SPEAKER_00: She is kind of like a Spanish runner for Scarpa and Compress Sport.
31:52
SPEAKER_00: She's a super consistent racer who I've been really,
31:54
SPEAKER_00: really impressed with the consistency of her good results.
31:57
SPEAKER_00: She's kind of like the Energizer bunny,
31:58
and she just keeps cranking out these three through seven
32:01
results in golden trail
32:02
SPEAKER_00: races,
32:02
SPEAKER_00: sky races,
32:03
SPEAKER_00: any race she answers.
32:04
SPEAKER_00: She seems to be in really good form.
32:06
SPEAKER_00: Um, so, so far this year, she's doing it yet again.
32:08
SPEAKER_00: She's got two fourth places at golden trail series races.
32:11
SPEAKER_00: Um, she got a fourth at Noli, which is super competitive, super deep.
32:15
And she got a fourth at Zagama,
32:16
which is also super competitive and super deep.
32:18
SPEAKER_00: So I think she's a super strong pick lock for,
32:21
SPEAKER_00: uh,
32:22
SPEAKER_00: getting points probably somewhere in that three through seven.
32:25
SPEAKER_00: Um,
32:25
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if I see her one or two,
32:26
but I think I see her racing this smart and probably getting in
32:28
that three through
32:29
SPEAKER_00: five somewhere in there.
32:31
Some other names to look out for,
32:32
Camila Magliano,
32:33
Italian Masters athlete for Ultra.
32:35
SPEAKER_00: Best result was 7th at OCC last year,
32:37
SPEAKER_00: and she's been just outside of the top 10 ad seers in all a few times.
32:41
SPEAKER_00: Doesn't look like she's raced Marathon to Mont Blanc before,
32:43
SPEAKER_00: but is good at longer races,
32:47
SPEAKER_00: so she could do well here for sure.
32:49
SPEAKER_00: Next name on the list, Oyana Cortazar, Basque trail runner for Salomon.
32:53
SPEAKER_00: In her mid-40s, still crushing it.
32:56
SPEAKER_00: Has raced a ton.
32:59
And she's coming off an eighth place at Zagama in a win at
33:01
Picos de Europa Marathon
33:03
SPEAKER_00: two weeks before this.
33:04
SPEAKER_00: That was a five and a half hour effort with 3,200 meters of vert.
33:07
So that makes me a little bit worried that her legs aren't
33:08
going to be the freshest.
33:10
She did race to a third place here in 2023 and a sixth in 2022
33:14
and a second in 2015.
33:15
So she's got plenty of familiarity with the course and knows
33:18
what it takes to do
33:19
SPEAKER_00: well here and has done well in increasingly faster times.
33:23
SPEAKER_00: I expect to see her in the top 10, maybe more like seven or 10.
33:27
SPEAKER_01: One second, there's a check from you.
33:39
SPEAKER_00: All right, and I'm back.
33:40
SPEAKER_00: So next one on the list is going to be Therese LaBeouf.
33:43
SPEAKER_00: She's a Swiss runner for Compress Sports,
33:47
SPEAKER_00: coming off a very good fifth place at Zagama this year.
33:50
SPEAKER_00: We see her a lot at these Golden Trail Series type events,
33:52
SPEAKER_00: and she's often consistently in the top 10.
33:55
Got ninth place here last year and fourth the year before that
33:57
and eighth the year before that.
33:58
SPEAKER_00: So she's obviously got tons of experience at Marathon de Mont Blanc.
34:02
SPEAKER_00: She's going to be somewhere in the top 10, if not the top five.
34:06
SPEAKER_00: I think she'll do well.
34:07
SPEAKER_00: She's looking in good form this year.
34:08
SPEAKER_00: And if she lines up, she's going to do well.
34:12
SPEAKER_00: Anacina Urkula, like I said, she's scratched.
34:15
SPEAKER_00: We're not going to talk about her.
34:16
SPEAKER_00: Next woman, Daniela Lemus.
34:18
SPEAKER_00: I kind of put her in the same category as Therese LaBeouf.
34:20
SPEAKER_00: They're both kind of faster and super consistent runners.
34:23
SPEAKER_00: And it seems like in every golden trail slash sub ultra race,
34:28
SPEAKER_00: At least one of them is in the top 10, if not both of them.
34:30
SPEAKER_00: They're kind of both in that three through seven.
34:31
SPEAKER_00: Don't usually win a race type of person,
34:35
SPEAKER_00: but usually are up there in the mix and race super smart.
34:38
Daniella Lemus kind of first came across my radar when she got
34:41
a win at Zagama in 2023.
34:42
SPEAKER_00: Super sloppy, epic weather year.
34:44
And then her best result so far this year is third place at
34:47
Hope Koenig Sky Race on
34:49
SPEAKER_00: the Sky Running World Series.
34:51
And then she's got two races at Marathon of Mont Blanc,
34:53
a fourth in 2021 and a sixth in 2023.
34:55
SPEAKER_00: I think she could go top five.
34:57
SPEAKER_00: And I often, like I said, kind of group her in there mentally.
34:59
SPEAKER_00: If you don't pick one of these ladies,
35:01
SPEAKER_00: you should be picking at least one of these ladies,
35:03
SPEAKER_00: if not both of them.
35:03
SPEAKER_00: One of them is going to be in the top 10, if not both.
35:06
SPEAKER_00: And they're both going to get points.
35:08
SPEAKER_00: So super smart racers, super fit.
35:09
SPEAKER_00: And if they're lining up, they're going to do pretty good.
35:11
SPEAKER_00: I think Danielle had a couple DNFs last year.
35:14
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe it was Therese.
35:15
SPEAKER_00: I don't remember which one.
35:15
SPEAKER_00: But they're really consistent.
35:17
SPEAKER_00: They almost always finish and almost always finish well.
35:19
SPEAKER_00: Got three more names on the women's list.
35:21
SPEAKER_00: Ida Emily Robesam.
35:23
She had a broke out race at Zagama this year and was in that
35:25
tight pack of runners
35:26
SPEAKER_00: four through seven and ended up finishing,
35:28
SPEAKER_00: I think,
35:29
SPEAKER_00: seventh,
35:29
SPEAKER_00: if I'm not mistaken.
35:31
SPEAKER_00: She did race in Marathon of Mont Blanc in 2023 and got 18th place.
35:35
SPEAKER_00: But I think she's a much fitter runner than she was that year.
35:38
So I can see her having a really good day and going somewhere
35:40
in the top 10.
35:41
Last two names,
35:42
Naomi Lang is a Scottish runner for Solomon's international
35:47
team.
35:47
She got 14th at the Golden Trail Series Noli,
35:49
so kind of an off day for her.
35:51
And then she bounced back and won the scaffold race to make the
35:53
UK trail team pretty decisively.
35:57
SPEAKER_00: And that's almost a five-hour race.
35:58
SPEAKER_00: So before that, she hadn't really done any longer type events.
36:02
But that gives me a lot of confidence that she can do well in
36:05
Marathon de Mont
36:06
SPEAKER_00: Blanc,
36:06
SPEAKER_00: which is going to take over four hours.
36:08
SPEAKER_00: And that she's good at fueling and things like that.
36:10
So she hasn't raced Marathon de Mont Blanc before,
36:12
so she's a bit of a wild card.
36:13
But she is a super talented,
36:14
super speedy young racer who's kind of up and coming.
36:18
SPEAKER_00: So I could definitely see her.
36:19
This could be one of her breakout races where she goes like top
36:22
five and kind of
36:23
SPEAKER_00: pushes some of these ladies up front.
36:24
SPEAKER_00: I could see her kind of being in that.
36:26
in that top five with like kind of the same way rosa lara filu
36:30
made a breakout last
36:31
year i could see her being up there with these ladies last name
36:34
is going to be
36:34
italian athlete fabiola conti um lots of good trail experience
36:38
she got a seventh
36:39
year in 2022 and the 14th in 2023 third at monte's air beyond
36:43
sky race this year
36:43
and could um i could see you in the back half of the top 10 so
36:47
that kind of wraps
36:48
SPEAKER_00: it up for the women's side regards regarding picks i guess same thing um
36:53
If I had to go,
36:54
I mean,
36:54
it's going to be a lot of these ladies at the top of the list.
36:56
SPEAKER_00: I think Judith is still the favorite to win.
36:58
SPEAKER_00: I think Clementine will push her up front.
37:02
SPEAKER_00: And so will Joylene.
37:03
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if Joylene... I don't know.
37:05
SPEAKER_00: Joylene is either a win or a fade...
37:10
So potential DNS in my mind,
37:12
because I think she's going to take it out really hot.
37:14
I could see her front running the whole time and just winning
37:15
this entire thing.
37:16
SPEAKER_00: But I could also see her going out super hard,
37:18
blowing up and either DNFing or fading back in the back half of
37:21
the top 10.
37:22
SPEAKER_00: So hedging my bets wise, I'd still say Judith is a favorite.
37:24
SPEAKER_00: I'll pick Clementine as second, Joy Lane third, Sophia fourth.
37:29
Rosa fifth maybe but I'll probably I'd probably swap in like I
37:32
said either uh
37:33
Therese LaBeouf or Daniela Lemus I could also see Naomi laying
37:36
in that top five um
37:38
but I just uh I don't know I'm favoring experience at this
37:41
point so that's kind of
37:42
SPEAKER_00: the way I see it
37:43
with lots of way i see it going down i'm super excited though
37:46
hopefully i don't
37:47
know if you can watch this um or not if it's available um since
37:50
it's not a golden
37:51
trail series race but i think it's yeah one of the most
37:53
competitive one of the most
37:54
iconic races anything around mont blanc is and i think that
37:57
regardless of it being
37:58
a golden trail series race or not it's always going to attract
38:00
a ton of attention
38:01
and that we should pay attention to it because it is a really
38:03
classic race um with
38:04
SPEAKER_00: some really awesome scenery so anyways that is
38:09
SPEAKER_00: going to wrap up our episode today of let's talk trail running.
38:12
SPEAKER_00: That's a marathon to Montblanc preview.
38:14
SPEAKER_00: I hope it was helpful.
38:15
SPEAKER_00: I hope you enjoyed it.
38:16
SPEAKER_00: And thank you for listening as always.