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2025 Transgrancanaria Preview Part 1 · Let's Talk Trail Running

0:01
hello and welcome back to let's talk trail running i'm your
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host rob prosser and
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today we're going to talk about trans grand canaria uh both the
0:13
100k in the
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marathon well it's more than 100k but a classic distance in the
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marathon the next
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two events on fantasy free trail this weekend it is tuesday
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after what president's
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day weekend i'm recording this in my closet and yeah so we'll
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talk about uh
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fantasy free trail and some trail running picks for trans grand
0:32
canaria athletes to
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look out for things of that sort uh before i do that real quick
0:36
i'm just going to
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go into uh previous picks uh for tara where and just kind of
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talk about how that
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shook out a really awesome race amazing performances on both
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the men's and women's
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side course records going down on both uh i mean all the top
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five or six women
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going on the previous course record and then men's side dan
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jones breaking his own
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SPEAKER_00: record getting that three peat
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SPEAKER_00: Pretty awesome to see.
0:59
SPEAKER_00: Race shook out about how I expected.
1:03
Some misses on the men's side for me with the Chinese athlete
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Hu Zhao and Thibaut
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SPEAKER_00: Baronian both being drops.
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SPEAKER_00: I figured the Chinese athlete would take it out hard,
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SPEAKER_00: try to stick with the pack and be up there in the front.
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So not disappointed in picking and not surprised also that
1:20
sometimes when you race that hard.
1:22
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes things don't go to plan.
1:23
But yeah,
1:24
on the men's side or women's side,
1:26
you know,
1:26
top three,
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Ruth,
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Caitlin,
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Beth McKenzie.
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SPEAKER_00: And then we have Helen Mino Faulkner and I believe Nancy Zhang.
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SPEAKER_00: And then on the men's side, Dan Jones.
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We had the Japanese athlete in second,
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Adrian McDonald in third for golden tickets.
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SPEAKER_00: Cody Lend in fourth, and then Marcel Huch in fifth.
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SPEAKER_00: So pretty cool.
1:53
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it worked out pretty good.
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SPEAKER_00: I had some misses,
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missed some point opportunities with the two drops on the men's
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side and the
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SPEAKER_00: women's side.
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SPEAKER_00: I had Ruth, Caitlin, Helen, and Lottie.
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SPEAKER_00: So points on that side.
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SPEAKER_00: Ended up going like 232 out of 669.
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So not the best,
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not the worst in the upper half,
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but the two drops definitely cost me.
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SPEAKER_00: So
2:17
SPEAKER_00: Enough about that.
2:19
SPEAKER_00: We're going to get to the main discussion point of the episode,
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SPEAKER_00: which is going to be Trans-Grand Canaria.
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SPEAKER_00: We're going to talk about both the classic distance,
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SPEAKER_00: which is somewhere around 120k,
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SPEAKER_00: I believe 20-ish thousand feet,
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SPEAKER_00: so 120k,
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SPEAKER_00: somewhere around 80-something miles.
2:38
SPEAKER_00: I think it's around 24,000 feet of Earth, if I'm not mistaken.
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SPEAKER_00: And then we'll also talk about the marathon as well.
2:43
SPEAKER_00: I think we've got some exciting athletes.
2:44
SPEAKER_00: I think this is always a really good early season, rust buster of a race.
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SPEAKER_00: And I also think it draws like really interesting athletes to the mix.
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I think you got people that are really fast on the runnable
2:54
stuff and you got
2:55
SPEAKER_00: really good mountain athletes.
2:57
And I think it kind of is that perfect in between,
3:00
uh,
3:00
to see these kinds of people meet up.
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SPEAKER_00: A lot of people targeting UTMB will come to this race early.
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SPEAKER_00: Um, and a lot of people targeting other mountainous objectives.
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SPEAKER_00: So, uh,
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I think we'll start off,
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I want to start off with the men's side on the classic distance.
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SPEAKER_00: And then we'll go to the female after that.
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SPEAKER_00: So just off the bat,
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SPEAKER_00: I mean,
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SPEAKER_00: looking at the top five UTMB indexes,
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SPEAKER_00: I mean,
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SPEAKER_00: you got some heavy hitters.
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You got John Albin,
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Tom Evans,
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Miguel Haras,
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Caleb Olson,
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and Abel Carataro.
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SPEAKER_00: We also got other big names such as Paul Capel.
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SPEAKER_00: Zaid Al-Malik, he's been in the scene for a long time.
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SPEAKER_00: Benat Marmasol, second place on Hard Rock, winner of Dagonal de Fou.
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SPEAKER_00: And then I'm seeing some other people.
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SPEAKER_00: Christian Meyer up and coming, coming off the pro cycling world.
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SPEAKER_00: Definitely some big names and some heavy hitters in this lineup.
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I think it goes without saying that it's pretty tough to bet
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against John Albin and
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SPEAKER_00: Tom Evans in just about any race they do.
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SPEAKER_00: Other than Tom's miss at UTMB last year,
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SPEAKER_00: I mean,
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SPEAKER_00: I don't think I recall him DNFing in any races.
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SPEAKER_00: Excuse me, UTMB 2023.
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SPEAKER_00: So actually back-to-back years.
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SPEAKER_00: Yes, that is true.
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SPEAKER_00: He did kind of go missing on the course at UTMB in 2023.
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But if you look at his ultrasound results,
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he's got a DNF from 2019 at Hong Kong.
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SPEAKER_00: Other than that, UTMB is really the only thing that he DNFs.
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SPEAKER_00: When he takes swings at something, he's very serious.
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SPEAKER_00: He doesn't miss.
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SPEAKER_00: So it's going to be tough to bet against him.
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And then John Albin is equally as consistent and really just
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doesn't miss on his race results.
4:45
Last year,
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he went undefeated,
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a little bit less competitive than races he's raced in the past.
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SPEAKER_00: I think he did Woldstrubel, Nizkote Azor, and Western.
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SPEAKER_00: Excuse me, he wasn't undefeated because he did do Western.
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SPEAKER_00: and got sixth place, but then Transvalcania as well got the win.
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SPEAKER_00: And then the year before that, Tom Plie, first place.
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SPEAKER_00: CCC, first place.
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SPEAKER_00: He did some 20K in Norway.
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SPEAKER_00: He got second place.
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SPEAKER_00: DNF'd Marathon de Mont Blanc.
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SPEAKER_00: I think he had some,
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SPEAKER_00: I think he had some,
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SPEAKER_00: like an allergic reaction on his legs or something like that.
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SPEAKER_00: Third at Zagama, third at World Trail Champs.
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SPEAKER_00: Yeah, basically there is a string of first place.
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SPEAKER_00: John Albin is, I really, he's probably one of my favorite athletes.
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SPEAKER_00: I think he's super consistent.
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SPEAKER_00: And with that being said too,
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SPEAKER_00: him and his wife recently have created a podcast called The Albin Way,
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SPEAKER_00: I believe it is.
5:35
SPEAKER_00: And you can find it on the podcast app.
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SPEAKER_00: And they just kind of talk about their training,
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SPEAKER_00: their training philosophies and kind of go through the day-to-day.
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His wife,
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Henriette,
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we're going to be talking about here in just a second as well.
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SPEAKER_00: She'll be racing on the women's side of the classic.
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SPEAKER_00: But with that being said, Tom Evans did.
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he he's a killer he's a he's just certified doesn't miss so i
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think i think without
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uh making picks too soon john and tom if they're not in your
6:01
top two i don't really
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know yeah i mean um right now i'm leaning towards john just
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because he took the
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head-to-head win at transvolconia last year against tom but i
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could easily see tom
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taking the win on this and he seems like he's in pretty peak
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fitness i also know
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SPEAKER_00: based off john's podcast that he is
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tweaking with some different training systems and training
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differently than he has
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before in the past doesn't mean that he's going to be any less
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effective or any
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less scary to watch out for um but that could be an additional
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variable so i think
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it'll be pretty tough to not uh to pick against either one of
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these two guys uh
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continuing to go down the list we got morale miguel excuse me
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miguel harras dude
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SPEAKER_00: this guy is like ageless wonder he is pretty much he's pretty much uh
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SPEAKER_00: people always talk about Ludo and Ludo being in this one age,
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SPEAKER_00: ageless wonder,
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SPEAKER_00: excuse me,
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SPEAKER_00: uh,
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SPEAKER_00: Miguel,
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SPEAKER_00: I guess apparently he's in the 50 to 54.
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He,
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he just,
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uh,
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passed the 49 limit and yeah,
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I mean,
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this dude just doesn't,
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doesn't miss.
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SPEAKER_00: He's got big wins all over the place.
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SPEAKER_00: Apparently he was a competitive cyclist in a previous life.
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SPEAKER_00: I heard, uh,
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SPEAKER_00: I think I was running with Dan Vega and he was telling me about that,
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SPEAKER_00: which I didn't realize him and his brother.
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SPEAKER_00: I think we're both on the Tour de France circuit type of deal.
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But last year he did miss at Pirineau,
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but Trans-Grand Canaria got second last year.
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Uh,
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and in previous years,
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I mean,
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he's got,
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he's,
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he's always,
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he's really,
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really consistent.
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SPEAKER_00: Doesn't DNF a lot.
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Um,
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and wins races all over Spain consistently and he just keeps crushing.
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SPEAKER_00: So, um, yeah, lots of good results.
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SPEAKER_00: Ultra Pirineau, uh, Transgrancanaria, Pena Galusa.
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SPEAKER_00: Um, if you, you name it, he's done it.
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And let me even see,
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let me see how many times he's done Transgrancanaria.
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SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
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SPEAKER_00: All right, looking at his results, transferring to Canaria.
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SPEAKER_00: 2024, he got second.
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SPEAKER_00: And then he did it one other time in 2010 and won it.
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SPEAKER_00: So he's done this race a couple times, a big span between.
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SPEAKER_00: So it'll be interesting to see where Miguel Haras,
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SPEAKER_00: I could easily see him cracking in the top five with his consistency.
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SPEAKER_00: And that's crazy to think he's over 50.
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SPEAKER_00: So Caleb Olson.
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SPEAKER_00: Caleb Olson is probably one of the ones I'm most excited to watch.
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he hasn't raced a ton on the international circuit,
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but when he has,
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he's been very good.
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SPEAKER_00: Last year,
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SPEAKER_00: he won MIUT,
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SPEAKER_00: Madeira Island Ultra Trail,
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SPEAKER_00: but it wasn't the most competitive distance,
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SPEAKER_00: the 115,
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SPEAKER_00: I believe it was the 85.
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SPEAKER_00: And then when he went to UTCT,
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SPEAKER_00: I mean,
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SPEAKER_00: man,
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SPEAKER_00: he got second in 2023,
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SPEAKER_00: which I was really impressed with what seems like his,
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SPEAKER_00: well,
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SPEAKER_00: not his first international race,
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SPEAKER_00: I guess he had done Worlds and CCC at that point,
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SPEAKER_00: but kind of his first
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SPEAKER_00: I guess, non-UTMB or World International.
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Lost only to Dmitry Mityev,
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beat guys like Anthony Costales,
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Thibaut Baronia,
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and a few others.
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SPEAKER_00: So, excited to see Caleb Race.
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SPEAKER_00: I think this course is really well suited to his skills.
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SPEAKER_00: I think that Caleb could be a little bit of a dark horse.
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SPEAKER_00: Not that he's,
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SPEAKER_00: I mean,
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SPEAKER_00: if you're fourth highest UTMB index,
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SPEAKER_00: that doesn't mean they're going to be too much of a dark horse,
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SPEAKER_00: but I can see him going pretty well.
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SPEAKER_00: Uh, keep it coming down on the list.
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SPEAKER_00: Abel Carataro.
9:15
SPEAKER_00: Uh, he is more, he's not as well known to the U S crowd.
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SPEAKER_00: He races a lot in Spain.
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SPEAKER_00: I first came across his name.
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SPEAKER_00: Uh, the race I did last year, real matchy coat.
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SPEAKER_00: Uh, it was a 50 K with like 14,000 feet of hurt.
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SPEAKER_00: Um, he was a previous one air.
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So I first came across him and then I started seeing some of
9:32
his results and being more,
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SPEAKER_00: more impressed.
9:34
Uh,
9:34
his big results last year,
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Solomon ultra peer new,
9:36
uh,
9:37
second place last year.
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SPEAKER_00: That was a breakout race for him.
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SPEAKER_00: And then,
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SPEAKER_00: Even then, he also went top 10 at Transvaulconia, really stacked.
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SPEAKER_00: And then he went fourth at Trans Gran Canaria.
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So I would even say Trans Gran Canaria was kind of his first
9:48
breakout race.
9:48
He beat guys like Jiaxing Shen and Zach Miller on what looked
9:53
like a pretty rough weather day.
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SPEAKER_00: So more of a local Spanish crusher.
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SPEAKER_00: I could see him being in really good form.
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SPEAKER_00: Definitely could see a top five from him as well as Abel Caritaro.
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SPEAKER_00: Coming down the list, Ianul Cristian Manoli.
10:07
So I talked about him in a previous podcast with that Hong Kong
10:11
100K between him
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SPEAKER_00: and Raul Butaci.
10:15
SPEAKER_00: I picked the wrong Romanian.
10:16
SPEAKER_00: I picked Raul, but Ianul went fourth overall in the Hong Kong 100K.
10:21
SPEAKER_00: And just before that, last year, he went fifth in Ultra Trail Ninghai.
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He did race both Trans-Grand Canaria and Trans-Volcania last
10:30
year and had a really
10:31
SPEAKER_00: good back-to-back result.
10:33
SPEAKER_00: So he went at Trans Grand Canaria.
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SPEAKER_00: He went third overall.
10:38
SPEAKER_00: So he did beat guys like Zach Miller and Gio Shang-Chen.
10:42
SPEAKER_00: And he only lost to Miguel Haras and Raul Butachi last year.
10:46
SPEAKER_00: So, yeah.
10:49
SPEAKER_00: So that's some names on the men's side.
10:53
SPEAKER_00: And then other big names to look out for.
10:55
SPEAKER_00: Jose Angel Fernandez.
10:58
SPEAKER_00: He's got some really good results.
10:59
SPEAKER_00: Not as much on...
11:01
SPEAKER_00: He hasn't been as consistent and he's had three DNFs in a row.
11:04
SPEAKER_00: He's had some good results on some Spanish races.
11:07
SPEAKER_00: He's a name to look out for.
11:08
Um,
11:09
I'm leaning against picking him just cause a string of DNFs
11:11
coming into the race.
11:12
SPEAKER_00: And it seems like he kind of doesn't,
11:14
SPEAKER_00: he will do really impressive performances,
11:16
SPEAKER_00: but not against really deep fields.
11:18
SPEAKER_00: Um,
11:19
SPEAKER_00: he has a lot of DNFs at like your YouTube B or DNF at Tom Plie last year,
11:23
SPEAKER_00: Chiang Mai,
11:25
SPEAKER_00: uh,
11:25
SPEAKER_00: Valderan,
11:25
SPEAKER_00: which is another really big Spanish race.
11:27
SPEAKER_00: DNFs at CCC in the past.
11:30
SPEAKER_00: Um,
11:31
SPEAKER_00: So I'm kind of leaning against picking towards him.
11:34
SPEAKER_00: Paul Capel really would love to see him.
11:37
SPEAKER_00: I control F Transgaren Canaria.
11:39
SPEAKER_00: I believe he's done it eight times.
11:42
And he has gone first through third,
11:44
I think,
11:44
damn near every single time he's raced this race.
11:47
SPEAKER_00: With that being said,
11:48
SPEAKER_00: though,
11:49
he hasn't been in that typical Paul Capel form that we're used
11:53
to seeing for,
11:54
SPEAKER_00: I would say,
11:54
SPEAKER_00: the past two or three years,
11:55
SPEAKER_00: which is unfortunate.
11:56
SPEAKER_00: Definitely want to see him return to it.
11:58
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if he's dealing with injury or what's going on.
12:01
but never somebody you can count out,
12:03
but definitely somebody who I'll be rooting for.
12:07
It would be nice to see them have kind of a comeback tour and
12:11
get a dub here.
12:12
SPEAKER_00: Another name to look out for, Fotis Zisimpopoulos, a Greece athlete.
12:19
SPEAKER_00: Also kind of along the lines of the Jose Angel Fernandez.
12:25
SPEAKER_00: Kind of leaning against picking him.
12:26
SPEAKER_00: He's got a good, not string of DNFs, but he DNFs.
12:30
rather frequently and he has had some good results in the past
12:33
but nothing uh too
12:34
recently that would lead me to believe that he'll go top five
12:37
of this race uh other
12:39
names to look out for tom joley scroll down the list um also a
12:43
good good number of
12:44
dns in his history uh mark darbyshire is actually somebody who
12:47
i'm interested in um
12:49
he is a pretty consistent racer out of the uk he has some
12:52
really good results at
12:54
SPEAKER_00: things like ultra trail snowdonia so 100k he got
12:57
SPEAKER_00: uh, first in last year.
12:58
SPEAKER_00: And then he's also got a hundred, uh, miler.
13:01
He went first at two years ago,
13:02
uh,
13:03
be guys like David Hedges,
13:04
Parker of attrition.
13:05
SPEAKER_00: He's got a dub at the a hundred miler there.
13:07
SPEAKER_00: And then looking at other things too.
13:10
SPEAKER_00: Um, he's got some good race results.
13:12
SPEAKER_00: He's gone and Pina Galusa.
13:14
SPEAKER_00: He's gone third place, which is a pretty competitive Spanish race.
13:18
SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah.
13:21
SPEAKER_00: Transcurring Canary has raced once before in 2019.
13:23
SPEAKER_00: Didn't have the best day, but
13:25
I would not be surprised if I was going to bet on somebody
13:27
lower down on the list,
13:28
SPEAKER_00: Mark Derbyshire.
13:29
I think he's a pretty solid pick for the top 10,
13:33
somewhere in that five through 10 spot.
13:34
I don't know that I see him going top five overall,
13:37
but he doesn't miss a lot.
13:39
SPEAKER_00: He's pretty consistent.
13:40
SPEAKER_00: The only thing I might be worried about is heat training,
13:41
SPEAKER_00: making sure he's doing his heat training if he's coming over from the UK.
13:45
Scroll down a little bit more,
13:46
a couple of other names I'll point out,
13:48
Benyat,
13:48
Marmasol.
13:49
Like I said,
13:50
he didn't have a great year last year,
13:51
but he is a very legendary racer.
13:54
SPEAKER_00: So two years ago, excuse me,
13:57
yeah two years ago second at hard rock and then um behind uh
14:04
french athlete i can't
14:05
think of his name right now i can see his face i'll think of it
14:08
um but yeah second
14:10
at hard rock and then the year before that he won diagonal defu
14:14
zaid al malik he
14:15
has been mostly a sub ultra right around like a sky marathon
14:19
sky race type guy
14:20
SPEAKER_00: Um,
14:20
but he's kind of been creeping up in some of the higher
14:22
distances has not done
14:24
SPEAKER_00: trans grand canary before,
14:25
SPEAKER_00: but has done Pena Calusa and has had some pretty good results.
14:28
SPEAKER_00: Um, he's somebody to look out for.
14:29
SPEAKER_00: I could see him easily in that five through 10 pack.
14:31
SPEAKER_00: And then the last two names I kind of want to go over.
14:35
SPEAKER_00: Josh Wade, uh, Josh Wade, a UK guy.
14:37
SPEAKER_00: I'm pretty sure North face just a documentary on him, uh, that I watched.
14:41
SPEAKER_00: I think he's a gardener if I'm not mistaken.
14:42
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, he is North face athlete.
14:44
SPEAKER_00: Gardner, um, had a really good day.
14:46
SPEAKER_00: I think he went just outside the top 10 at UTMB last year.
14:50
11th yep in 2152 it's a really respectable time there and then
14:54
transgrant canaria
14:55
he was eighth place um and he's a pretty consistent racer he's
14:58
also done transgrant
14:59
canaria in 2023 also got eighth and then he's gone top 10 at
15:03
transval canya in 2023
15:04
um kind of more recent to the scene but looking at his results
15:08
he almost never dnfs
15:09
SPEAKER_00: and he almost always goes top 10 in his races um
15:14
SPEAKER_00: I bet he's a lock for five through 10.
15:16
SPEAKER_00: And I wouldn't even be surprised if he goes a little bit higher.
15:19
SPEAKER_00: So I think he's a worthy pick.
15:20
SPEAKER_00: Definitely somebody who's going to be a point getter.
15:23
SPEAKER_00: Last name I want to point out is Christian Meyer,
15:25
SPEAKER_00: former professional cyclist,
15:26
SPEAKER_00: Solomon athlete,
15:27
SPEAKER_00: lives in Girona,
15:28
SPEAKER_00: runs a coffee store,
15:29
SPEAKER_00: and I believe a running business.
15:31
SPEAKER_00: Definitely a fan of his.
15:32
SPEAKER_00: He got notoriety from getting a dub at TDS,
15:36
SPEAKER_00: not last year,
15:36
SPEAKER_00: but the year before,
15:37
SPEAKER_00: if I'm not mistaken.
15:39
SPEAKER_00: Yep, won TDS in 23 years.
15:41
SPEAKER_00: uh, DNF to UTMB last year.
15:43
SPEAKER_00: I think he banged up his knee pretty early on.
15:46
SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah.
15:47
SPEAKER_00: And he's done, he did ultra trail snow doing a hundred K and got seven.
15:51
SPEAKER_00: So he got beat by Mark Derbyshire.
15:53
SPEAKER_00: Um, so I think he could go top 10 as well.
15:56
SPEAKER_00: Um, and is somebody to look out for.
15:59
Uh,
16:01
yeah,
16:02
that brought us to the men's side,
16:02
uh,
16:03
going over to the women's side.
16:05
SPEAKER_00: Um, and, and I guess with that being said to, uh,
16:07
SPEAKER_00: Tentatively, these are my picks.
16:09
Well,
16:10
I'll wait to go over my picks on the men's and women's side
16:12
until I do the women's.
16:13
SPEAKER_00: So looking over at the women's side, we got some names.
16:16
SPEAKER_00: Ingveld Kaspersen,
16:18
SPEAKER_00: Henriette Albin,
16:19
SPEAKER_00: Fiona Pascal,
16:20
SPEAKER_00: Leah Ying was on the list,
16:21
SPEAKER_00: but it looks like she scratched.
16:22
SPEAKER_00: Claudia Tramp, Martina Klochnik.
16:27
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to butcher that.
16:29
Maite Maiora,
16:30
Claire Banworth,
16:31
Marilyn Nakashay,
16:32
Anna Fisher from the U.S.,
16:34
So,
16:34
uh,
16:35
going through the woman's side,
16:36
uh,
16:37
Ingveld Kaspersen,
16:37
I think will be the favorite.
16:39
SPEAKER_00: She's got the highest ITRA index is what it looks like.
16:42
SPEAKER_00: The rank in mouth of not UTMB,
16:43
SPEAKER_00: uh,
16:44
SPEAKER_00: by far,
16:45
SPEAKER_00: she hit the home run,
16:47
SPEAKER_00: uh,
16:47
SPEAKER_00: with her performances,
16:49
SPEAKER_00: uh,
16:49
SPEAKER_00: two years ago at CCC,
16:50
SPEAKER_00: got the big dub.
16:51
And then last year,
16:52
Western States fifth place,
16:54
I believe fastest debut time ever,
16:56
1650.
16:57
SPEAKER_00: And then Wilt Trubel, she got first at as well.
17:01
SPEAKER_00: Um,
17:01
She's got really good leg speed,
17:03
but also is pretty good at mountainous stuff as well.
17:06
SPEAKER_00: She's got a second at Transvault Kanye under her belt.
17:08
SPEAKER_00: I think if she is heat adapted, she will be pretty unbeatable.
17:15
I think she is the heavy odds-on favorite on the woman's side,
17:21
if I had to pick one.
17:23
SPEAKER_00: Looking at some of the other names, next on the list for females,
17:28
henriette albin's got the next highest itra index um wife of
17:33
john albin like i
17:34
mentioned earlier uh albin way if you want to get a look into
17:37
their training uh
17:38
kind of what they do i really like the way they think about
17:40
training i have used
17:41
their training app in the past now i use vert run uh for my
17:44
running uh because i
17:45
like to have a little bit more of a coach but also some
17:47
flexibility um with the
17:49
albin way they kind of or excuse me with the albin app they
17:51
kind of do your
17:52
training or kind of let you create your training but give you
17:55
guidelines around it
17:56
SPEAKER_00: so
17:56
that can be good and bad kind of depending on what type of
17:58
athlete you are.
17:59
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I do like the types of workouts and their philosophy on training.
18:01
SPEAKER_00: And I really enjoy hearing them talk about it.
18:03
SPEAKER_00: So anyways, I digress.
18:06
SPEAKER_00: Henriette Albin,
18:07
SPEAKER_00: uh,
18:07
SPEAKER_00: results last year,
18:07
SPEAKER_00: third place at Trophy Okima,
18:09
SPEAKER_00: uh,
18:09
SPEAKER_00: Stronda Ford,
18:10
SPEAKER_00: uh,
18:11
SPEAKER_00: Fjord trail race,
18:12
SPEAKER_00: 25 K second ultra trail Snowdonia 50 K.
18:15
SPEAKER_00: She got first.
18:16
SPEAKER_00: And then, and I think she was injured for a good bit of last year.
18:19
SPEAKER_00: So that explains kind of the gap in racing.
18:21
SPEAKER_00: Um, but looking at her other results as well,
18:24
SPEAKER_00: CCC, she's gone sixth.
18:26
SPEAKER_00: Marathon, excuse me, Sagama, she's gone 12th in the past.
18:29
SPEAKER_00: Solomon, Ultra Pyreneur, she's gone fourth.
18:31
SPEAKER_00: OCC, she's gotten sixth.
18:32
SPEAKER_00: She's been racing for a long time.
18:33
SPEAKER_00: She's a really consistent athlete.
18:36
SPEAKER_00: And she doesn't really miss looking at all of her race results.
18:39
She's only got one DNF and is in the Marathon of Mont Blanc in
18:43
2022 out of her...
18:46
SPEAKER_00: 15 or 20 races in UTME.
18:48
SPEAKER_00: So I think she's pretty good luck for,
18:51
SPEAKER_00: for not dropping and then also getting points because she's,
18:55
I would almost guarantee we'll finish up in the top 10 and
19:00
we'll be getting points
19:00
SPEAKER_00: in some regard.
19:02
SPEAKER_00: And Ingveld, Ingveld's a little bit more.
19:06
SPEAKER_00: She could go out pretty hard and drop,
19:10
SPEAKER_00: but she also actually on her UTME index,
19:14
SPEAKER_00: Ingveld has never dropped a race.
19:16
SPEAKER_00: So,
19:17
SPEAKER_00: Excuse me for that.
19:17
SPEAKER_00: I think she will probably be a lock as well.
19:19
And I think it's pretty safe to say that Ingvold is the
19:24
hands-on favorite for this
19:26
SPEAKER_00: race right now.
19:27
SPEAKER_00: So looking at other females from...
19:32
SPEAKER_00: So Fiona Pascal,
19:33
SPEAKER_00: from my understanding,
19:34
SPEAKER_00: sister of Beth Pascal.
19:36
SPEAKER_00: Some really good results.
19:37
I wouldn't be surprised if Fiona is up front with Ingvold kind
19:40
of pushing the pace
19:42
SPEAKER_00: and trying to stay in that lead pack.
19:44
fiona's results last year 2024 world's dribble 100k she got
19:47
first mozart 100k she
19:49
got first so she's been racing some longer stuff 2023 julian
19:52
alps 50 excuse me 170k
19:54
she got first uh worlds she got 18th ultra trail snowdonia 50k
19:59
third archivetrician
20:00
uh first and then yeah so um i think fiona will be pushing the
20:06
pace i think that uh
20:08
SPEAKER_00: she'll be up there with ingveld and i think
20:11
SPEAKER_00: That can make for a pretty good race,
20:13
SPEAKER_00: but also could push one of them to kind of go over the edge.
20:17
SPEAKER_00: Other names and results that we're looking at.
20:19
So if I even just pull up the Transcrank Canary results from
20:22
last year,
20:24
let's go female.
20:25
SPEAKER_00: Courtney got the win.
20:26
SPEAKER_00: Claudia Trump got second.
20:28
So that would bring me to my next athlete I want to talk about,
20:30
which is Claudia Trump.
20:32
SPEAKER_00: She is familiar with this race.
20:34
SPEAKER_00: She kind of seems to be on the up and up racing wise.
20:37
SPEAKER_00: To me,
20:37
she looks like she's getting more and more fit and just kind of
20:39
having better and
20:40
SPEAKER_00: better results.
20:41
SPEAKER_00: Last year at UTMB, she went eighth overall.
20:43
SPEAKER_00: So some really good fitness there.
20:45
Ultra Trail Endorse,
20:46
she got second,
20:47
I believe,
20:48
only to Katerina Hartmuth,
20:50
if I'm not mistaken.
20:52
SPEAKER_00: And then Istria, second.
20:54
SPEAKER_00: Trans-Gran-Canaria Classic, second.
20:58
SPEAKER_00: So once again, looking at her results, not a lot, not only see one DNF.
21:03
SPEAKER_00: And she just kind of has been a really consistent racer.
21:05
SPEAKER_00: So I would say she's a pretty good lock for top five as well.
21:09
SPEAKER_00: Martina...
21:11
and it looks like she's from slovakia uh she if i'm not
21:17
mistaken has a top five
21:20
result at it looks like she's an on athlete slovakia and i
21:25
think she went top 10 at
21:27
trans grand canary she went third overall at trans grand canary
21:30
last year excuse me
21:31
in the advanced not in the longest one so some experience at
21:34
this race in the
21:35
classic she has gone sixth before in 2023 uh and then seventh
21:39
as well in 2022
21:41
SPEAKER_00: So some good experience on the course,
21:43
SPEAKER_00: um,
21:44
SPEAKER_00: for her,
21:46
SPEAKER_00: my team,
21:46
SPEAKER_00: Iora,
21:47
SPEAKER_00: another one to look out for Spanish athlete,
21:49
SPEAKER_00: um,
21:50
SPEAKER_00: lots of good results in the past.
21:53
SPEAKER_00: And she went 12th at UTMB last year,
21:54
SPEAKER_00: third at Valderran,
21:55
SPEAKER_00: uh,
21:56
SPEAKER_00: third at MIUT,
21:58
SPEAKER_00: the most competitive distance.
21:59
SPEAKER_00: And then she got ninth in the Trans-Grand Canaria marathon.
22:01
Uh,
22:02
it looks like she's done the marathon a handful of times,
22:04
but hasn't done the full distance.
22:06
SPEAKER_00: So it'll be interesting to see her step up.
22:08
SPEAKER_00: Um,
22:10
Yeah,
22:10
and then Claire Banworth,
22:13
you know,
22:13
the perennial ultra distance racer.
22:15
SPEAKER_00: I could see her doing good at this.
22:19
SPEAKER_00: And the last one I'll talk about is Marilyn Nakashay.
22:22
So she got second at Diagonal Defoe last year,
22:25
16th at UTMB,
22:27
third at Mozart.
22:29
SPEAKER_00: She's won TDS before in 2023.
22:32
SPEAKER_00: She's gotten second at Lavarado.
22:34
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, just lots of good results.
22:37
SPEAKER_00: Old Trail Cape Town, third.
22:40
She has done Trans-Grand Canaria,
22:42
except it looks like it was short and coarse,
22:45
or the 63K.
22:46
SPEAKER_00: Yeah,
22:47
SPEAKER_00: so she's only done the 60K Trans-Grand Canaria,
22:50
SPEAKER_00: but I think she's also somebody to look out for.
22:53
SPEAKER_00: For my top picks, going one through five.
22:57
SPEAKER_00: So once again, we talked about this race a little bit.
22:59
SPEAKER_00: It's on the Canary, excuse me, the Grand Canary Island.
23:04
It's around 80-ish miles,
23:06
and I want to say give or take 24,000 feet of vert.
23:10
SPEAKER_00: Um, and it can kind of have a range of weather.
23:11
SPEAKER_00: It's got some big climbs, big descents.
23:14
SPEAKER_00: Um,
23:15
and it's a good market of early season fitness and also a good
23:17
kind of tune up,
23:18
SPEAKER_00: not even tune up,
23:19
SPEAKER_00: but it's a good early season race.
23:20
SPEAKER_00: If you want to kind of traject or, excuse me, project towards UTMB.
23:25
SPEAKER_00: So,
23:26
SPEAKER_00: um,
23:27
SPEAKER_00: with the being said,
23:29
SPEAKER_00: as always,
23:30
SPEAKER_00: I'm probably going to change my picks 40 times by the time,
23:32
SPEAKER_00: uh,
23:33
SPEAKER_00: this,
23:34
SPEAKER_00: or excuse me,
23:34
SPEAKER_00: by the time the,
23:35
SPEAKER_00: the window actually closes.
23:37
But tentatively right now,
23:38
here's kind of what I'm looking at for my top five.
23:42
SPEAKER_00: So top five on the men's side.
23:45
SPEAKER_00: Like I said, John Alban and Tom Evans.
23:47
SPEAKER_00: I think they're interchangeable.
23:49
I think I could easily see myself swapping Tom and thinking
23:51
he's in better shape
23:52
SPEAKER_00: just because I haven't seen John race yet this year.
23:54
But I also am leaning towards the head to head win that John
23:57
had over Tom at
23:58
SPEAKER_00: Transville Kanye last year.
23:59
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, they're not the exact same athlete a year later.
24:03
SPEAKER_00: I do think that Tom has more experience in longer races like this,
24:06
so that might be a little bit of an advantage since
24:08
Transvolkania is a faster,
24:10
SPEAKER_00: shorter event,
24:10
SPEAKER_00: more than that seven- to eight-hour range,
24:12
SPEAKER_00: whereas this is probably going to be a 13-hour event,
24:15
SPEAKER_00: which other than Western States,
24:17
John has not raced anything this long before in total time-wise
24:22
because his CCCs
24:24
SPEAKER_00: have been right around 10 or 11 hours.
24:25
SPEAKER_00: So right now I'm leaning in John, one.
24:28
SPEAKER_00: Tom Evans, second place.
24:30
SPEAKER_00: I got Caleb Olson in third.
24:32
SPEAKER_00: I think that he is really well suited to a course like this.
24:35
SPEAKER_00: I think that he's a very good climber and descender,
24:37
SPEAKER_00: but I also think with his Western States performance last year,
24:40
SPEAKER_00: fastest debut time ever,
24:41
SPEAKER_00: right around 1440,
24:43
SPEAKER_00: I think that he could do really good on this course,
24:44
SPEAKER_00: and I think he's a consistent racer.
24:46
SPEAKER_00: So I got him tentatively in third right now,
24:48
also based off his previous international results like UTCT and
24:54
his CCC consistency
24:56
SPEAKER_00: as well.
24:56
SPEAKER_00: I got Abel Karataro in fourth place.
25:00
uh the Spanish athlete had a good result second place what I
25:04
say or fourth place
25:05
here last year uh I might have been second don't quote me I'm
25:10
gonna double check um
25:13
I think these uh if there's one thing I've noticed about
25:15
Spanish athletes they are
25:17
fit really early in the season and I think that's really
25:19
because most of them
25:20
unless they live in a mountainous region they're running pretty
25:22
consistently
25:23
throughout the winter so I think a lot of these Spanish
25:25
athletes kind of peak a
25:26
SPEAKER_00: little bit earlier than other European countries
25:28
Uh,
25:28
cause they got that sharp running fitness cause they keep it
25:31
going throughout the winter.
25:32
SPEAKER_00: And so I think if there's one thing I usually am going to bet on,
25:35
SPEAKER_00: it's that Spanish athletes have good early season fitness.
25:38
SPEAKER_00: Uh, trans green canary last year, he got fourth, excuse me.
25:41
SPEAKER_00: And then trans wall Kanye, he got ninth.
25:42
So,
25:44
um,
25:45
yeah,
25:45
I could see him having,
25:46
it was Solomon ultra peer knew that he got second.
25:49
I could see him having a good day and kind of going somewhere
25:52
in that four through seven range.
25:54
SPEAKER_00: And then in fifth place, I've got, I know Christian Manoli.
25:58
SPEAKER_00: He went third in the race last year.
26:03
SPEAKER_00: Also,
26:04
SPEAKER_00: so Romanian athlete technically,
26:06
but I kind of count him in the Spanish category because from my understanding,
26:08
SPEAKER_00: he lives in Spain as well.
26:09
SPEAKER_00: So also Rio Grande, that early season fitness.
26:12
Last year,
26:12
he kind of pulled off a double,
26:13
Trans-Grand Canaria third,
26:14
Trans-Valcania fifth.
26:17
SPEAKER_00: I think that he could have a pretty good day out there.
26:19
SPEAKER_00: And...
26:22
SPEAKER_00: Let me see if he's done Transcrank Canaria.
26:24
SPEAKER_00: He's DNF Transcrank Canaria before as well.
26:27
SPEAKER_00: Actually, multiple times before that.
26:28
SPEAKER_00: So, hopefully, he's got it figured out.
26:30
I think that's why I didn't pick him last year,
26:31
and I picked a different Romania.
26:35
SPEAKER_00: So, Raul Botachi.
26:37
SPEAKER_00: With that being said,
26:38
SPEAKER_00: so,
26:38
SPEAKER_00: yeah,
26:39
SPEAKER_00: I've got John in first,
26:40
SPEAKER_00: Tom in second,
26:40
SPEAKER_00: Caleb in third,
26:42
SPEAKER_00: maybe some Western bias there,
26:43
SPEAKER_00: Abel in fourth,
26:44
SPEAKER_00: Ian O'Christian,
26:45
SPEAKER_00: Manoli in fifth place.
26:47
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
26:54
SPEAKER_00: What's that?
26:54
SPEAKER_00: Ah, OK.