Latest / Let's Talk Trail Running / 2026 Defi Des Couleurs Race Preview

Transcript

2026 Defi Des Couleurs Race Preview · Let's Talk Trail Running

0:00
SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to Let's Talk to Running.
0:03
SPEAKER_00: This is your host,
0:04
SPEAKER_00: Robert Prosser,
0:05
SPEAKER_00: and today we have a very exciting episode previewing
0:08
SPEAKER_00: the World Mountain Running Association WMRA Finals taking place in Quebec in Canada.
0:17
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and this is the show, Let's Talk Trail Running.
0:20
SPEAKER_00: This is where we talk about upcoming trail races that are going to be covered
0:23
SPEAKER_00: on Fantasy Free Trail,
0:25
SPEAKER_00: which is Free Trail's fantasy trail running picking apparatus,
0:28
SPEAKER_00: where you can play at fantasy.freetrail.com.
0:33
SPEAKER_00: And yeah,
0:33
SPEAKER_00: this is a show,
0:34
SPEAKER_00: like I said,
0:34
SPEAKER_00: where we talk about upcoming trail races,
0:36
SPEAKER_00: anything from vertical kilometers or purely uphill races that are over in less
0:40
SPEAKER_00: than 30 minutes to 100,
0:42
SPEAKER_00: 200 milers, 250 milers, sometimes even in the case of Cocodona.
0:47
SPEAKER_00: Is to give you an outlook,
0:49
SPEAKER_00: a preview on the race,
0:51
SPEAKER_00: the athletes running it,
0:52
SPEAKER_00: give you a little bit of their backstory,
0:53
SPEAKER_00: and basically just to create and nurture fans of trail running
0:57
SPEAKER_00: to get you more excited about upcoming trail races,
0:59
SPEAKER_00: make you more informed about them, and just make you more invested in the sport.
1:03
SPEAKER_00: I am a recreational trail runner myself.
1:05
SPEAKER_00: Very, very into it, but also a very, very huge fan of the sport.
1:09
SPEAKER_00: So that was the goal of this podcast,
1:10
SPEAKER_00: to build trail running,
1:12
SPEAKER_00: build fandom within trail running,
1:13
SPEAKER_00: and to help you guys know about the athletes running the races.
1:17
SPEAKER_00: So, a tiny bit of catching up.
1:36
SPEAKER_00: Basically, last time we talked, we did Gorbiasuzian.
1:39
SPEAKER_00: Really good trail race.
1:41
SPEAKER_00: Got pretty lucky with the picks, and that went pretty well.
1:43
SPEAKER_00: And then recently, we had the Mammoth 200, which I didn't do a preview on.
1:46
SPEAKER_00: I didn't really feel...
1:48
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
1:49
SPEAKER_00: I just didn't really feel like talking about it.
1:51
SPEAKER_00: Wall as well, China, the Golden Trail Series race.
1:55
SPEAKER_00: They dropped the start list kind of late,
1:58
SPEAKER_00: but basically kind of went as expected with Patrick and Philemon taking
2:03
SPEAKER_00: the top two spots, Kenyans in four of the top five on the men's side.
2:06
SPEAKER_00: And then on the women's side,
2:07
SPEAKER_00: Ruth Katanga winning,
2:09
SPEAKER_00: Hannah Grober going second,
2:10
SPEAKER_00: Caroline Kimetai third, Barbara Bukavan in 4th and Sylvia Schwager in 5th.
2:17
SPEAKER_00: So I wanted to get a preview out for that,
2:19
SPEAKER_00: but I was more excited about Gorbiasuzian,
2:21
SPEAKER_00: and they were just taking forever to drop the start list.
2:24
SPEAKER_00: So that is where we're at.
2:26
SPEAKER_00: Currently in the overall standings,
2:28
SPEAKER_00: I think I just jumped into 8th overall,
2:30
SPEAKER_00: but it's a very, very tight battle between 8th and 11th right now with 7th.
2:39
SPEAKER_00: Excuse me, 7th and 11th even.
2:42
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, that's pretty interchangeable.
2:44
SPEAKER_00: A lot of people are moving around.
2:47
SPEAKER_00: But that is where we stand.
2:49
SPEAKER_00: So that's also, I guess, qualifications here.
2:51
SPEAKER_00: Besides being a trail super nerd, I'm DC.
2:54
SPEAKER_00: We're recently good at picking this.
2:55
SPEAKER_00: Not, however,
2:56
SPEAKER_00: as good as the current leader,
2:59
SPEAKER_00: Julian Lacoste,
2:59
SPEAKER_00: who is also pertinent to this episode because he is the race organizer
3:03
SPEAKER_00: for Defi de Coulard,
3:05
SPEAKER_00: which we're going to preview today,
3:07
SPEAKER_00: which has been the Canadian mountain running championship for both the up-down
3:10
SPEAKER_00: and uphill races the past two years.
3:12
SPEAKER_00: And now it's the WMRA final, which is really exciting.
3:16
SPEAKER_00: So, other things to catch up on before we get into the race preview for Defi de Coulard.
3:22
SPEAKER_00: Basically, just been jaunting around at Pikes Peak via Craggs Trail just a couple days ago.
3:27
SPEAKER_00: And I plan to hopefully get in a few more 14er adventures.
3:31
SPEAKER_00: We did have a snowfall a couple days in a row, about 10, maybe a week to 10 days ago.
3:36
SPEAKER_00: It's kind of melting off decently well, so I'm hoping to get out and do...
3:41
SPEAKER_00: Belford, Oxford, and Missouri tomorrow to add some 14ers on the list.
3:46
SPEAKER_00: And then hopefully looking down the line, my plan is to go to Javelina.
3:51
SPEAKER_00: My wife, Caitlin, her best friend, Kat, is running Javelina.
3:54
SPEAKER_00: So I think I might do...
3:55
SPEAKER_00: Take a trip down there and do some running along the way,
3:58
SPEAKER_00: either in Southwest Colorado or New Mexico,
4:01
SPEAKER_00: depending on snow levels,
4:02
SPEAKER_00: and then maybe get to go to Javelina,
4:04
SPEAKER_00: see it in person,
4:06
SPEAKER_00: and potentially help out where possible or crew with CAT's race for Javelina.
4:11
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, that's just kind of been what's been going on lately.
4:15
SPEAKER_00: Next thing I want to talk about for this preview,
4:18
SPEAKER_00: I mentioned earlier WMRA, World Mountain Running Association.
4:22
SPEAKER_00: These are races that we typically kind of overlook or are lesser known in the United Yeah.
4:44
SPEAKER_00: And I'm probably not doing the world's best job of describing this,
4:48
SPEAKER_00: but a lot of big races that you follow and know closely,
4:51
SPEAKER_00: like Sierra Zanal,
4:52
SPEAKER_00: ones that you probably don't know as well,
4:53
SPEAKER_00: but Vertical Nisego and Trophy Nisego,
4:55
SPEAKER_00: which we've talked about and I believe we've been previewed this year.
4:58
SPEAKER_00: But basically,
4:58
SPEAKER_00: a lot of the most competitive sub-ultra mountain races,
5:02
SPEAKER_00: both uphill and up-down, fall under WMRA.
5:06
SPEAKER_00: They're not,
5:07
SPEAKER_00: it's not as well known in the United States,
5:09
SPEAKER_00: but it's unfortunate because honestly,
5:11
SPEAKER_00: WMRA races are often the most densely competitive trail races in the world,
5:17
SPEAKER_00: often even more so than Golden Trail World Series races because a lot of
5:20
SPEAKER_00: the same guys,
5:22
SPEAKER_00: especially Patrick Philemon,
5:24
SPEAKER_00: Michael Salelo, Saoli,
5:26
SPEAKER_00: Paul Machoca,
5:27
SPEAKER_00: people that you're seeing a lot in this year's Golden Trail World Series standings,
5:31
SPEAKER_00: They race, uh,
5:32
SPEAKER_00: these WMRA races on top of a very,
5:35
SPEAKER_00: very talented European, uh, VK and up and up down specialists.
5:39
SPEAKER_00: And on top of even more,
5:40
SPEAKER_00: I would say East Africans,
5:41
SPEAKER_00: I would say the East African density,
5:44
SPEAKER_00: particularly the Kenyans, but occasionally Ugandans and Eritreans is more.
5:48
SPEAKER_00: So there's a lot of common in WMRA races where they can race multiple races
5:52
SPEAKER_00: that are shorter and take less of a toll on their body
5:55
SPEAKER_00: and also have prize winnings compared to Golden Trail Series or other races
6:01
SPEAKER_00: that don't have as much opportunity to race and get prize winning, I guess.
6:14
SPEAKER_00: Okay, so that is WMRA.
6:18
SPEAKER_00: And yeah, I think honestly a lot of the WMRA events are kind of slept on.
6:22
SPEAKER_00: The ones that are well known, Heroes and All, a couple other ones I just mentioned.
6:27
SPEAKER_00: But basically WMRA puts out a calendar and you can get points during their different WMRA races.
6:32
SPEAKER_00: All right, so I was interested in what Defe de Coulard means.
6:38
SPEAKER_00: I put it in Google Translate.
6:41
SPEAKER_00: They said it means color challenge,
6:42
SPEAKER_00: so I guess I'll have to confirm that,
6:43
SPEAKER_00: but I assume it has to do with the fall, autumn season.
6:47
SPEAKER_00: He's a master picker at Fantasy Free Trail and knows this course as well
6:50
SPEAKER_00: as anyone can,
6:50
SPEAKER_00: so I would not be surprised to see him take the overall win in at least one of
6:55
SPEAKER_00: the two races this weekend.
7:07
SPEAKER_00: According to FreeTrail,
7:08
SPEAKER_00: for this weekend, the race, there's 140 elites from 20 different nations.
7:13
SPEAKER_00: They're representing 20 different nations and competing for $43,000 in prize money.
7:19
SPEAKER_00: Talking about course previews,
7:20
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to talk about the athletes are largely the same for both races.
7:24
SPEAKER_00: There are a few athletes that are just racing the uphill,
7:26
SPEAKER_00: but I'm just going to talk about all the athletes and then their chances
7:29
SPEAKER_00: in each individual race.
7:31
SPEAKER_00: So it's going to be kind of a dual preview where I just talk about the athletes,
7:34
SPEAKER_00: and I'll try to include if they're only racing one of the races,
7:37
SPEAKER_00: and then I'll put in my picks for the men's and women's fields.
7:42
SPEAKER_00: Talking about the courses themselves,
7:43
SPEAKER_00: I've included in the show notes Strava links to both the uphill route and
7:47
SPEAKER_00: the up-down route,
7:48
SPEAKER_00: generously provided by Julian Lacoste, the race director, to me before this podcast.
7:53
SPEAKER_00: The uphill route, we're looking at 3.1 miles.
7:56
SPEAKER_00: 2,481 feet or pretty much right at 5 kilometers and 756 meters of climbing.
8:03
SPEAKER_00: Fastest times that I found on the uphill were 27.47 from Alexander Ricard in 2024
8:08
SPEAKER_00: and on the women's side 33.35 from Eliza Moran in 2024.
8:10
SPEAKER_00: Both of them will be racing the uphill this year.
8:18
SPEAKER_00: For the up-down route,
8:19
SPEAKER_00: I've also included the link to the Strava file in the show notes,
8:25
SPEAKER_00: but it's approximately 9.4 miles and 4,069 feet of climbing,
8:30
SPEAKER_00: or in metric units, 15 kilometers and 1,248 meters.
8:36
SPEAKER_00: Fastest times I've seen for the up-down route, on the men's side, we've got Dan Kurtz.
8:40
SPEAKER_00: He ran 50 minutes and one second in 2024.
8:45
SPEAKER_00: He will also be racing the up-down this year, so definitely someone to look out for.
8:48
SPEAKER_00: On the women's side for the up-down, also Eliza Moran.
8:51
SPEAKER_00: She ran a one-hour and three-second race in 2024,
8:55
SPEAKER_00: so it seems like 2024 was the faster or more competitive race, potentially.
9:00
SPEAKER_00: Last thing I want to talk about before we start going into this field are
9:03
SPEAKER_00: the WMRA standings, World Cup standings per the Instagram account for WMRA.
9:10
SPEAKER_00: So it's a little bit confusing.
9:11
SPEAKER_00: I included both the Instagram post in the show notes as well as
9:17
SPEAKER_00: the World Ranking link to the WMRA website, which are two different things.
9:20
SPEAKER_00: But as of the most recent Instagram post,
9:24
SPEAKER_00: the WMRA standings,
9:26
SPEAKER_00: we've got the second-place female,
9:29
SPEAKER_00: Joyce Najeru,
9:30
SPEAKER_00: third-place female,
9:31
SPEAKER_00: Kirstie Sky Dickinson,
9:33
SPEAKER_00: fourth-place female,
9:34
SPEAKER_00: Benedetta Braji,
9:36
SPEAKER_00: and ninth-place female, Sarah Willahoyt, racing this weekend at WMRA.
9:44
SPEAKER_00: On the men's side, we've only got the 9th and 10th place overall in the World Cup standing.
9:49
SPEAKER_00: That's going to be Brayen Rodriguez-Flores and Andrew Douglas.
9:55
SPEAKER_00: That is everything I want to go over before we are now finally jumping into...
10:03
SPEAKER_00: The preview, I want to start on the women's side.
10:06
SPEAKER_00: I actually think this women's field is more densely competitive and more exciting,
10:10
SPEAKER_00: and I often will start on the women's side if I think that's the case,
10:12
SPEAKER_00: and I definitely think that's the case in this race.
10:15
SPEAKER_00: First athlete I want to talk about on the female side is going to be Christelle DeWall.
10:19
SPEAKER_00: She's a French VK or short course specialist with some serious uphill chops.
10:24
SPEAKER_00: She was the winner of the Marathon of Mont Blanc Vertical Kilometer this year.
10:28
SPEAKER_00: She got fourth at Vauban Mountain VK, which had some very deep competition.
10:33
SPEAKER_00: She was the winner of Nerevu Mollesen,
10:35
SPEAKER_00: the Swiss uphill race that is often crushed by Remy Bonnet or Maude Mathies,
10:41
SPEAKER_00: but this year Christelle won it.
10:43
SPEAKER_00: Crystal was also 17th at European Champs Uphill and 6th at Worlds Uphill last year.
10:49
SPEAKER_00: Crystal is a very strong contender for top 10 in both races,
10:52
SPEAKER_00: but she does seem to have better results in pure uphill racers,
10:55
SPEAKER_00: so I think she's a little bit safer pick for the uphill race than potentially for
10:59
SPEAKER_00: the up-down race.
11:02
SPEAKER_00: A quick note too,
11:03
SPEAKER_00: you're going to hear me name a lot of the same races over and over again,
11:06
SPEAKER_00: and that's because twofold one,
11:08
SPEAKER_00: a lot of these athletes are racing the same WMRA events,
11:11
SPEAKER_00: and two,
11:12
SPEAKER_00: even though you might not have heard of them being more of a Western,
11:15
SPEAKER_00: like United I promise you they're very competitive and I want to kind
11:17
SPEAKER_00: of emphasize like you're going to hear a lot of Vauban.
11:32
SPEAKER_00: You're going to hear a lot of Trofeo Nisego.
11:34
SPEAKER_00: You're going to hear probably a good bit of Sierras and all.
11:36
SPEAKER_00: And so just kind of try to keep in mind where these guys stacked up in relation to each other.
11:42
SPEAKER_00: So that was Cristal DeWal.
11:43
SPEAKER_00: Next athlete to talk about is Joyce Najero.
11:44
SPEAKER_00: Like I said, she is second in the WMRA point standings.
11:48
SPEAKER_00: Kenyan athlete for normal.
11:50
SPEAKER_00: She's only behind Ruth Gatanga, according to the website.
11:53
SPEAKER_00: So she's probably looking to make up points in both the up-down and the uphill race.
11:57
SPEAKER_00: She won the Golden Trail World Series overall two years ago and
12:01
SPEAKER_00: then has mostly been focusing on world mountain running events since then, it seems.
12:05
SPEAKER_00: Results this year for Joyce include sixth place at Trofeo Nisego,
12:09
SPEAKER_00: eighth at Vertical Nisego,
12:10
SPEAKER_00: she won Challenge Stellina Uphill,
12:13
SPEAKER_00: 2nd at Broken Arrow VK,
12:14
SPEAKER_00: 3rd at Broken Arrow 23K, 3rd at Laidro Sky Trantino Golden Trail Series Race.
12:20
SPEAKER_00: She was 2nd at the Transvolcania Half Marathon and had a win in a course record,
12:24
SPEAKER_00: if I remember correctly, at Transvolcania VK, Vertical Kilometer.
12:30
SPEAKER_00: She also did win the WMRA China Race in the up-down and was second in
12:33
SPEAKER_00: the uphill race, I think, behind Maud Mathis.
12:36
SPEAKER_00: So, Joyce,
12:37
SPEAKER_00: in my experience,
12:37
SPEAKER_00: she is beatable at uphill races,
12:39
SPEAKER_00: and if she has a weakness, I would say it's more the uphill races than the up-down.
12:43
SPEAKER_00: So, while I think she's definitely a favorite in the uphill field,
12:45
SPEAKER_00: I wouldn't be surprised if she ends up somewhere between 3 and 7 at the end of
12:49
SPEAKER_00: the day for the uphill.
12:50
SPEAKER_00: With that being said, though,
12:51
SPEAKER_00: She has had a few really good uphill results this year compared to previous years,
12:56
SPEAKER_00: so it is possible that she has the chops to win the uphill,
13:00
SPEAKER_00: but I think I like her placing higher in the up-down than uphill.
13:05
SPEAKER_00: Next athlete to talk about,
13:05
SPEAKER_00: Nina Engelhard,
13:07
SPEAKER_00: unsponsored German athlete who took double gold in Worlds last year in both
13:11
SPEAKER_00: the Classic and the uphill distances,
13:13
SPEAKER_00: and that was one year after taking double gold in the European Champs in both
13:17
SPEAKER_00: of those same events in 2024.
13:19
SPEAKER_00: Nina recently bounced back from an injury and took a win at Vertical Nisego in
13:24
SPEAKER_00: a very deep field against many women that she's racing here,
13:27
SPEAKER_00: including Kirstie Sky Dickinson,
13:29
SPEAKER_00: Crystal DeWall, Selina Birch, Joyce Njeru, and Benedetta Brogi.
13:34
SPEAKER_00: So she beat a lot of people that she's racing here, like I said.
13:38
SPEAKER_00: And then Nina was also second at Trofeo Nisego,
13:40
SPEAKER_00: only behind Ruth Gatanga, who's the overall WMRA leader.
13:44
SPEAKER_00: I think Nina's got to be a favorite for the podium in both, if not possibly for a double win.
13:49
SPEAKER_00: I'm super excited to see her race across the pond in North America for
13:54
SPEAKER_00: the first time from what I can tell.
13:55
SPEAKER_00: So that's Nina Engelhard.
13:57
SPEAKER_00: Next athlete is Nelly Clement,
13:59
SPEAKER_00: another French short course specialist who is a serious contender in both races,
14:03
SPEAKER_00: but maybe slightly better at up-down races than pure vertical races.
14:07
SPEAKER_00: Nellie's results include 5th place at Broken Arrow VK,
14:11
SPEAKER_00: 8th place at Broken Arrow 23K,
14:13
SPEAKER_00: 12th at Vauban Vertical,
14:15
SPEAKER_00: 3rd in both the Eurochamps uphill and the up-down this summer,
14:19
SPEAKER_00: so she was a dual bronze medalist at Euros.
14:22
SPEAKER_00: Last year,
14:22
SPEAKER_00: Cristal had similarly great results with the 8th place at Worlds uphill and a 7th
14:26
SPEAKER_00: at Worlds up-down.
14:27
SPEAKER_00: She's definitely a threat,
14:28
SPEAKER_00: and like I said,
14:29
SPEAKER_00: I think I like her slightly more in the up-down than uphill,
14:32
SPEAKER_00: but she could very well go top 5 in both events.
14:37
SPEAKER_00: So that's Nelly Clement.
14:39
SPEAKER_00: Next athlete,
14:40
SPEAKER_00: Canadian and definitely a home course favorite,
14:45
SPEAKER_00: is going to know this course as well as anyone and has some of the fastest times
14:48
SPEAKER_00: at both the events, Eliza Moran.
14:51
SPEAKER_00: Like I said, got to be the Canadian female favorite.
14:53
SPEAKER_00: She won both events last two years, so she knows the course super well.
14:57
SPEAKER_00: She's coming off a win at the 50K Mont Tremblant by UTMB most recently in the middle of August.
15:04
SPEAKER_00: She also ran a very impressive 19th place at Sierras and All in 3 hours
15:07
SPEAKER_00: and 10 minutes, which is blazing fast.
15:10
SPEAKER_00: And she also has a win at Sunapee Scramble to start off this year.
15:13
SPEAKER_00: She didn't have the best races at Broken Arrow VK or 23K,
15:17
SPEAKER_00: but based off her Instagram post, I'm pretty sure the altitude got to her.
15:21
SPEAKER_00: And then from Julian, she is coming off a foot injury and is mostly cycling.
15:28
SPEAKER_00: So she could be primed to do well in the uphill race,
15:31
SPEAKER_00: but is a game-time decision for whether she races the up-down or not.
15:34
SPEAKER_00: So maybe keep an eye on if she scratches in the up-down, but keep an eye out for the uphill.
15:40
SPEAKER_00: We see plenty of cyclists with limited running volume still crush the uphill.
15:45
SPEAKER_00: Next athlete is Kirstie Sky Dixon.
15:47
SPEAKER_00: And...
15:53
SPEAKER_00: Excuse me, sorry about that.
15:58
SPEAKER_00: All right,
15:58
SPEAKER_00: so Kirstie Skye Dixon,
16:01
SPEAKER_00: probably the breakout athlete of the year on the WMRA circuit on the women's side.
16:06
SPEAKER_00: She's had some super impressive results.
16:09
SPEAKER_00: She's a Scottish orthodontist,
16:11
SPEAKER_00: or studying to be an orthodontist,
16:12
SPEAKER_00: who currently sits third in the WMRA point standings, according to their Instagram.
16:17
SPEAKER_00: Her amazing year so far includes eighth place at Trofeo Nisego,
16:21
SPEAKER_00: 14th at Sears and all, and I'm pretty sure she was in the top.
16:24
SPEAKER_00: She was 5th at Grossglockner,
16:28
SPEAKER_00: 3rd at Vauban Vertical,
16:30
SPEAKER_00: Marathon on Montblanc 23K,
16:35
SPEAKER_00: and Transvalcania Half Marathon to go with 2nd at Transvalcania VK,
16:40
SPEAKER_00: only behind Joyce's course record.
16:42
SPEAKER_00: Kirstie is a very,
16:43
SPEAKER_00: very good uphill runner,
16:44
SPEAKER_00: and I see her as doing better in that event than the up-down,
16:48
SPEAKER_00: but she definitely has the chops to go top 10 in both those events.
16:58
SPEAKER_00: Alright, so that's Christy's guy Dickinson.
17:01
SPEAKER_00: Alright,
17:06
SPEAKER_00: next athlete is Benedetta Broggi,
17:09
SPEAKER_00: an Italian athlete for Kailas Fuga and WMRA regular who currently sits fourth place
17:14
SPEAKER_00: in the WMRA point standings, not far behind Christy Dickson.
17:21
SPEAKER_00: So it's a really tight battle.
17:22
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's a tight battle.
17:24
SPEAKER_00: And basically,
17:25
SPEAKER_00: two through four on the women's side is going to be looking to take points
17:28
SPEAKER_00: from each other and move up in the standings.
17:31
SPEAKER_00: So Benedetta Brogi has raced Christy Dixon four times this year.
17:36
SPEAKER_00: And Christy has won every meeting.
17:39
SPEAKER_00: So I'm sure that Benedetta will be looking to change that.
17:42
SPEAKER_00: Uh, Benedetta,
17:44
SPEAKER_00: her WMRA page has 17 races on it this year so far,
17:49
SPEAKER_00: which is impressive,
17:50
SPEAKER_00: but also not entirely crazy for these sub-ultra athletes who can often race,
17:53
SPEAKER_00: you know, every two to three weeks at a high level.
17:56
SPEAKER_00: Notable results for Benedetta.
17:57
SPEAKER_00: This year include 11th and 10th at Trofeo and Vertical Nisego,
18:02
SPEAKER_00: 4th at Challenge Stellina Uphill,
18:04
SPEAKER_00: 6th place at Vauban Uptown and 5th at the Vauban Uphill Race,
18:08
SPEAKER_00: 7th at Grossglockner,
18:10
SPEAKER_00: 22nd at Eurochamps Uphill,
18:12
SPEAKER_00: Fifth at Transvalcania Half Marathon and fourth at the Transvalcania VK.
18:16
SPEAKER_00: Benedetta seems to be pretty evenly strong on both her uphill and her up-down skills.
18:21
SPEAKER_00: So I think she's probably a top 10 in both or being right on the edge of top 10
18:26
SPEAKER_00: in both these races is very likely for her.
18:28
SPEAKER_00: She's not likely to podium in my opinion,
18:29
SPEAKER_00: but I think she's very likely to get points in both events and she runs smart and
18:33
SPEAKER_00: to run smart as she's looking to improve her WRA points total and overall standing.
18:39
SPEAKER_00: Next female athlete is Natalie Beadle,
18:41
SPEAKER_00: UK regular on the Skyrunning World Series circuit,
18:44
SPEAKER_00: who I believe picked up an Arcteric sponsorship recently
18:47
SPEAKER_00: and has seemingly gotten stronger or raced into good fitness as
18:50
SPEAKER_00: the year has progressed.
18:52
SPEAKER_00: Natalie started off the season with a 30th Yeah.
18:54
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
18:54
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
18:54
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
19:11
SPEAKER_00: I forget what they're calling it.
19:12
SPEAKER_00: Rollercoaster,
19:13
SPEAKER_00: I think,
19:14
SPEAKER_00: half marathon in Poland three weeks ago and third at Gorbia Susien two weeks ago.
19:19
SPEAKER_00: I think she has a shot at the top 10 for the up-down race,
19:21
SPEAKER_00: but I think that her strength or advantage lies in the longer races.
19:25
SPEAKER_00: So this might be a bit fast and short for her to go top 10 in either field.
19:29
SPEAKER_00: I'm also a little bit worried.
19:30
SPEAKER_00: I mean, racing...
19:32
SPEAKER_00: So that's Natalie Beadle.
19:34
SPEAKER_00: Next athlete is Celine Abey, Swiss runner for Mizuno, which I didn't know.
19:47
SPEAKER_00: I didn't even realize Mizuno had any trail athletes sponsored, so that's news to me.
19:52
SPEAKER_00: But Swiss runner for Mizuno, who regularly races WMRA, races with some very impressive results.
19:58
SPEAKER_00: Celine is coming off a third place at the Three Lakes Houser.
20:03
SPEAKER_00: And then she had not a great day at Trofeo or Vertical in the Sago with 16th
20:09
SPEAKER_00: and 19th place finishes.
20:10
SPEAKER_00: She has had some very impressive results here,
20:12
SPEAKER_00: however,
20:13
SPEAKER_00: with a 6th place at the Eurochamps up-down race,
20:16
SPEAKER_00: 10th at Golden Trail Series,
20:17
SPEAKER_00: Ledro Sky Trentino, and 2nd at Swiss National Champs up-down behind only Axel Gnud.
20:25
SPEAKER_00: Celine's recent results at Trofeo had me a bit nervous,
20:28
SPEAKER_00: but she definitely has the chops to go top five in the up-down field here
20:31
SPEAKER_00: on her best day.
20:33
SPEAKER_00: Next athlete is Anne-Marie Comeau.
20:35
SPEAKER_00: And to quote Julian Lacoste,
20:37
SPEAKER_00: she's a Nordic ski Olympian with past Worlds experience,
20:41
SPEAKER_00: local here, and knows the course by heart.
20:44
SPEAKER_00: That's the end of the quote.
20:45
SPEAKER_00: Other than a DNF at Jackpot 100K, I don't see any races for Anne-Marie Comeau.
20:50
SPEAKER_00: This year,
20:51
SPEAKER_00: but she does have top 20s at each of the last two Worlds races in both the uphill
20:55
SPEAKER_00: and the up-down events, so she's raced very deep fields and placed competitively.
20:59
SPEAKER_00: She appears to only be racing the uphill here and has run the course in 2024,
21:03
SPEAKER_00: where she finished third place only 13 seconds off the win behind Eliza Marin.
21:08
SPEAKER_00: It's tough to know where Ann's at without much racing this year,
21:12
SPEAKER_00: but definitely has the home field advantage and the course knowledge.
21:16
SPEAKER_00: Next female athlete is Janari Camargo, Colombian racer who could be a sleeper pick.
21:21
SPEAKER_00: She's raced Sears and all to a blazing fast three hours and 15 minutes this year,
21:24
SPEAKER_00: which was only good enough for 25th place.
21:26
SPEAKER_00: And she also has good results at South American races that I'm less familiar with.
21:30
SPEAKER_00: She raced Worlds up-down race to a 29th place finish last year.
21:34
SPEAKER_00: And she's gone top 30 at Sears and all at least two or three times.
21:39
SPEAKER_00: So that's Janari Camargo from Colombia.
21:43
SPEAKER_00: All right,
21:44
SPEAKER_00: next athlete is Aaron Moore from the U.S.,
21:46
SPEAKER_00: up-and-coming athlete who is only two weeks out from double victories
21:50
SPEAKER_00: at Mammoth Trail Fest 26K and The Ascent.
21:53
SPEAKER_00: Aaron has also raced Broken Arrow 23K to a 21st place this year.
21:58
SPEAKER_00: And the Broken Arrow is sent to a sixth place to go with third places
22:02
SPEAKER_00: at Big Ulta 50K and a third place at Gorge 100K,
22:06
SPEAKER_00: as well as a fifth place at Black Cannon 50K to start the year.
22:11
SPEAKER_00: Erin has the range and also appears to be a bit more talented at pure uphill races
22:15
SPEAKER_00: from her results.
22:16
SPEAKER_00: I think if I picked Erin for one of the two races, it would be the uphill.
22:21
SPEAKER_00: All right,
22:21
SPEAKER_00: next athlete is Selena Birch,
22:23
SPEAKER_00: another Swiss athlete who appears to also race bikes based off her Instagram,
22:28
SPEAKER_00: but she does regularly compete on the WMRA circuit.
22:31
SPEAKER_00: Impressive results include 17th at Trofeo Nasego,
22:34
SPEAKER_00: 7th at Vertical Nasego,
22:36
SPEAKER_00: She was 27th at Sears in all in 3 hours and 15 minutes,
22:39
SPEAKER_00: 7th at Vauban Updown Race, and 8th at the Vauban Uphill.
22:43
SPEAKER_00: She was 2nd at Nerevu Mollesen, 7th at Innsbruck Alpine Fest VK.
22:49
SPEAKER_00: Another athlete that's equally suited to both events,
22:51
SPEAKER_00: But I think if I see her crack in the top 10, I think it's more likely in the VK.
22:56
SPEAKER_00: I also, in searching or finding her Instagram for this preview,
23:00
SPEAKER_00: she did just ride a 5-hour and 90-mile bike ride Tuesday before the race.
23:05
SPEAKER_00: So that's another consideration.
23:07
SPEAKER_00: But I think a lot of these cyclists have huge lungs and maybe aren't as good on the downhill.
23:12
SPEAKER_00: So I think if we see Selena in the top 10, it'll probably be on the VK side.
23:17
SPEAKER_00: Next athlete,
23:18
SPEAKER_00: Rena Schwartz,
23:19
SPEAKER_00: a US sleeper pick coming off sixth place finish at
23:22
SPEAKER_00: the Roller Coaster Three Lakes Marathon,
23:25
SPEAKER_00: half marathon race in Poland three weeks ago.
23:27
SPEAKER_00: She was behind Natalie, Celine Aby, and Maya Rail.
23:32
SPEAKER_00: She was third at Suna Bee Scramble and 13th at Broken Arrow 23K and 18th
23:37
SPEAKER_00: at Broken Arrow Ascent this year.
23:39
SPEAKER_00: That makes me realize that I left out Maya Rail because she's only racing the up-down.
23:47
SPEAKER_00: But, Maya Rail.
23:52
SPEAKER_00: Trail team representative recently got second at that Three Lakes Marathon half marathon.
23:57
SPEAKER_00: Also had 15th at Broken Arrow Sky Race 23K and second at Centipede Scramble.
24:02
SPEAKER_00: Maya is definitely a threat for the up-down race, and I can see her going top five as well.
24:08
SPEAKER_00: Last athlete to talk about Steph Bruce,
24:09
SPEAKER_00: longtime Hoka athlete,
24:10
SPEAKER_00: elite marathoner,
24:12
SPEAKER_00: raced to ninth place at Broken Arrow VK earlier this year in a very stacked field.
24:16
SPEAKER_00: She is racing the VK and I could see her potentially cracking that top 10.
24:20
SPEAKER_00: All right, so now I'm going to go into picks.
24:23
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to go for both the uphill and the up-down race.
24:26
SPEAKER_00: Usual caveats, I'm 100% likely to change this.
24:29
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to give you some considerations for people that I might swap in
24:33
SPEAKER_00: and this is all for fun.
24:36
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to pick the uphill race first on the women's side.
24:39
SPEAKER_00: So fifth place, I'm going to go Benedetta Barogi.
24:42
SPEAKER_00: Fourth place, Nellie Clement.
24:44
SPEAKER_00: Third place, Joyce Njeru.
24:47
SPEAKER_00: Second, Christy Sky Dixon.
24:49
SPEAKER_00: And first place, Nina Engelhardt.
24:52
SPEAKER_00: For that fifth place, I was very up in the air.
24:57
SPEAKER_00: I think Eliza, coming off a foot injury, is still very likely to go top five.
25:01
SPEAKER_00: I think that Selena Birch is also a very, very good pick to go somewhere in that top ten.
25:08
SPEAKER_00: And then I also think Christelle DeWaul is a strong pick as well.
25:14
SPEAKER_00: So I'm kind of between those two.
25:17
SPEAKER_00: Kind of between those and could see myself swapping out Christelle for Benedetta
25:22
SPEAKER_00: or Eliza somewhere in there as well.
25:25
SPEAKER_00: On the up-down race for the women's side,
25:29
SPEAKER_00: I have Celine Aby in fifth,
25:32
SPEAKER_00: Kirstie Sky Dixon in fourth,
25:35
SPEAKER_00: Nellie Clement in third, Joyce and Jeru in second, and Nina Engelhard in fourth.
25:44
SPEAKER_00: For the double win, basically.
25:45
SPEAKER_00: I could see Joyce winning this.
25:48
SPEAKER_00: Let me see, did I go Nelly for both?
25:50
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I almost have...
25:51
SPEAKER_00: So I'll probably have to swap up a little bit because it's rarely...
25:55
SPEAKER_00: I've got four of the same people overlapping in both races.
26:02
SPEAKER_00: But I think if I was likely to take somebody else out,
26:06
SPEAKER_00: the VK is a good indicator,
26:07
SPEAKER_00: but not always the best because some athletes are just better at downhill
26:10
SPEAKER_00: in these races.
26:11
SPEAKER_00: So I guess I've got Nina with a double win, but I've got Joyce with a double podium.
26:16
SPEAKER_00: I think I've got Kirstie.
26:19
SPEAKER_00: Not with a double podium, but with one podium and one fourth.
26:23
SPEAKER_00: And then people who I might swap in on the women's side for the up-down race.
26:28
SPEAKER_00: I think I need to get Crystal DeWall in there somewhere, so I'm slacking on that.
26:32
SPEAKER_00: And the up-down would be more likely.
26:35
SPEAKER_00: Maya Rail, I actually think, is a very, very good pick for the up-down.
26:38
SPEAKER_00: And I originally had her in my top five in that fifth place spot.
26:41
SPEAKER_00: So those are my women's picks for both the up-down and the uphill races.
26:48
SPEAKER_00: Like I said, keep an eye out.
26:50
SPEAKER_00: Use the uphill as kind of a proxy for who you think could do well the next day on the up-down.
26:56
SPEAKER_00: But also look for people in that kind of like 6 through 12 range who did get on
26:59
SPEAKER_00: the uphill but maybe are better up-down runners.
27:01
SPEAKER_00: Because if they finish higher than they usually do on uphill races,
27:05
SPEAKER_00: then you can bet they're probably in even better shape and going to do better on
27:08
SPEAKER_00: the up-down.
27:10
SPEAKER_00: All right, so that is the women's side.
27:12
SPEAKER_00: Actually,
27:13
SPEAKER_00: last thing I want to mention is actually Julian gave me some notes
27:17
SPEAKER_00: on Canadian athletes to look out for, and I forgot to include that.
27:21
SPEAKER_00: So the last thing I want to say is on the women's side,
27:26
SPEAKER_00: Like I mentioned,
27:26
SPEAKER_00: he said Elisa Morin may not be doing the up-down, so just keep an eye out.
27:31
SPEAKER_00: On the women's side for Canadians,
27:33
SPEAKER_00: Courtney Brohart has finished within top five every year since 2024,
27:38
SPEAKER_00: but never got a Canadian selection, so she will be going for it this year.
27:42
SPEAKER_00: It's Courtney Brohart.
27:44
SPEAKER_00: Elise Coates is a trail team rising star.
27:47
SPEAKER_00: She should do extremely well and wants redemption after DNF last year.
27:52
SPEAKER_00: Erin Teschuk is an Olympian steeple tracer.
27:54
SPEAKER_00: First trail experience.
27:55
SPEAKER_00: Can't wait to see what she does.
27:57
SPEAKER_00: And then Anne-Marie Comeau, who we talked about, another Nordic Ski Olympian, past Worlds.
28:03
SPEAKER_00: She's a local and knows the course by heart.
28:05
SPEAKER_00: So those are Canadian athletes to look out for.
28:09
SPEAKER_00: All right,
28:09
SPEAKER_00: on the men's side,
28:11
SPEAKER_00: so only two men sit in the top ten for points in the WMRA standings,
28:15
SPEAKER_00: and like I said,
28:15
SPEAKER_00: it's Brian Rodriguez,
28:17
SPEAKER_00: Mexican athlete in ninth place, and Andrew Douglas, UK athlete in tenth.
28:21
SPEAKER_00: All the top five athletes in the WMRA standings are Kenyans
28:24
SPEAKER_00: who are presumably resting up for the Golden Trail World Series final in Korea
28:28
SPEAKER_00: in two weeks and probably didn't want to do this much travel that close to
28:31
SPEAKER_00: the final.
28:32
SPEAKER_00: All right,
28:32
SPEAKER_00: so first athlete to preview,
28:33
SPEAKER_00: Brian Rodriguez,
28:35
SPEAKER_00: highest-strength runner,
28:35
SPEAKER_00: like I mentioned,
28:37
SPEAKER_00: Mexican athlete who has had a great year and first came across my radar
28:40
SPEAKER_00: when he lined up at the Broken Arrow VK and 23K to start the year,
28:44
SPEAKER_00: where he ran to a fifth place in the vertical race and fourth in the 23K in very,
28:48
SPEAKER_00: very stacked fields.
28:50
SPEAKER_00: Brian has followed that up with a 10th place at Golden Trail World Series Quebec.
28:55
SPEAKER_00: Quebec Mega Trail, 2nd at Vauban Vertical, 4th at Vauban Uptown, and 10th at Sierras and All.
29:02
SPEAKER_00: Most recently,
29:02
SPEAKER_00: Brandon raced to 8th place at Golden Trail Series Miyoko Trail in Japan,
29:08
SPEAKER_00: and 10th at Golden Trail Series Great Wall Race in China.
29:11
SPEAKER_00: All right, so that's Brian Rodriguez.
29:33
SPEAKER_00: And next athlete is going to be Cam Smith, USA Schemo team member and Olympian.
29:40
SPEAKER_00: Dina Fit athlete,
29:41
SPEAKER_00: longtime uphill crusher coming fresh off a win and course record at Run the Rut VK,
29:46
SPEAKER_00: which he has raced many, many years.
29:47
SPEAKER_00: He presumably is very, very fit.
29:50
SPEAKER_00: And he got a second place at Pikes Peak Ascent, only seven seconds behind Joe Gray this year.
29:55
SPEAKER_00: Other races for Cam this year include a rough day at Sears and All,
29:58
SPEAKER_00: where he didn't race his potential.
30:00
SPEAKER_00: Third place at Speedo at 50K.
30:02
SPEAKER_00: Seventh at Broken Arrow, 23K.
30:04
SPEAKER_00: And a second at the Broken Arrow Ascent,
30:06
SPEAKER_00: only 11 seconds off of Patrick, Kip, and Jaina, who won it.
30:10
SPEAKER_00: It feels like Cam is a lock for the podium on the VK and likely going to be in
30:13
SPEAKER_00: the top eight in the up-down, if I had to guess.
30:16
SPEAKER_00: Could finish top five in the up-down on a good day,
30:18
SPEAKER_00: but definitely the VK is his chops,
30:20
SPEAKER_00: and I think that we're going to see him race a good race here.
30:25
SPEAKER_00: Next athlete, Andrea...
30:39
SPEAKER_00: All right,
30:39
SPEAKER_00: next athlete is Andrea Alia,
30:41
SPEAKER_00: Italian runner for Topo and regular on the WMRA circuit in Italian races,
30:47
SPEAKER_00: along with the other Italian athletes here.
30:50
SPEAKER_00: His results this year include 16th at Trophy on Asego, 25th at ETC.
30:55
SPEAKER_00: I had his.
30:58
SPEAKER_00: Sorry.
30:59
SPEAKER_00: I thought I had his results written down, and for some reason, I don't.
31:02
SPEAKER_00: So I'm pulling them up right now.
31:11
SPEAKER_00: Alright,
31:12
SPEAKER_00: so 16th at Trofeo Nissego,
31:13
SPEAKER_00: 3rd at Vertical Nissego,
31:15
SPEAKER_00: 2nd at the Italian Mountain Running Championships Uphill Only Race,
31:19
SPEAKER_00: the Challenge Stellina,
31:21
SPEAKER_00: 2nd at Peace Try Vertical, he was 3rd in European Champs in the Uphill Race.
31:28
SPEAKER_00: And winner of the Italian Champs Uphill Selection Race.
31:34
SPEAKER_00: So Andre Alia is definitely an uphill specialist and very, very good uphiller.
31:41
SPEAKER_00: I do like him a lot for the uphill race.
31:45
SPEAKER_00: I don't think he's quite as strong with the up-down races,
31:49
SPEAKER_00: but he's definitely an uphill specialist.
31:51
SPEAKER_00: And I think out of the three Italians,
31:52
SPEAKER_00: Andre Alia,
31:53
SPEAKER_00: Tiziano, Moya,
31:55
SPEAKER_00: And Luca Murley, he is the most likely to place the highest in the uphill race.
32:01
SPEAKER_00: So that's Andrea Leo.
32:02
SPEAKER_00: Next athlete is Mason Cope.
32:04
SPEAKER_00: Recently sponsored Vibram Athlete on a tear of a year,
32:08
SPEAKER_00: winning a ton of Cirque Series races to go along with a win at Spico 50K,
32:12
SPEAKER_00: sixth place at Broken Arrow 23K, and a win at Gorge 30K.
32:16
SPEAKER_00: So he's won a lot of prize money out there between Gorge,
32:19
SPEAKER_00: Broken Arrow, and Cirque Series racking up all those prize checks.
32:23
SPEAKER_00: I think that Mason is a favorite in both races,
32:26
SPEAKER_00: but I think he's more likely to win the up-down and then end up somewhere in
32:30
SPEAKER_00: the top five in the uphill.
32:34
SPEAKER_00: We haven't seen a race a lot of true vertical races,
32:36
SPEAKER_00: so it's going to be fun to see,
32:37
SPEAKER_00: but I think it's runnable enough and he's got the leg speed that I think I see him
32:41
SPEAKER_00: in the top five of this uphill race as well.
32:45
SPEAKER_00: Next athlete is Tiziano Moya,
32:47
SPEAKER_00: an Italian regular on the WMRA circuit who has a lot of WMRA results this year,
32:52
SPEAKER_00: including a seventh.
32:55
SPEAKER_00: He's seventh place in the world ranking right now,
32:56
SPEAKER_00: not in the points, but in the world ranking according to the ranking system.
33:01
SPEAKER_00: And that's opposed to
33:04
SPEAKER_00: Let's see.
33:05
SPEAKER_00: Andrea Lea is ninth in the world rankings.
33:08
SPEAKER_00: So Tiziano, he's now running for normal as of this year.
33:13
SPEAKER_00: Results this year include second place at Smarna Gora Race,
33:16
SPEAKER_00: ninth at Vertical Nisego,
33:17
SPEAKER_00: third at Dre Zinan,
33:19
SPEAKER_00: 5th at the Italian Uphill Champs, 4th at Grossglockner, 3rd at K2 Valtellina.
33:27
SPEAKER_00: I think that Tiziano is probably a slightly better up-down racer than
33:30
SPEAKER_00: a vertical racer,
33:30
SPEAKER_00: so I think I like his chances of scoring points for the up-down race here.
33:35
SPEAKER_00: Andrea Aaliyah and Tiziano have raced four times this year in vertical races,
33:40
SPEAKER_00: and Andrea Aaliyah has beat Tiziano every single time,
33:44
SPEAKER_00: so that's part of why I'm taking Andrea over Tiziano in the uphill,
33:47
SPEAKER_00: but Tiziano did beat Andrea at the K2 Valtolina up-down race.
33:53
SPEAKER_00: Next athlete is Canada's very own Remy LaRue,
33:57
SPEAKER_00: the Canadian sub-ultra specialist and runner for Brooks.
34:01
SPEAKER_00: He has raced here before,
34:02
SPEAKER_00: finishing second place at both uphill and the up-down in 2024,
34:08
SPEAKER_00: along with second in the vertical behind Mika Bedouin-Rousseau last year,
34:14
SPEAKER_00: and he was the winner of the up-down race last year,
34:16
SPEAKER_00: beating out David Sinclair and Alexander Ricard.
34:20
SPEAKER_00: Other results for Remy LaRue this year include a tough day at Sears and all,
34:24
SPEAKER_00: a 19th at Golden Trail Series,
34:26
SPEAKER_00: Pete's Alpine,
34:28
SPEAKER_00: 2nd place at Loon Mountain,
34:29
SPEAKER_00: 8th place at Golden Trail Series, Quebec, the 30K, and 5th at Gorge, 30K.
34:35
SPEAKER_00: Remy is definitely a favorite on this course,
34:37
SPEAKER_00: and he knows it as well as anyone in the men's field.
34:40
SPEAKER_00: I think he's got a shot to go 5-10.
34:43
SPEAKER_00: So I like them better for the up-down than the pure uphill.
34:57
SPEAKER_00: The athlete is the last Italian WMRI specialist, which is going to be Luca Merle.
35:02
SPEAKER_00: He is sponsored by the little-known Spanish footwear brand, HOMA.
35:07
SPEAKER_00: At least, it's little-known in the U.S. Not a lot of people know it.
35:11
SPEAKER_00: Results this year for Luca Merle include...
35:12
SPEAKER_00: 4th at the Three Lakes Rollercoaster Half Marathon race in Poland.
35:18
SPEAKER_00: 34th at Vertical Nasego.
35:19
SPEAKER_00: 12th place at both the Bob and UpDown and Gross Glockner races.
35:24
SPEAKER_00: He was 15th at Broken Arrow 23K and 17th at Broken Arrow VK.
35:28
SPEAKER_00: 10th at Italian Champs UpDown race.
35:31
SPEAKER_00: And I think out of the three Italians here, he's the least likely to go top 10.
35:35
SPEAKER_00: But he might sneak somewhere in that 8-14 range and end up scoring some points.
35:40
SPEAKER_00: Next men's athlete to talk about is Alexander Ricard,
35:42
SPEAKER_00: Canadian athlete with dual third-place finishes at both races last year here,
35:47
SPEAKER_00: along with a win in the uphill race here in 2024.
35:50
SPEAKER_00: Races for Alexander this year, including a disappointing day, it's heroes in all.
35:54
SPEAKER_00: He got a fifth at Mount Washington Road Race behind Mika, Bedouin Rousseau, and Remy Leroux.
35:59
SPEAKER_00: 20th at Broken Arrow 23K and 12th at Broken Arrow Vertical.
36:04
SPEAKER_00: He was 10th at the WMRA Beijing uphill race to start the year.
36:07
SPEAKER_00: Alexander is definitely a threat to do well in the VK,
36:10
SPEAKER_00: but he doesn't quite seem to be on the level that he was at
36:14
SPEAKER_00: where he raced consistently two years ago and had some very,
36:17
SPEAKER_00: very strong uphill results.
36:19
SPEAKER_00: Even last year, not quite there.
36:21
SPEAKER_00: Last year,
36:22
SPEAKER_00: he got 16th at Worlds in the uphill,
36:23
SPEAKER_00: and I don't think anything that he's raced this year is quite to that level.
36:26
SPEAKER_00: Next athlete is Andrew Douglas,
36:28
SPEAKER_00: a Great Britain athlete, currently 10th place in the WMRA point standings.
36:32
SPEAKER_00: And from what I can tell,
36:33
SPEAKER_00: he's the previous WMRA overall champion in 2019, based off their website.
36:38
SPEAKER_00: His results this year include a 9th at the
36:41
SPEAKER_00: The Three Lakes Rollercoaster Half Marathon in Poland.
36:45
SPEAKER_00: 14th at Vauban Uptown in Uphill Race.
36:48
SPEAKER_00: So 14th at both of those.
36:49
SPEAKER_00: 4th at WMRA Beijing Uptown Race to start the year.
36:52
SPEAKER_00: And 6th at that same race, Uphill Only.
36:55
SPEAKER_00: He is bordering on cracking the top 10.
36:57
SPEAKER_00: Probably more likely in the Uptown, honestly, than just the Uphill.
37:03
SPEAKER_00: Next athlete on the men's side is Paul Knight, U.S.
37:05
SPEAKER_00: runner and up-and-comer running with guidance from the trail team after graduating
37:09
SPEAKER_00: from running at Colorado School of Mines recently.
37:13
SPEAKER_00: From his Instagram profile, he said it was a seven-time All-American.
37:17
SPEAKER_00: His results this year include a third place at that...
37:20
SPEAKER_00: Three Lakes rollercoaster race in Poland.
37:23
SPEAKER_00: Ninth at Broken Arrow 23K and a win at Kendall Mountain Run.
37:26
SPEAKER_00: Paul hasn't raced a ton,
37:28
SPEAKER_00: but he is super talented,
37:29
SPEAKER_00: and I like him as a sleeper pick to go and get points at potentially even a top five
37:35
SPEAKER_00: at the up-down race.
37:37
SPEAKER_00: Uphill only,
37:37
SPEAKER_00: Paul hasn't dipped his toes into a ton yet,
37:40
SPEAKER_00: so curious to see what he does there as well,
37:42
SPEAKER_00: but I think Paul Knight could be a sleeper pick for your up-down race.
37:46
SPEAKER_00: Next athlete, Mika Bedouin-Rousseau, former Stanford cross-country runner.
37:51
SPEAKER_00: He's Canadian-American.
37:52
SPEAKER_00: So he's a Canadian-American runner for Brooks,
37:56
SPEAKER_00: who has been dealing with injury the past two years.
37:57
SPEAKER_00: I want to say knee stuff.
37:59
SPEAKER_00: And he's only really been racing uphill here.
38:02
SPEAKER_00: But fortunately for him, he's been crushing some really, really strong uphill races this year.
38:06
SPEAKER_00: And he did win at this event last year, winning the Canadian Championships.
38:10
SPEAKER_00: Like I said, he's got that dual citizenship, I believe.
38:14
SPEAKER_00: So he knows the course super well.
38:15
SPEAKER_00: Other races for Mika include a Wayne at Mount Washington Road Race
38:18
SPEAKER_00: where he beat out Remy Lemieux and Joe Gray.
38:20
SPEAKER_00: He won Mammoth Trail Fest Ascent recently, Whiteface Mountain Ascent, and fourth at Pikes Peak.
38:27
SPEAKER_00: I like Micah a lot for the podium in the uphill race,
38:29
SPEAKER_00: but top five on a bad day,
38:30
SPEAKER_00: honestly, if I had to guess, he is only racing the uphill race.
38:33
SPEAKER_00: I think still because his knee is limited to just uphill running.
38:48
SPEAKER_00: Next athlete is Dan Kurtz,
38:49
SPEAKER_00: another Brooks Sub-Ultra specialist because they have such a stacked Sub-Ultra team
38:54
SPEAKER_00: and I love it.
38:57
SPEAKER_00: Dan is an athlete very familiar with the course having run to a win in
39:00
SPEAKER_00: the up-down here in 2024 in that very, very
39:05
SPEAKER_00: He was the third in the uphill only that year.
39:07
SPEAKER_00: It's been a little bit of a shaky year for Dan Kurtz,
39:09
SPEAKER_00: with a fourth at Kismet Cliffs most recently,
39:12
SPEAKER_00: where I believe he went off course, and I think it cost him at least one spot.
39:16
SPEAKER_00: Dan's also had a DNF at Ragged 50K,
39:19
SPEAKER_00: which I think was some kind of US trail champs,
39:22
SPEAKER_00: and he had a DNF at Maradona Mont Blanc.
39:24
SPEAKER_00: He did race earlier this year to second at Sunapee Scramble to start the year.
39:29
SPEAKER_00: Dan's a better up-down racer than a pure vertical racer,
39:31
SPEAKER_00: so I like his chances to podium in the up-down race,
39:34
SPEAKER_00: but think a top 10 in the uphill is also within the realm of possibility.
39:38
SPEAKER_00: But I suspect he'll be better at the up-down.
39:40
SPEAKER_00: Next athlete is Josh Potvin,
39:42
SPEAKER_00: Merrill athlete,
39:43
SPEAKER_00: Canadian,
39:44
SPEAKER_00: previous member of Canadian Worlds team last year in the short trail
39:48
SPEAKER_00: where he finished 49th overall.
39:51
SPEAKER_00: Josh Potvin has had plenty of success in 50Ks,
39:53
SPEAKER_00: including a win at Gorge Waterfalls 50K last year and a third
39:56
SPEAKER_00: at UTMB Whistler 50K this year to go with sixth place finish at Beast
40:01
SPEAKER_00: at Big Creek Sky Race.
40:03
SPEAKER_00: Josh doesn't race a ton of short stuff like this, so I'm curious to see him mix it up.
40:08
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so that's Josh Poppin.
40:10
SPEAKER_00: Next athlete,
40:11
SPEAKER_00: Adam Strolund,
40:13
SPEAKER_00: an American runner who ran at University of Nevada at Reno, if I recall correctly.
40:17
SPEAKER_00: He had a breakout day at Sierras and All,
40:19
SPEAKER_00: finishing 25th overall in 2nd American, only behind Christian Allen.
40:23
SPEAKER_00: Adam raced 2.41 for Sia Janal, so very, fast time.
40:27
SPEAKER_00: His other results this year include two second places at both Mammoth 26K and Ascent.
40:32
SPEAKER_00: He was 15th at Golden Trail Series Quebec 30K.
40:35
SPEAKER_00: I'm really curious to see what he can do here and wouldn't be surprised to see him
40:38
SPEAKER_00: in the top 10 of either field.
40:40
SPEAKER_00: I think I like him better in the up-down race,
40:42
SPEAKER_00: but I could see him in the top 10 of both the fields.
40:45
SPEAKER_00: Next, men's athlete Grant Colligan,
40:47
SPEAKER_00: another up-and-comer and member of the trail team who has had a great season so far,
40:51
SPEAKER_00: with results including third at Gorge 30K,
40:53
SPEAKER_00: 11th at Broken Arrow Ascent,
40:55
SPEAKER_00: and fifth place at both Pikes Peak Ascent and Mammoth Ascent most recently.
40:59
SPEAKER_00: I like Grant better in the up-down race than the pure uphill,
41:03
SPEAKER_00: but definitely somebody to look out for.
41:06
SPEAKER_00: And next athlete,
41:07
SPEAKER_00: talk about Casey Campbell,
41:08
SPEAKER_00: US runner who ran for University of Oregon back in the day.
41:13
SPEAKER_00: And he, I think, still lives in Oregon right now.
41:16
SPEAKER_00: He's had some very good races this year, including 6th at Broken Arrow Ascent, 11th.
41:20
SPEAKER_00: 11th at Broken Arrow 23K,
41:22
SPEAKER_00: and most recently, 8th place at the Three Lakes Roller Coaster Race in Poland.
41:27
SPEAKER_00: He has a decent chance of going top 10 here in the uphill race, in my opinion, Casey Campbell.
41:33
SPEAKER_00: Last athlete I want to talk about is Kieran Ney.
41:35
SPEAKER_00: 9th at Broken Arrow Ascent,
41:36
SPEAKER_00: first male to the top for Pikes Peak Marathon,
41:39
SPEAKER_00: but his hip locked up, costing him the win on the way down.
41:42
SPEAKER_00: Kieran also went 42nd at Sierra's in all in 2 hours and 46 minutes,
41:45
SPEAKER_00: and 17th at Broken Arrow 23K.
41:47
SPEAKER_00: So he could be somebody to look out for.
41:50
SPEAKER_00: Before I make my picks,
41:51
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to talk about some heads up that Julian gave me about the Canadian men.
41:57
SPEAKER_00: So he said, Remy LaRue's menace as always knows the course like no one else.
42:01
SPEAKER_00: Alexander Ricard is an animal, enough said.
42:03
SPEAKER_00: Dan Heschuk finished fourth in both races in 2024 and will be looking to do better this year.
42:09
SPEAKER_00: Alex Campbell just won Minotaur and he's in top form.
42:12
SPEAKER_00: Xavier Lemaître is a total sleeper, XC local star, watch out for him.
42:19
SPEAKER_00: Kevin Robertson is another trail newcomer,
42:21
SPEAKER_00: sub 4-minute miler, just finished on the podium at Cirque Series, Jay Peak.
42:26
SPEAKER_00: And then Alec Purnell is perhaps the biggest dark horse,
42:28
SPEAKER_00: another sub 4-minute miler, past cross-country university national champion.
42:34
SPEAKER_00: It's his trail debut, so that's Alec Purnell.
42:38
SPEAKER_00: Alright,
42:38
SPEAKER_00: so my picks for the men's side,
42:41
SPEAKER_00: all the usual caveats likely to change them will also give you people to swap in
42:46
SPEAKER_00: and also keep an eye open.
42:48
SPEAKER_00: Last thing I want to say actually is make sure you refresh this like a day before
42:51
SPEAKER_00: and see if anyone has dropped because there's no quicker way to lose points than
42:54
SPEAKER_00: to pick somebody who's not racing.
42:56
SPEAKER_00: All right, so I'm going to start with the uphill only race.
42:59
SPEAKER_00: Fifth place, I'm going to go Andrea Alia.
43:01
SPEAKER_00: One of these Italians is going to end up in the top ten, if not two of them.
43:04
SPEAKER_00: I think he's the most likely to do best in the uphill only race.
43:08
SPEAKER_00: Fourth place, I'm going to go Cam Smith.
43:09
SPEAKER_00: This was a tough one.
43:11
SPEAKER_00: I've got a lot of Americans up here.
43:12
SPEAKER_00: I think Cam,
43:14
SPEAKER_00: I might have him up as high as second place,
43:16
SPEAKER_00: but I also feel like this is a little bit more runnable of an uphill,
43:19
SPEAKER_00: and kind of the steeper it is, the better Cam gets.
43:22
SPEAKER_00: So I'm going to go fourth place Cam Smith for the uphill.
43:25
SPEAKER_00: Third place, I'm going to go Mason Copey.
43:27
SPEAKER_00: Like I said,
43:27
SPEAKER_00: we haven't seen him race pure uphill,
43:29
SPEAKER_00: but he's got really amazing leg speed,
43:31
SPEAKER_00: really amazing turnover,
43:32
SPEAKER_00: and I think that his climbing on these up-down races has been good enough
43:35
SPEAKER_00: that it's got him to the top first.
43:38
SPEAKER_00: Second place, I'm going to go Micah Bedouin-Rousseau.
43:41
SPEAKER_00: He knows the course super well, has done well here consistently.
43:44
SPEAKER_00: Even though he's banged up,
43:46
SPEAKER_00: he still is in amazing aerobic fitness, and he's a very, very good uphill runner.
43:51
SPEAKER_00: For the win, I'm going to go Brayen Rodriguez.
43:53
SPEAKER_00: So I'm liable to swap up that order for anyone in the top four,
43:56
SPEAKER_00: honestly, because I kind of am having a tough time picking.
44:00
SPEAKER_00: For people I would consider swapping in,
44:02
SPEAKER_00: I think that Remy LaRue will be somewhere in the top 10,
44:07
SPEAKER_00: probably more in the back half, but is very likely to be up there.
44:10
SPEAKER_00: I think that...
44:14
SPEAKER_00: Let's see.
44:15
SPEAKER_00: Alexander Ricard, if he's at Previous Fitness, he could definitely be up there.
44:20
SPEAKER_00: Paul Knight is somebody to look out.
44:22
SPEAKER_00: Paul Knight and Dan Kurtz.
44:23
SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of Americans,
44:23
SPEAKER_00: honestly, that are really, really in good form and could be a danger here.
44:27
SPEAKER_00: I think Dan's very likely to go somewhere in the top ten.
44:29
SPEAKER_00: I just don't see him in the top five.
44:31
SPEAKER_00: That's Dan Kurtz.
44:32
SPEAKER_00: And I think Paul Knight honestly looks like he's having a really good year and not overracing.
44:36
SPEAKER_00: So I think those are both good picks.
44:37
SPEAKER_00: I know it's a lot of Americans, but the men's field is a little bit more American-heavy.
44:42
SPEAKER_00: On the up-down race for 5-1,
44:47
SPEAKER_00: I've got a little bit,
44:48
SPEAKER_00: I've got honestly pretty similar characters, but swapped in some new ones.
44:52
SPEAKER_00: Fifth place, I got Romy LaRue.
44:53
SPEAKER_00: I think he's a very, very strong pick.
44:55
SPEAKER_00: He's going to do better in the up-down than the uphill is my suspicion.
44:59
SPEAKER_00: Fourth place, I'm still going to go Cam Smith.
45:00
SPEAKER_00: Previously,
45:01
SPEAKER_00: Cam would have just been an uphill pick,
45:02
SPEAKER_00: but he's really improved his downhill running, and I think I like him there as well.
45:06
SPEAKER_00: Third place, I'm going to go Brayen Rodriguez.
45:08
SPEAKER_00: Not a double win, but a double podium.
45:10
SPEAKER_00: Second place, I'll go Dan Kurtz.
45:12
SPEAKER_00: Much better up down than Just uphill and is the fastest course racer here.
45:19
SPEAKER_00: For the gold, I'm going to go Mason Copey with the win.
45:22
SPEAKER_00: So double podium.
45:23
SPEAKER_00: He's already beat Dan at Sunapee earlier this year.
45:26
SPEAKER_00: I don't think he's lost yet this year.
45:28
SPEAKER_00: Well, I take it back.
45:29
SPEAKER_00: He's lost at Broken Arrow 23K.
45:31
SPEAKER_00: We got sixth in stupid stack field.
45:33
SPEAKER_00: But other than that, he's just winning pretty much everything he's touching this year.
45:36
SPEAKER_00: So I like Mason's form.
45:38
SPEAKER_00: I like him for the up-down.
45:39
SPEAKER_00: I think he's going to do really, really well here.
45:41
SPEAKER_00: People I'd consider subbing in or if somebody has a bad day on the uphill.
45:48
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, basically, like I said, keep an eye out for the uphill.
45:50
SPEAKER_00: See what people do.
45:51
SPEAKER_00: I think Tiziano Moya is a really good pick for points.
45:55
SPEAKER_00: I think still that Paul Knight and Adam Strolland are good picks.
45:59
SPEAKER_00: And then I realized I left out Aries Reading for the up-down because he's only doing
46:03
SPEAKER_00: the up-down.
46:04
SPEAKER_00: But he is definitely a very, very good pick to sub.
46:09
SPEAKER_00: And he got a win at Mammoth 26K,
46:12
SPEAKER_00: fourth at Sun of Peace Scramble,
46:13
SPEAKER_00: and second at Cannons 25K, just behind David Sinclair.
46:16
SPEAKER_00: So Aries Reading is also a very, very good pick for the up-down.
46:23
SPEAKER_00: Alright, so that is my preview for Defe de Coulard.
46:28
SPEAKER_00: Looking forward, I know that we have Kodiak by UTMB50K.
46:33
SPEAKER_00: I don't think I'll get a preview out for that,
46:35
SPEAKER_00: but I think pretty handily, Ana Gibson's the favorite on the women's side.
46:38
SPEAKER_00: Eli Hemming is the favorite on the men's side, although there's a chance he doesn't finish.
46:42
SPEAKER_00: And then...
46:44
SPEAKER_00: I think I've got, on the women's side, all Americans in my top five.
46:50
SPEAKER_00: Not much of an international field compared to the men's side,
46:54
SPEAKER_00: which does have Roberto Di Lorenzi coming over from Switzerland,
46:58
SPEAKER_00: Miguel Corbera-Rubio coming over from Spain.
47:02
SPEAKER_00: And a little bit more diversity, but not by much, honestly.
47:07
SPEAKER_00: So I don't think I'll get a preview for Kodiak by UTMB.
47:11
SPEAKER_00: And then looking for a diagonal day food, definitely the goal.
47:14
SPEAKER_00: And Tom Plier,
47:15
SPEAKER_00: one of those two,
47:15
SPEAKER_00: if not both of them,
47:16
SPEAKER_00: the goal is to get out of So this has been another episode
47:23
SPEAKER_00: of Let's Talk Trailrunning.
47:24
SPEAKER_00: I hope it was helpful.
47:25
SPEAKER_00: If you enjoy it, like, subscribe, share it with friends, put it on your stories, whatever.
47:30
SPEAKER_00: I don't do a very good job of promoting it,
47:31
SPEAKER_00: but I hope it's helpful and I hope you keep enjoying it.
47:34
SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much.