Latest / Let's Talk Trail Running / 2026 Transgrancanaria Classic Race Preview

Transcript

2026 Transgrancanaria Classic Race Preview · Let's Talk Trail Running

0:00
SPEAKER_01: Hello and welcome to Let's Talk Troning.
0:03
This is your host,
0:04
Robert Crosser,
0:05
and this is the podcast where we talk about upcoming races on
0:10
fantasy free trail that's fantasy.freetrail.com the place where
0:15
you can go and make
0:16
top picks for upcoming trail races and both the sub ultra and
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ultra running space
0:23
on today's episode we have a very exciting preview for the one
0:27
and only trans grand
0:29
SPEAKER_01: canaria race which we'll talk about a little bit here
0:32
In the meantime,
0:33
I want to apologize in advance if my voice sounds a little bit
0:35
off.
0:35
SPEAKER_01: I'm definitely coming down with a wee bit of a cold.
0:38
So I'll do my best to try to prevent the hacking and coughing
0:43
and try to limit the
0:45
SPEAKER_01: throat clearing as this episode previews.
0:48
SPEAKER_01: In the meantime,
0:49
SPEAKER_01: I am still recording from the United States,
0:51
SPEAKER_01: which is very fortunate development as of right now.
0:55
So I'm very excited to talk about Trans Grand Canaria from my
0:59
friend's house in Boise,
1:00
Idaho.
1:02
SPEAKER_01: And looking forward,
1:04
it looks like we got some more races populating the calendar
1:08
for free trail.
1:10
So that's going to be exciting to talk about some of the
1:11
upcoming Sky Races and
1:13
SPEAKER_01: then eventually the Big Alta as well,
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SPEAKER_01: which I might be able to race,
1:19
SPEAKER_01: but we'll see.
1:20
SPEAKER_01: So Trans Grand Canaria.
1:23
SPEAKER_01: Sorry, I'm a little bit scatterbrained today.
1:25
SPEAKER_01: But yeah, Transcrank Canaria.
1:26
It's one of those epic island races where you get to just run
1:30
across the island.
1:31
SPEAKER_01: And the first one across the island wins.
1:33
SPEAKER_01: And it's kind of an early season classic.
1:36
SPEAKER_01: It's on the World Trail major circuit this year.
1:39
SPEAKER_01: It's around 120 kilometers, 126 kilometers.
1:45
SPEAKER_01: And it's just one of those cool races that is bucket list race,
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SPEAKER_01: always has really good fields,
1:50
SPEAKER_01: has some really historical performances.
1:53
And last year we got to see a really cool showdown with some
1:56
good runners on the
1:56
SPEAKER_01: men's side and also really,
1:59
SPEAKER_01: really good performances on the female side as well.
2:02
SPEAKER_01: So without further ado, I'm going to kind of jump in.
2:03
SPEAKER_01: I'm going to read the description of the race from I Run Far.
2:07
SPEAKER_01: I have the article linked in the show notes.
2:10
SPEAKER_01: I like to use their race previews.
2:11
SPEAKER_01: So this one comes from Deki Fortune and her and their article.
2:17
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I heard it, I believe, last year from the Ironifar results.
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SPEAKER_01: So I will have that.
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SPEAKER_01: I will have that linked in the show notes.
2:26
But the description of the race says that Transgaren Canaria
2:30
Classic starts on the
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SPEAKER_01: beach in Las Palmas in the northeast of the island.
2:34
And it winds 78.3 miles or 126 kilometers to the finish in Las
2:40
Palomas on the southern coast.
2:42
The course entails more than 22,300 feet or 6,800 meters of
2:44
elevation gain.
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SPEAKER_01: most of which is concentrated between 12 and 56 miles or 20k and 90k,
2:53
culminating with the giant volcanic peak of Roque Nublo before
2:56
a grueling descent
2:57
SPEAKER_01: to the finish.
2:58
So basically most of the climbing is in the middle of the race,
3:01
the middle 70k of the race.
3:03
And then they have a huge descent to finish the race and wreck
3:06
their quads at the end.
3:08
SPEAKER_01: If I'm not mistaken, this race also starts at midnight.
3:11
SPEAKER_01: So that's tricky.
3:12
SPEAKER_01: You know, for a lot of people, they're awake all day.
3:15
It definitely starts at night,
3:16
but I'm pretty sure it starts at midnight.
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SPEAKER_01: It might even be 9 p.m., but I think it's midnight.
3:20
So it's one of those tricky things for runners to get used to
3:22
because you eat a
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SPEAKER_01: whole day of food,
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SPEAKER_01: you don't sleep,
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SPEAKER_01: and then you just go into the race and then run all night.
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SPEAKER_01: So that's going to be another thing that runners have to manage as well.
3:32
SPEAKER_01: Last year on the course,
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SPEAKER_01: we saw an epic battle on the men's side between Caleb Olson,
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SPEAKER_01: John Alvin,
3:38
SPEAKER_01: and Mr.
3:39
SPEAKER_01: Josh Wade,
3:40
all of them going underneath the previous course record that
3:42
Paul Kapil set in 2019
3:45
SPEAKER_01: of 1242.
3:46
SPEAKER_01: And then we saw Henriette Alvin win pretty decisively by over a...
3:51
SPEAKER_01: uh, hour in the race.
3:52
SPEAKER_01: And it was almost an Alvin sweep.
3:54
SPEAKER_01: Uh,
3:55
SPEAKER_01: unfortunately,
3:56
SPEAKER_01: not unfortunately,
3:56
SPEAKER_01: but John got second place to Caleb Olson,
3:59
SPEAKER_01: uh,
3:59
despite them both going on a course record and Henry out one
4:02
pretty decisively.
4:04
So that's what happened last,
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that last year,
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this year we have a really exciting race.
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We got some,
4:08
uh,
4:08
really,
4:08
really strong runners,
4:09
uh,
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on both the men's and women's side.
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SPEAKER_01: I think the field is unanimously better on both sides.
4:14
Um,
4:14
but we've got some heavy,
4:16
heavy hitters,
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including we've got CCC winners,
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SPEAKER_01: in both John Albin and Tom Evans and Hayden Hawks.
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SPEAKER_01: And then obviously Tom Evans just won UTMB last year.
4:28
SPEAKER_01: Jonathan Albin's also won OCC as well.
4:30
We've got Hannes Namburger,
4:33
the three-time Lavarado winner,
4:35
two-time UTMB top 10 finisher.
4:36
SPEAKER_01: We've got Josh Wade,
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SPEAKER_01: the breakout star of UK breakout star of the year last year,
4:42
SPEAKER_01: with some really,
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SPEAKER_01: really good finishes,
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including a top three here to kick off the year and a top three
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at UTMB to end the
4:47
SPEAKER_01: year.
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on the women's side we've got soon maya buddha coming fresh off
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a trail run of the
4:52
year top 10 uh vote overall uh we've got henriette albin
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returning champ claudia
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trump always a podium here uh lc davis who's a really strong
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technical runner the
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grittier the course gets the better she does and then lynn
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chimp who's also known
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SPEAKER_01: for being a really gritty tough runner as well
5:10
SPEAKER_01: So Katerina Dombraska and Melanie Delassois as well.
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So we got an exciting field on both sides and I'm really,
5:18
really excited to dive into.
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SPEAKER_01: And I just finished taking my notes as I'm looking at it.
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SPEAKER_01: I think we're about three days and 19 hours out.
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SPEAKER_01: So I'm trying to get this preview out time for you guys to listen to it.
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uh other things too it the podcast has been doing really well
5:32
the last three uh
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episodes at least previews have gone over a thousand uh a
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thousand downloads which
5:39
is really awesome that's really cool to see the podcast growing
5:41
and really cool to
5:42
have your guys's support so thank you again as always i know i
5:46
say thank you a lot
5:47
but i really appreciate it it's really been a fun thing and a
5:49
fun way to interact
5:50
SPEAKER_01: with people
5:52
SPEAKER_01: throughout my time doing it.
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So keep up the listening and keep up the support and feel free
5:58
to reach out because
5:58
I'm pretty receptive when people message me and I enjoy talking
6:02
to people while
6:02
SPEAKER_01: trail running.
6:03
SPEAKER_01: So don't be shy.
6:04
SPEAKER_01: All right, let's get onto the men's side first for the men's preview.
6:09
SPEAKER_01: We're going to jump in.
6:10
SPEAKER_01: So some storylines that I identified.
6:13
SPEAKER_01: So I said Britain's big three are coming to do battle.
6:16
SPEAKER_01: I'd consider that.
6:17
SPEAKER_01: John Elvin,
6:19
SPEAKER_01: John Alvin,
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SPEAKER_01: Tom Evans are unanimously,
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SPEAKER_01: you know,
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SPEAKER_01: probably the two biggest trail runners in the UK scene.
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SPEAKER_01: And then breakout star last year,
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SPEAKER_01: Josh Wade,
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SPEAKER_01: but I think he's quietly cementing himself in that Britain's big three.
6:30
SPEAKER_01: So I'd say UK's big three or Britain's big three coming into battle.
6:34
SPEAKER_01: Is this a UTMB way too early preview?
6:37
SPEAKER_01: If I'm not mistaken,
6:38
SPEAKER_01: Tom Evans,
6:39
SPEAKER_01: John Alvin,
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SPEAKER_01: Hannes Domburger,
6:41
SPEAKER_01: Peyton Hawks,
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SPEAKER_01: and Josh Wade are all on the start list for UTMB.
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SPEAKER_01: I'm pretty confident about that.
6:46
SPEAKER_01: I know at least Evans, Alvin,
6:49
SPEAKER_01: and Hayden for sure.
6:51
SPEAKER_01: And I'm 95% sure that Han is and Josh Wade.
6:55
SPEAKER_01: So this is a way too early UTMB preview.
6:57
SPEAKER_01: Will this have some implications for later in the season on UTMB?
7:01
SPEAKER_01: Other questions or storylines I have,
7:02
does the course record drop for a second year in a row from
7:05
Caleb's outstanding,
7:07
SPEAKER_01: his 12 hour and 17 minute finish last year?
7:09
SPEAKER_01: So we've got about 23 minutes off the course record.
7:11
SPEAKER_01: So does the course record go down for a second year in a row?
7:14
SPEAKER_01: And then I also propose the question,
7:17
does the pace come out so hot that we see carnage up front in
7:20
an interesting podium
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SPEAKER_01: or top five because of the wreckage?
7:23
SPEAKER_01: And who also handles the midnight start well?
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SPEAKER_01: So I think we could see some crazy things happen.
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SPEAKER_01: I remember two years ago when Zach Miller,
7:33
SPEAKER_01: Jiaxing Shen,
7:34
and a handful of other Spanish runners who are kind of known to
7:36
come out hot.
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they pushed the pace really early and they kind of paid the
7:39
price for it and then
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SPEAKER_01: ended up finishing the race as strongly as they expected.
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I think Shen and Zach Miller dropped to like sixth and seventh
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because it just came
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SPEAKER_01: out too hard.
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And it's possible that they had stomach issues too with the
7:49
nighttime start.
7:51
SPEAKER_01: If I had to guess,
7:52
SPEAKER_01: in my opinion,
7:52
I think the most vulnerable or likely to drop out of the big
7:55
favorites that we just
7:56
SPEAKER_01: mentioned,
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SPEAKER_01: I think it would be either Hayden Hawks or Tom Evans,
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SPEAKER_01: quite frankly.
8:00
And I think the least likely to drop would probably be John
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Albert or Josh Wade.
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SPEAKER_01: I think Han is ready and we've seen him have rough days.
8:06
SPEAKER_01: So I think he's kind of in the middle of that pack,
8:08
SPEAKER_01: but that's just kind of like a way too early discussion.
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SPEAKER_01: So as we can tell, we're talking about the men's field right now.
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SPEAKER_01: So let's jump into the men's field.
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First up is going to be Tom Evans,
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highest UTMB index,
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because this is an order of UTMB index.
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SPEAKER_01: Obviously,
8:22
SPEAKER_01: reigning UTMB champ,
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SPEAKER_01: they didn't technically call him the course record holder,
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SPEAKER_01: but he kind of is.
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SPEAKER_01: I know they changed the course last year,
8:29
SPEAKER_01: but I think it's probably pretty safe to say he went like,
8:31
SPEAKER_01: what,
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SPEAKER_01: 1917,
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SPEAKER_01: 1918?
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SPEAKER_01: It seems like if it's a pretty comparable course,
8:36
SPEAKER_01: maybe if it ran a little faster,
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it still seems like he had some margin for error from being
8:40
about 20 minutes up on
8:41
SPEAKER_01: Jim's UTMB course record.
8:42
SPEAKER_01: So I think we can kind of call him the course record holder.
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I know you're going to say it's not exactly the same course,
8:47
but it never is with UTMB.
8:48
But obviously a dominant performance last year won by a really
8:51
big margin or a good
8:52
margin over Ben Demon and finally got it right at UTMB after a
8:57
couple of DNFs in a
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SPEAKER_01: row.
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SPEAKER_01: Last year, he had an awesome season.
9:00
SPEAKER_01: He had three ultras with three wins.
9:02
He finished top 10 in Troy Run of the Year voting because of
9:06
his UTMB win.
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SPEAKER_01: And he should be on the start list again this year at UTMB.
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SPEAKER_01: So,
9:13
which is exciting because it looks like UTMB is shaping up to
9:15
have the previous
9:16
SPEAKER_01: four winners of UTMB.
9:18
SPEAKER_01: If we have Tom Evans, Vincent Bouillard, Jim, and Killian to the line.
9:22
SPEAKER_01: I'm speaking way too early, knock on wood.
9:24
SPEAKER_01: It's only...
9:25
SPEAKER_01: March and we still have months until UTMB,
9:28
but hopefully we have all those are intending to run UTMB and
9:32
hopefully they all
9:33
SPEAKER_01: make it to the start line healthy.
9:34
SPEAKER_01: So Tom Evans,
9:35
British ultra running legend wins everything ranging from
9:38
Western States to UTMB to
9:39
SPEAKER_01: CCC.
9:40
SPEAKER_01: He's one of the most versatile athletes in our sport.
9:44
One thing I try to look at this race,
9:45
especially with all these really,
9:46
really good runners is
9:47
i really wanted to know how they stacked up head to head so i'm
9:50
going to talk a lot
9:50
about head-to-head matchups and if you guys uh navigate the
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fantasy free chill page
9:55
if you go to stats so you click the hamburger menu drop down
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bar you go to stats
9:59
you go to head to head and you can just type in two athletes
10:02
and see how they've
10:02
competed against each other so i'm going to reference some
10:04
head-to-head uh matchups
10:06
and results in this because i thought it was interesting
10:08
especially since we have
10:09
so many big names in this men's field so looking at tom evans's
10:12
head-to-heads um
10:15
SPEAKER_01: Let's look first and foremost at his fellow compatriot,
10:18
SPEAKER_01: John Albin,
10:19
SPEAKER_01: both of them known to be very,
10:20
SPEAKER_01: very good.
10:21
SPEAKER_01: Against John Albin, Tom Evans is 2-1.
10:25
SPEAKER_01: He has the 2-1 edge over John Albin.
10:28
SPEAKER_01: He beat John Albin last year at UTMB,
10:30
SPEAKER_01: where he won in Albin DNF,
10:32
SPEAKER_01: and he also beat John Albin at Pena Galusa in 2018.
10:35
SPEAKER_01: And then the only loss to John Albin was at Transvalkanya in 2024,
10:39
SPEAKER_01: when Albin won overall,
10:40
SPEAKER_01: and Evans tied for second place.
10:43
SPEAKER_01: Um,
10:43
SPEAKER_01: so head to head edge Evans over Alvin for right now,
10:46
SPEAKER_01: but Alvin could tie that up and make it even two to two,
10:48
SPEAKER_01: uh,
10:49
SPEAKER_01: head to head with Hanna's non burger is interesting.
10:52
SPEAKER_01: Tom Evans and Hanna's are tied up three,
10:55
SPEAKER_01: uh,
10:55
SPEAKER_01: three,
10:55
SPEAKER_01: three,
10:56
SPEAKER_01: three,
10:56
SPEAKER_01: or excuse me,
10:57
SPEAKER_01: three and three with each other.
10:58
SPEAKER_01: So this will be a tiebreaker between Hanna's and Tom, uh, Tom Evans, um,
11:03
SPEAKER_01: Tom has beat Hans at TransValcania in 2024.
11:06
He beat him at UTMB in 22,
11:09
and he beat him at the Long Trail World Champs in 2018.
11:13
SPEAKER_01: Hannes has beat Tom at Labaredo in 2024,
11:16
SPEAKER_01: which was a really good battle,
11:18
and he kind of came back from behind and I think made a move on
11:21
him late in the
11:21
SPEAKER_01: race.
11:22
And Hans also beat Evans at UTMB in 2024 and 2023 when Evans
11:25
had his back-to-back K&Fs.
11:30
SPEAKER_01: So Tom Evans against Hayden Hawks.
11:32
SPEAKER_01: Tom has the two-to-one edge.
11:33
SPEAKER_01: He beat Hawks at UTMB last year in Western in 2023,
11:36
SPEAKER_01: whereas Hayden beat Tom Evans in CCC in 2017 when he won it.
11:44
SPEAKER_01: I think this is going to be a great race for Tom personally,
11:46
SPEAKER_01: and I'm excited to see him race a classic event,
11:48
SPEAKER_01: but I'm curious how sharp he'll be this early in the season.
11:51
I could see him kind of using this as a tune-up race or not
11:53
really an A race.
11:55
SPEAKER_01: Him and Scott Johnson tend to not race a ton.
11:58
SPEAKER_01: But I'm curious how he will do.
12:00
I know it's my understanding he's been doing some in the UK and
12:03
he's been posting
12:04
SPEAKER_01: some stuff about that.
12:05
SPEAKER_01: So kind of similar to the cross country,
12:07
but a little bit longer and like more strenuous on the descents
12:12
and stuff like
12:12
SPEAKER_01: that.
12:14
SPEAKER_01: But I'm curious how.
12:16
SPEAKER_01: He races here.
12:18
SPEAKER_01: He has raced at Trans Grand Canary before,
12:20
SPEAKER_01: but he raced,
12:21
SPEAKER_01: this is the classic race that we're previewing,
12:23
SPEAKER_01: which is the 126-ish K.
12:26
SPEAKER_01: He raced the advanced race and won it in 2022.
12:29
So he has some experience on the course,
12:32
just not this exact course per se.
12:36
SPEAKER_01: All right,
12:37
the next heavy-heading British trail running superstar that we
12:41
are going to preview
12:42
SPEAKER_01: is going to be Mr.
12:43
SPEAKER_01: John Alvin.
12:44
I view him in the category of kind of versatile and ultra trail
12:50
running and
12:50
SPEAKER_01: sub-ultra running royalty.
12:52
He's on that level of like Killian,
12:54
Jornay,
12:54
or Francesco Pupi versatility in my opinion.
12:57
He's got the ability to win everything from Marathon of Mont
12:59
Blanc to UTMB and in between.
13:02
SPEAKER_01: I know we haven't seen him have the success at UTMB yet,
13:04
SPEAKER_01: but he's kind of just slowly stepping his way up.
13:06
SPEAKER_01: He's got to win at OCC.
13:07
SPEAKER_01: He's got to win at CCC.
13:09
And now he's just coming for that UTMB win to really cement him
13:12
in kind of,
13:12
SPEAKER_01: you know,
13:13
SPEAKER_01: the GOAT conversation.
13:14
SPEAKER_01: Last year,
13:15
SPEAKER_01: he had a great race here in a battle with Caleb,
13:18
SPEAKER_01: went well under the course record,
13:20
but unfortunately came second place about eight minutes behind
13:22
Caleb in 12.25.
13:25
Following that,
13:25
he had wins at Ultra Trail Snowden,
13:27
a 100k pretty handily over Machu Blanchard.
13:31
And then he kind of had a consolation win at Ultra Pyreneal
13:34
100K because he came up
13:35
SPEAKER_01: short of his A race,
13:36
SPEAKER_01: UTMB.
13:37
SPEAKER_01: I think he had to drop around 120 or 130K.
13:38
SPEAKER_01: I want to say maybe Treant.
13:41
SPEAKER_01: I'm totally guesstimating and just going off memory.
13:44
SPEAKER_01: And I think he was right around third place.
13:46
SPEAKER_01: So he was running a really,
13:46
SPEAKER_01: really good race,
13:47
SPEAKER_01: but he just ultimately had to drop and didn't handle it well.
13:51
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
13:53
SPEAKER_01: So looking at John Alvin's head-to-heads,
13:56
SPEAKER_01: we already talked about against Evans,
13:57
SPEAKER_01: but against Hayden Hawks,
13:59
SPEAKER_01: John Alvin has the edge three to one.
14:00
He beat Hayden at CCC in 2022,
14:03
OCC in 2021,
14:05
and WMRA champs in Argentina in 2019.
14:09
But Hayden did have the head-to-head edge in the most recent
14:12
matchup at 2024 Western States.
14:16
SPEAKER_01: John Albin's head-to-head against Hannes Namburger.
14:18
SPEAKER_01: John Albin's 2-0 with both wins coming at Transylvania in 2019 and 2024.
14:24
SPEAKER_01: I think John Albin's got to be an obvious favorite at this race.
14:29
SPEAKER_01: Maybe not, you know, favorite to win.
14:30
SPEAKER_01: I think we could debate that.
14:31
SPEAKER_01: But I mean, I think...
14:32
SPEAKER_01: You know, he's got the most recent and best course experience.
14:37
SPEAKER_01: And I think if we're talking out of the big heavy hitters like Hayden,
14:40
SPEAKER_01: Hans,
14:41
SPEAKER_01: Albin and Hawks,
14:43
SPEAKER_01: I think that Albin still,
14:44
SPEAKER_01: you know,
14:44
kind of has the advantage with having raced this race well
14:47
before and so recently.
14:49
SPEAKER_01: And just he's he's such a consistent racer, like he doesn't miss.
14:53
SPEAKER_01: So.
14:54
SPEAKER_01: Um,
14:55
SPEAKER_01: yeah,
14:55
I think if I had to pick out all the big names that we've seen
14:57
him beat early
14:58
SPEAKER_01: season,
14:58
SPEAKER_01: Tom Evans before I trans old Kanya and 2024,
15:01
and he's coming off a great race in last year's race and he
15:04
doesn't miss often or
15:05
SPEAKER_01: hardly at all.
15:06
SPEAKER_01: Um, I expect his race to be very smart, very cool and calculated.
15:10
SPEAKER_01: I don't really expect him to get tied up in going out too hard.
15:13
SPEAKER_01: Like he just, he just races really smart and really mature.
15:16
SPEAKER_01: So I think that if there's chaos up front,
15:19
Alvin's not going to get caught up in it or he's going to find
15:22
ways to avoid it.
15:23
SPEAKER_01: So.
15:24
SPEAKER_01: That is John Albin.
15:25
Next racer is Hayden Hawks,
15:26
the Hoka athlete,
15:27
multiple-time CCC winner and U.S.
15:29
SPEAKER_01: ultra running legend.
15:31
He's in his 11th year or so of ultra running after he burst
15:34
onto the scene with his
15:35
SPEAKER_01: win at Spico in 2016.
15:37
SPEAKER_01: So he's been around the block for a while.
15:39
SPEAKER_01: His last year's season included a third place at UTMB Chiang Mai 50K.
15:43
SPEAKER_01: He had a win at the Kodiak 100 miler.
15:46
SPEAKER_01: DNF at UTMB trying to bounce back too soon from a knee injury.
15:50
SPEAKER_01: And then he had a win at Terrowire at 50K.
15:52
So he kind of spent the bulk of the season injured and then
15:54
bouncing back from it.
15:56
We're going to see him step up in distance to go for UTMB again
15:59
this year.
15:59
SPEAKER_01: So this is an early season tune-up and kind of test piece.
16:02
SPEAKER_01: And this will be a good competitive race for him to throw down at.
16:06
He has raced here at Transgranic Canaria twice before in 2019
16:10
and 2022,
16:10
but both were to DNFs.
16:12
SPEAKER_01: So perhaps the third time's the charm,
16:14
seeing how he's been out there for a few weeks with his family
16:17
to recce the course.
16:19
SPEAKER_01: I think he's a favorite to podium,
16:20
but I give the edge to Alvin or Evans over him and potentially
16:24
even to Hannes.
16:25
I think if somebody is going to DNF this race,
16:27
I think,
16:27
you know,
16:27
either...
16:28
SPEAKER_01: I think Hayden or Evans will be most likely to DNF.
16:31
SPEAKER_01: And then, like I said, I think Alvin and Josh Wade are the least likely.
16:35
SPEAKER_01: And Hannes is somewhere in the middle,
16:36
but I think Hannes does really good with these grindy type of
16:39
steep up-down
16:41
SPEAKER_01: courses.
16:42
SPEAKER_01: Hannes has some super chiseled quads,
16:46
SPEAKER_01: so I think that helps a lot with his downhill and his fatigue resistance.
16:49
SPEAKER_01: So speaking of Hannes,
16:52
SPEAKER_01: Hannes Anberger,
16:53
SPEAKER_01: German athlete,
16:55
SPEAKER_01: three-time Lava Redo winner and twice UTMB top 10 finisher,
16:59
SPEAKER_01: German ultra runner,
17:00
SPEAKER_01: and the poster child athlete for Dina Fett,
17:04
SPEAKER_01: the ski slash mountain running company.
17:06
He's coming off a bit of a different year last year where he
17:08
spent the first half
17:09
going after a golden ticket and getting one with a fourth place
17:12
finish at Cano's
17:13
SPEAKER_01: 100K.
17:14
He had a rough day though at Western States and finished 11th
17:16
in the men's field at
17:18
SPEAKER_01: least,
17:18
SPEAKER_01: but 14th overall.
17:19
He finished the season with some German and Austrian 50k
17:22
efforts and then ended the
17:23
season punching a ticket back to UTMB this year with a win at
17:27
the UTMB Mallorca
17:29
SPEAKER_01: long distance race,
17:30
SPEAKER_01: the 140k at the end of October.
17:33
He has not raced Trans Grand Canary before and he has had a
17:36
rough day at TBC on a hot year.
17:37
So I'm curious how he'll fare here at Trans Grand Canary,
17:40
which can be hot sometimes.
17:42
SPEAKER_01: Um,
17:42
I'm also curious if he overdid heat training in the lead up to
17:45
Western last year,
17:46
SPEAKER_01: he posted a lot about doing a ton,
17:48
SPEAKER_01: a ton of heat training on,
17:49
SPEAKER_01: on the bike.
17:50
And I kind of am curious if some people maybe over indexed on
17:53
some of the heat
17:54
SPEAKER_01: stuff and,
17:54
and maybe took themselves a little bit too much in training to
17:57
where it didn't
17:58
SPEAKER_01: actually help them in the race.
18:00
SPEAKER_01: Um, cause he was really, really leaning into the heat training.
18:02
SPEAKER_01: So, um,
18:04
Like I said,
18:05
the more vertical and the tougher the races,
18:07
the better chance he has,
18:08
though.
18:08
SPEAKER_01: He's got quads of steel like Dmitry Mintiev,
18:11
SPEAKER_01: and he's a wonderful climber with great form using the poles.
18:15
SPEAKER_01: So I think Hannes is a really strong pick for top five.
18:17
SPEAKER_01: Very strong likelihood he'll even go top three if I had to guess.
18:22
um so next athlete is going to be josh wade the uk's very own
18:28
he's a north face
18:29
athlete he's a really cool down-to-earth guy uh from my
18:32
understanding he's a
18:33
gardener in the uk who runs for the north face and really i
18:36
think only recently has
18:38
kind of had the opportunity to run full-time but i think he
18:40
still chooses to garden
18:41
at least as of last season um so just a humble dude he goes out
18:45
and romps around in
18:46
SPEAKER_01: the lake district um
18:49
Really fun to follow his progression and really fun to see his
18:51
blow up last year
18:52
and just kind of he's been steadily chipping away and chiseling
18:56
and getting better
18:57
SPEAKER_01: each year.
18:57
SPEAKER_01: But last year kind of felt like his breakout season.
19:00
SPEAKER_01: I think he's going to be,
19:01
SPEAKER_01: you know,
19:01
probably one of the more slept on athletes in the field with
19:03
all the big names
19:04
SPEAKER_01: lining up.
19:05
But he's very legitimately a podium contender in this field who
19:08
is taking a ton of
19:09
SPEAKER_01: confidence from last year's race and results into the start line.
19:12
SPEAKER_01: He led the charge for much last year's race with Caleb and John Alvin,
19:15
and he just fell off towards the end of the race but finished
19:18
in a strong third
19:19
SPEAKER_01: place.
19:20
SPEAKER_01: And about 12 hours and 40 minutes, just still.
19:23
So still under the course record by about two minutes and about
19:26
20 minutes back of Caleb.
19:28
And then he followed it back up to show it wasn't a mistake
19:30
with a huge third place
19:31
SPEAKER_01: in UTMB to end the year.
19:33
SPEAKER_01: He also threw down that Labrador 120K for eighth place finish.
19:37
SPEAKER_01: This will be his fourth crack at Trans-Grand Canaria.
19:39
SPEAKER_01: He's also raced the dual to eighth place finishes in both 2023 and 2024.
19:45
SPEAKER_01: So I think Wade is going to,
19:47
I think he's got a lot of confidence coming from last year that
19:49
could go one of two
19:50
SPEAKER_01: ways.
19:51
He really doesn't do enough races very much,
19:53
but I think he's going to stick his nose in it.
19:54
I think he did last year and gained a lot of confidence and saw
19:57
that he could still
19:57
SPEAKER_01: stick with the big dogs and,
19:59
SPEAKER_01: you know,
20:00
SPEAKER_01: lead the climbs for Caleb Olsen.
20:02
SPEAKER_01: and John Alvin.
20:03
SPEAKER_01: And I think we'll see more of that confidence coming in this year.
20:06
SPEAKER_01: And I think he's going to have a good race.
20:08
SPEAKER_01: So that's my, that's my thoughts.
20:10
SPEAKER_01: Next runner is going to be Abel Carataro,
20:12
Spanish ultra runner for Homa based off Strava has mostly been
20:15
doing a lot of ski
20:16
SPEAKER_01: touring recently,
20:17
SPEAKER_01: but has a decent running value in the past few weeks,
20:20
SPEAKER_01: which leads me to believe he's planning to race as of today,
20:23
SPEAKER_01: March 2nd,
20:24
SPEAKER_01: he's still on mainland Spain.
20:25
So I'm curious how late he'll go over there to race,
20:28
assuming he is going to go race.
20:29
SPEAKER_01: Last year's results included a fourth at Valderan 100K,
20:33
SPEAKER_01: 55th at the World's Long Trail,
20:35
SPEAKER_01: fourth at UTMB Andorra 50K,
20:37
SPEAKER_01: 30th at Sagama,
20:38
SPEAKER_01: and second at Peña Galusa 60K.
20:41
He did race Transcurric Canary to the DNF last year,
20:43
and he also DNF 2022 and 2023.
20:46
SPEAKER_01: He has, however, had a fourth place finish in the 2024 edition.
20:51
So he's a mixed bag with a lot of course knowledge,
20:53
but not a ton of success at this race.
20:54
SPEAKER_01: Finishing, when it comes to finishing it, most times he lines up.
20:58
SPEAKER_01: I'm curious to see if he can go top 10.
21:00
all right some more athletes martin kern french athlete for
21:04
arcteryx who has a lot
21:05
of good tough mountain results under uh his mountain ultras
21:10
under his belt last
21:12
year he finished 11th at tds fourth at maxi race and in 2024
21:17
heads uh had a top
21:18
five at grand raid top 10 at trophy okima and second i'm a deer
21:25
island ultra trail
21:26
SPEAKER_01: only behind ben demon so
21:28
I think if things get hectic and hot up front and a bunch of
21:30
big dogs got too hard
21:31
SPEAKER_01: and blew up,
21:32
SPEAKER_01: kind of like I mentioned earlier in the podcast,
21:34
SPEAKER_01: Zach Miller and Jiaxing Shen and a handful of others did a few years ago,
21:38
I think Kern could be in a good spot to pick up the pieces and
21:40
maybe even go top
21:41
SPEAKER_01: five.
21:42
SPEAKER_01: So I wouldn't be surprised.
21:43
SPEAKER_01: I mean,
21:44
I know all of us are going to have like probably the same five
21:47
people up front,
21:48
but I think we should consider dropping one of the two of them
21:50
out and thinking
21:51
SPEAKER_01: like who would be most likely to drop and who's most likely to finish up.
21:56
still finish the race and maybe pick up some pieces because i
21:58
think we'll see some
21:59
corners up front with how many big dogs are up there so martin
22:02
current will be in
22:03
my opinion in a good position to go five through ten uh and
22:06
maybe even sneak into
22:07
the top five if some of the chaos happens up front so next
22:10
athlete is jean marshay
22:13
shook tons the swiss runner for brooks i'm sure i'm butchering
22:16
that i apologize
22:17
SPEAKER_01: Swiss runner for Brooks,
22:18
SPEAKER_01: who won Weld Strubel 70k last year,
22:20
he team left CCC and he finished fourth at UTS 100k behind John
22:25
Alvin and Matthew
22:26
SPEAKER_01: Blanchard.
22:27
Other good results at longer races include a second at Lavarado
22:30
in 2022 behind
22:31
SPEAKER_01: Hannes and a win at the Swiss Alps 100k in 2021.
22:35
SPEAKER_01: I think he's another one that could do here,
22:36
SPEAKER_01: but he does kind of have a mixed bag with the longer races is my biggest
22:41
SPEAKER_01: hesitation.
22:42
SPEAKER_01: But that second at Lavarito in 2022 is impressive.
22:45
And he did finish fourth at UT Ultra Trail Snowdening at 100K
22:50
behind John Alvin last year.
22:52
SPEAKER_01: So...
22:53
SPEAKER_01: Next athlete is going to be the Moroccan Adil Moussaoui,
22:57
more of a sub-ultra speedster from Morocco with a long history
23:00
of strong trail
23:01
SPEAKER_01: results,
23:01
SPEAKER_01: but he's definitely one to watch.
23:03
He did get fifth at Trans-Agrant Canary Marathon last year and
23:07
fourth at the
23:08
SPEAKER_01: marathon the year before that,
23:10
along with a two-hour and 50-minute series and I'll finish for
23:13
top 50 and some top
23:14
SPEAKER_01: 25s at Golden Trail World Series events.
23:16
So he's definitely got that good leg speed and does really good
23:19
in those tournaments.
23:21
SPEAKER_01: marathon distance type efforts.
23:23
SPEAKER_01: From what I can tell,
23:24
SPEAKER_01: this is going to be his longest race ever,
23:25
SPEAKER_01: though,
23:25
SPEAKER_01: by a really good margin.
23:27
SPEAKER_01: I'm curious to see how he's going to manage a longer race like this.
23:32
SPEAKER_01: He's had a 66K that took 7 hours and 41 minutes back in 2019,
23:37
SPEAKER_01: but I can't find any other much longer races above 4 or 5 hours,
23:42
SPEAKER_01: so that's Adil Moussawe.
23:44
SPEAKER_01: Last two names worth mentioning, Paul Capel, four-time
23:48
Trans-Grand Canaria Classic winner and one-time Trans-Grand
23:51
Canaria Advanced winner.
23:53
SPEAKER_01: He won four in a row from 2017 to 2020.
23:55
He's raised this nine times if I can count well,
23:58
so this should be number 10.
24:00
SPEAKER_01: UTMB Champion from 2019,
24:02
who front-ran the course and plays to a course record in also a
24:05
time of 2019,
24:05
SPEAKER_01: ironically.
24:07
SPEAKER_01: It's been mostly a mixed bag for him since then,
24:09
SPEAKER_01: and I think he's dealt with injuries here and there.
24:11
SPEAKER_01: Last year,
24:11
SPEAKER_01: he finished sixth at TDS,
24:13
SPEAKER_01: second at UTMB Andorra,
24:15
SPEAKER_01: 105K DNF Trans-Grancon area early in the year.
24:18
SPEAKER_01: He's also raced Trans-Grancon area in 2023 to a fifth place,
24:22
SPEAKER_01: 2022 to a second place,
24:23
SPEAKER_01: 2017 to 2020 to wins,
24:25
SPEAKER_01: and 2016 to a third place.
24:27
SPEAKER_01: So he knows his course like the back of his hand,
24:30
SPEAKER_01: but he hasn't been racing at his previous level in quite some time.
24:34
SPEAKER_01: But definitely got to, you know, recognize the real ones.
24:36
SPEAKER_01: And Paul Capel is definitely a legend who has moved the sport forward.
24:40
SPEAKER_01: Last athlete I want to mention is Victor Richard,
24:44
SPEAKER_01: the Belgian athlete who runs insanely long races.
24:50
SPEAKER_01: Excuse me.
24:51
SPEAKER_01: He's a French athlete.
24:52
SPEAKER_01: I didn't mean to insult him.
24:55
SPEAKER_01: French athlete.
24:57
SPEAKER_01: who runs insanely long races.
25:01
SPEAKER_01: No, it says Belgian.
25:01
SPEAKER_01: Okay, yeah, sorry, there's a French flag next to his name on my computer.
25:04
SPEAKER_01: So Belgian athlete who wins insanely long races,
25:07
SPEAKER_01: including he won the Eiger 250K race last year in a 52-hour,
25:11
SPEAKER_01: 57-minute finish time.
25:13
SPEAKER_01: Swisspeak's 660K race with 49,000 meters of vert.
25:16
So for my US folks,
25:16
that's 400 miles and 160,000 feet of vert of climbing in this
25:19
race.
25:24
SPEAKER_01: And he raised that in 81 hours and 34 minutes.
25:27
He's also won a crossing Switzerland race in 76 hours and 33
25:31
minutes in 2024,
25:32
SPEAKER_01: which was only 396 kilometers with 25,000 meters of vert.
25:37
SPEAKER_01: He's raced Trans-Agrant Canary and done well.
25:40
He got sixth place last year to go with 12th place in 2024 and
25:42
18th in 2023.
25:44
SPEAKER_01: And he's also got finishes in 2019 and 2016.
25:46
SPEAKER_01: So this will be his sixth race at Trans-Agrant Canary.
25:51
SPEAKER_01: And last year was his fastest finish.
25:53
SPEAKER_01: I think with the course experience and gridding us,
25:55
SPEAKER_01: it makes him a really good pick for the top 10.
25:57
He's very unlikely to DNF because he's a tough racer and does
26:00
all these crazy long races.
26:01
And he seems to be getting better at this race each year with
26:05
his fastest timing
26:05
SPEAKER_01: last year's edition.
26:06
SPEAKER_01: So I think Victor Richard, really smart pick.
26:09
probably going to clean up some points regardless of how things
26:13
go down up front.
26:15
SPEAKER_01: So that is everyone that I wanted to mention on the men's side.
26:19
SPEAKER_01: Tom Jolie could be another one to look out for.
26:21
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
26:22
SPEAKER_01: And that's kind of the main guys I want to talk about.
26:25
SPEAKER_01: So,
26:27
SPEAKER_01: On the women's side, Storyline's identified.
26:29
SPEAKER_01: I think the returning champ in second place,
26:33
SPEAKER_01: so we've got two of the top three podium from last year in the field.
26:37
SPEAKER_01: We've got a Troy top ten finisher as well,
26:41
and we've got some really good gritty mountain athletes in the
26:45
women's field.
26:46
SPEAKER_01: So who wins between Gritty Racers,
26:49
SPEAKER_01: Sunmaya Buda and Lynch Chen,
26:50
SPEAKER_01: but I would even consider Elsie Davis in that category as well.
26:54
so we're seeing a lot of women that like to race the long and
26:57
vertical races so uh
27:00
jumping in order uh on the female side we'll start with uh high
27:04
suit team or itra
27:06
it's going by intro index so sunmaya buddha first nepal's very
27:10
own superstar trail
27:11
runner she had a killer year last year making her way into
27:13
troy's top 10 i voted
27:15
SPEAKER_01: for her i think i had her somewhere in that six to eight spot um
27:20
SPEAKER_01: You know, and definitely deserved it.
27:21
Last year's highlights included a win at UTCT 100K and Hong
27:25
Kong 100K in a course
27:26
record to go with a second out world long trail champ only to
27:30
miss Katie Scheid.
27:32
SPEAKER_01: So she crossed her on all fronts and ran an elite level.
27:35
SPEAKER_01: She has not raced here before, but has had success at other hot sports.
27:38
SPEAKER_01: Island races like Transvalcania, where she raced the third in 2024.
27:42
SPEAKER_01: And she generally races good at hot races.
27:44
SPEAKER_01: She's from Asia and Nepal is close to the equator.
27:46
So I think she will have no issues running here and running a
27:50
very,
27:50
very good time.
27:51
I imagine she's shooting for a Courtney DeWalter course
27:56
performance-esque record.
27:58
SPEAKER_01: For those of you guys that don't know,
27:59
SPEAKER_01: course record on the female side at Trans-Green Canaria,
28:03
SPEAKER_01: 1440 by Courtney in 2023.
28:05
SPEAKER_01: So Courtney DeWalter set the course record in 2023.
28:09
SPEAKER_01: So Sun Laya Buddha, got to be a favorite.
28:12
SPEAKER_01: Definitely an elite runner,
28:13
SPEAKER_01: definitely somebody who slept on,
28:14
but definitely super happy she got her recognition with the
28:17
Troy top 10 last year
28:19
SPEAKER_01: and want to see her keep crushing.
28:21
SPEAKER_01: I think she also won the...
28:23
yeah i'm pretty positive she won the world trail majors uh
28:27
first place for her wins
28:29
at hong kong 100k and utct but don't quote me on that so next
28:34
runner is gonna be
28:35
china's very own lynn chin trail athlete for adidas terex
28:40
coming fresh off of dnf
28:42
SPEAKER_01: at tarawear 102k uh just about a month ago in early february which was
28:47
disappointing or i guess even like two weeks ago because it was
28:49
around valentine's
28:50
SPEAKER_01: day
28:51
she loves the long grindy races so it feels like this event is
28:54
right up her alley
28:55
uh with last year's uh winning female henriette alvin finishing
29:00
in 15 hours and i
29:01
SPEAKER_01: believe like said the 1440 course record by courtney so
29:05
Lynn had wins at Kodiak 100 miler last year to go with a win at
29:09
Canyon's 100 miler.
29:10
SPEAKER_01: And then she also DNF'd UTMB and a fourth at Black Canyon 100K.
29:15
SPEAKER_01: I think Lynn Chen is tough and gritty,
29:17
SPEAKER_01: could throw down a strong performance here,
29:19
SPEAKER_01: but she's also liable to DNF as well.
29:20
SPEAKER_01: She does do that some.
29:22
SPEAKER_01: I'm not sure what went wrong at Tarawera.
29:24
SPEAKER_01: I tried to check her Instagram and she didn't mention.
29:26
So hopefully it's not too quick of a bounce back from Tarawera
29:30
only being,
29:30
SPEAKER_01: you know,
29:31
SPEAKER_01: essentially like three weeks ago.
29:34
SPEAKER_00: Um,
29:35
SPEAKER_01: and that's also a lot of travel,
29:36
but she seems to do well in races outside of her home country
29:39
as evidenced by her
29:40
SPEAKER_01: races in California last year.
29:41
SPEAKER_01: Um, but you know, she had to go from New Zealand to Spain.
29:47
SPEAKER_01: Uh,
29:47
SPEAKER_01: so hopefully she bounces back from Tara where,
29:49
SPEAKER_01: and I think she could run a really,
29:50
SPEAKER_01: really good race here.
29:52
SPEAKER_01: Next athlete is going to be Poland,
29:54
SPEAKER_01: Polish athlete Katarina Dombrowska,
29:57
SPEAKER_01: Polish runner for On Cloud who prefers longer,
30:00
SPEAKER_01: more mountainous races.
30:00
SPEAKER_01: That's going to be a common theme with a lot of these top females.
30:04
SPEAKER_01: And her results last year included a mixed bag.
30:06
SPEAKER_01: She had DNFs at UTMB and Istria 110K,
30:09
SPEAKER_01: but she also ran to a third place at Trans-Granic Canary Advanced,
30:12
SPEAKER_01: which is the shorter race than the Classic,
30:15
SPEAKER_01: and behind Erna Tarasova and Ida Nielsen.
30:18
SPEAKER_01: She ran to a fourth place at ADK.
30:20
SPEAKER_01: uh, Lavarado ADK also behind, excuse me, Anna Tarasova.
30:24
SPEAKER_01: And then she got 22nd at world long trail championships.
30:28
SPEAKER_01: Um,
30:29
SPEAKER_01: Katarina Dombrowska has also raced TGC Marathon two other years.
30:33
SPEAKER_01: So she knows the course, but has never run the full classic race before.
30:37
SPEAKER_01: So it's going to be new territory.
30:38
I think Katarina Dombrowska is a strong pick for five through
30:41
10 territory.
30:42
SPEAKER_01: And I could see her creeping into the top five potentially.
30:44
But I don't know if I have her as like a favorite for the top
30:49
five in my book right this second.
30:52
SPEAKER_01: Uh,
30:52
next athlete's going to be Henry at Albin last year's returning
30:55
tramp and the
30:55
SPEAKER_01: co-host of the Albin way podcast with her partner,
30:59
SPEAKER_01: John Albin.
30:59
SPEAKER_01: Uh,
31:00
there was a very nearly an Albin sweep last year at Trans Grand
31:03
Canada Classic,
31:04
SPEAKER_01: but it was ruined by Caleb Olson setting a course record,
31:07
SPEAKER_01: uh,
31:08
SPEAKER_01: even though her husband, John, also did.
31:10
SPEAKER_01: It's just Caleb's was a little bit faster.
31:13
SPEAKER_01: Henriette had a stellar race last year,
31:15
but she got injured afterwards and had a bit of a mixed bag for
31:17
the rest of the
31:18
SPEAKER_01: year,
31:19
SPEAKER_01: wanting to target UTMB but not being able to line up due to injury.
31:23
SPEAKER_01: She went on to race a UTMB St.
31:25
SPEAKER_01: Jacques in France and won the 82K race there.
31:28
SPEAKER_01: She'll be looking to repeat this year,
31:30
SPEAKER_01: but I think Sunmaya Buddha will provide stiff competition,
31:33
SPEAKER_01: and I've got Sunmaya taking an edge over Henriette as of right now.
31:37
SPEAKER_01: But if,
31:39
SPEAKER_01: yeah,
31:39
SPEAKER_01: Henry,
31:39
SPEAKER_01: really good runner,
31:41
SPEAKER_01: really good athlete and really good results throughout her career.
31:44
SPEAKER_01: Only going to throw the line if she's feeling good.
31:46
SPEAKER_01: So if she does line up, then expect her to throw down.
31:50
SPEAKER_01: Next athlete is going to be Elsie Davis,
31:52
the UK ultra runner for the North Face with some good results
31:58
on some very
31:58
SPEAKER_01: mountainous and tough,
32:00
SPEAKER_01: sloppy or technical courses.
32:02
SPEAKER_01: Last year's results included 12th at CCC in a very stacked field.
32:06
I think that was the most competitive female race of the year,
32:09
if I want to say.
32:10
SPEAKER_01: And then she DNF'd at Marathon of Mont Blanc 90K.
32:14
SPEAKER_01: excuse me,
32:15
SPEAKER_01: win at UTS Ultra Trail Snowdonia 50K,
32:18
SPEAKER_01: fifth at Chianti 73K,
32:20
SPEAKER_01: and the win at Archimetrician 50.
32:23
So Elsie has raced once here before at the marathon in 2022 to
32:27
a fifth place finish.
32:29
SPEAKER_01: She's a gutsy runner,
32:30
SPEAKER_01: so I think she's going to stick her nose in it with a lead pack,
32:32
SPEAKER_01: and she'll end up somewhere pretty soon.
32:33
SPEAKER_01: probably in the top five, maybe even as high as top two.
32:35
SPEAKER_01: And Henriette has an off day.
32:37
SPEAKER_01: But I think she could have the chops to win this potentially.
32:40
SPEAKER_01: But I think that I believe in Sunmaya Buddha a whole heck of a lot.
32:44
SPEAKER_01: So I think I'm going to lock up that top spot for Sunmaya.
32:46
SPEAKER_01: But I think Elsie could have a good day out here.
32:49
next athlete i want to talk about is spain's very own claudia
32:53
trimps ultra runner
32:54
for on she's lining up at her eighth that's right i said eighth
32:58
race at trans gran
33:00
canaria which is a lot for a female uh and last year's second
33:05
place finisher over
33:06
an hour behind henriette albin but it was her fastest finish
33:09
ever in 1502 i want to
33:11
say it was um so yeah spanish runner for on likes tough
33:15
mountain races she had a
33:16
SPEAKER_01: great year last year honestly
33:18
SPEAKER_01: Looking at her results,
33:18
SPEAKER_01: 9th at UTMB,
33:20
SPEAKER_01: win at Mozart 100k,
33:21
SPEAKER_01: and 2nd place at Trans Gran Canaria Classic.
33:23
SPEAKER_01: That's a stellar year right there for any runner.
33:26
SPEAKER_01: In 2024,
33:27
Claudia Trumps also won top 10 at UTMB with an 8th place finish
33:31
and another 2nd
33:31
SPEAKER_01: place finish at Trans Gran Canaria Classic.
33:35
SPEAKER_01: Like I mentioned,
33:35
SPEAKER_01: with those eight finishes,
33:36
SPEAKER_01: she's also got eighth place finish in 2019,
33:39
SPEAKER_01: fifth in 2020,
33:40
SPEAKER_01: second in 2021,
33:42
SPEAKER_01: third in 2022,
33:43
SPEAKER_01: third in 2023,
33:44
SPEAKER_01: and second in 2024 and 2025,
33:47
SPEAKER_01: with last year being her fastest finishing time.
33:49
Excuse me,
33:49
I think I said the wrong time,
33:51
but in 1609,
33:52
so last year's her fastest finish.
33:54
SPEAKER_01: Dude, you got to lock her in.
33:55
SPEAKER_01: I mean, she is...
33:57
SPEAKER_01: A staple in this race.
33:57
SPEAKER_01: She knows it like the back of her hand.
33:59
SPEAKER_01: She doesn't mess when she lines up.
34:00
SPEAKER_01: So lock her in for points.
34:01
SPEAKER_01: She's going to go top 10 somewhere.
34:03
I think a top five and likely even the podium because she knows
34:07
how to run this race.
34:08
SPEAKER_01: You definitely got to consider that.
34:10
SPEAKER_01: Obviously,
34:10
SPEAKER_01: past performance is not guaranteed of future performances,
34:13
SPEAKER_01: but it seems like she has this race pretty freaking well figured out.
34:17
SPEAKER_01: So that's Claudia Trump.
34:18
SPEAKER_01: Next athlete is going to be Melanie Delossoif,
34:21
SPEAKER_01: Swiss runner for Dina Fett,
34:22
SPEAKER_01: whose results last year included a fourth place finish at Templier,
34:25
SPEAKER_01: 100K.
34:27
SPEAKER_01: 15th at UTMB and win at Monta Rosa Balserweg,
34:32
SPEAKER_01: 82K,
34:33
SPEAKER_01: and a 6th place at Marathon de Mont Blanc,
34:37
SPEAKER_01: 90K,
34:38
SPEAKER_01: to go with 3rd place at UTMB,
34:40
SPEAKER_01: Tenerife,
34:41
SPEAKER_01: 110K.
34:42
SPEAKER_01: So she has not raced TGC from what I can tell,
34:45
SPEAKER_01: but she does have a top 5 at Transvault Canyon,
34:48
SPEAKER_01: 22K.
34:49
SPEAKER_01: 2022 to her name.
34:50
SPEAKER_01: I'm not sure why I think she'll fall on this list,
34:52
SPEAKER_01: but I think she's a strong pick for points and does not eat F much.
34:55
SPEAKER_01: So I think she's definitely one to look out for.
34:56
SPEAKER_01: If you think there's going to be some drops on the female side,
34:59
SPEAKER_01: Melanie Delssois is somebody else to look out for.
35:03
SPEAKER_01: Last athlete I want to talk about,
35:05
SPEAKER_01: Andrea Vlasikova,
35:07
SPEAKER_01: check runner for Scott,
35:08
SPEAKER_01: who raced to a win at World Struble 110k last year.
35:11
And she was fourth of the Iger 250k race,
35:13
along with a win at Garda Trentina Trail.
35:17
SPEAKER_01: Tough to get a read on her,
35:18
SPEAKER_01: but I think the races she does are definitely very verti and technical.
35:24
SPEAKER_01: So that's her jam.
35:25
SPEAKER_01: I think she could be a bit of a sleeper top five pick,
35:27
seeing how a lot of athletes struggle with the midnight start
35:29
of this race.
35:30
SPEAKER_01: And the weather can play a factor as well.
35:35
I noticed that I don't believe that I gave my picks for the
35:39
men's and I just jumped
35:40
SPEAKER_01: right into the women's.
35:41
So now we're going to go for the picks for both the men's and
35:45
the women's race.
35:46
SPEAKER_01: I'll start with the men's because I skipped them on accident.
35:48
SPEAKER_01: So in the men's race,
35:50
SPEAKER_01: five through one,
35:51
SPEAKER_01: with the caveats that I usually give,
35:53
SPEAKER_01: first of all,
35:53
I'm probably going to change these picks a couple of times
35:57
leading up to this.
35:59
And then the other caveat is always to double check your picks
36:03
before the window
36:05
SPEAKER_01: closes,
36:05
SPEAKER_01: preferably in like the last maybe two to six hours,
36:09
SPEAKER_01: depending on what times that you're sleeping in,
36:11
SPEAKER_01: because some people can scratch late.
36:14
SPEAKER_01: So always be checking your final ballot.
36:16
SPEAKER_01: So two caveats.
36:17
I'm going to change these a couple of times based off new
36:19
information and always
36:21
SPEAKER_01: check yours right before you turn it in.
36:23
SPEAKER_01: Ideally, like in the last like, you know, two or like, yeah, the last
36:29
SPEAKER_01: The picks are going to close as soon as the race starts.
36:31
SPEAKER_01: So the closer the race,
36:33
SPEAKER_01: you can check to see if anyone scratched,
36:34
the better off you are so you don't accidentally start somebody
36:36
who doesn't race.
36:37
SPEAKER_01: So pay attention to that stuff.
36:39
SPEAKER_01: So on the men's side.
36:41
SPEAKER_01: This is a tough one.
36:42
SPEAKER_01: I think everyone is going to have this top five.
36:44
SPEAKER_01: I'm not going to say everyone.
36:45
SPEAKER_01: Some people are going to probably drop some people out,
36:47
SPEAKER_01: but everyone in this top five is a certified,
36:49
SPEAKER_01: legit heavy hitter.
36:51
And I think that some people are going to be surprised,
36:53
but I'm kind of like mixing it up.
36:55
And I think a lot of people are going to have my number five as
36:58
number one.
36:58
SPEAKER_01: So fifth place on the men's side, I'm going to go Tom Evans.
37:02
SPEAKER_01: I think Tom Evans could very well win this race.
37:05
SPEAKER_01: I think that he is trail running royalty.
37:08
But I think that if somebody is going to come out hard and fall
37:11
off or out of this
37:14
SPEAKER_01: group of heavy hitters,
37:15
SPEAKER_01: the most likely to be enough,
37:16
SPEAKER_01: I think it's going to be either Tom or Hayden.
37:18
SPEAKER_01: So I got Tom in fifth, Hayden in fourth.
37:20
SPEAKER_01: I'm liable to swap those up.
37:22
SPEAKER_01: I'm liable to put Tom Evans in first.
37:24
But I think if any of the two of the big five are going to
37:27
drop,
37:27
it's going to be those two.
37:28
SPEAKER_01: Third place I'm going to go is Josh Wade.
37:30
so i'd make it his second uh third place in a row second at
37:34
this event second place
37:36
i'm gonna go hot as non burger and then for the one i'm gonna
37:38
go john alvin so
37:41
other things is remember you only get points if the person
37:43
finishes in the top 10
37:45
for a five person race or excuse me for a top five pick so when
37:48
i say people are
37:49
going to get points i think they're going to finish somewhere
37:50
in the top 10.
37:51
uh dnafs uh don't get any points so if you think that somebody
37:55
is very likely dna
37:56
for my dna if you want to pick somebody who you think is
37:58
probably going to go top
37:59
10 versus somebody who uh could potentially dna so men's one
38:04
through five first
38:05
place john albin for uh his first win second place hannes
38:08
nomenberger third place
38:09
SPEAKER_01: josh wade fourth place hayden hawks and fifth place tom evans
38:15
On the men's side,
38:16
on the women's side,
38:16
fifth place through first place,
38:18
all the same caveats.
38:19
SPEAKER_01: Fifth place, I've got Lynn Chin.
38:21
SPEAKER_01: I would have her higher,
38:22
but I'm just questioning if she's bouncing back too quickly
38:24
from Tara Wara.
38:25
SPEAKER_01: And I also don't know what went wrong at Tara Wara.
38:28
SPEAKER_01: So that's my big caveat there.
38:30
SPEAKER_01: I could potentially replace her with Melanie Deliswold.
38:33
SPEAKER_01: Fourth place, I got Elsie Davis.
38:34
It says Eleanor Wyman Davis on her profile,
38:37
but Elsie is what I believe she goes by.
38:39
SPEAKER_01: Elsie Davis,
38:40
SPEAKER_01: I think she could be as high as second place here,
38:42
but I'm going to go with the course experience of my second and
38:45
third place
38:46
SPEAKER_01: finishers.
38:47
SPEAKER_01: And then, yeah, so Elsie Davis in fourth.
38:50
SPEAKER_01: Third place, I'm going to go, Claudia and Trump.
38:52
SPEAKER_01: We just talked about her.
38:52
SPEAKER_01: This is going to be her eighth race at Trans-Agring Canaria.
38:55
SPEAKER_01: Last year was her fastest.
38:56
SPEAKER_01: She's got...
38:58
one two three four five podiums out of her eight races i think
39:03
this is going to be
39:04
another podium i think she's going to race well she knows how
39:06
to races and loves
39:07
this race obviously so claudia shrimp in third second place i'm
39:11
going to go
39:11
henriette albin not able to repeat for the win because of one
39:16
sunmaya buddha who i
39:17
SPEAKER_01: think is going to take the win
39:19
SPEAKER_01: So first place, Sue Maya.
39:20
SPEAKER_01: Second place, Henriette Albin.
39:22
SPEAKER_01: Third place, Claudia Trump.
39:23
SPEAKER_01: Fourth, Elsie Davis.
39:25
SPEAKER_01: Fifth, Lynn Chen, with the potential to swap her for Melanie Delassois.
39:30
SPEAKER_01: Excuse me, I hope my voice has not been too unbearable, but that's...
39:35
those are my picks for this year's 2026 trans grand canaria
39:40
classic race uh looking
39:42
forward it looks like we have got on the horizon it looks like
39:46
we've got uh we have
39:48
the trans grand canaria marathon which i'm not going to be able
39:50
to preview but i
39:51
might be able to make a post about my picks and then upcoming
39:54
uh in consolados del
39:56
norte sky race it will be the second uh skyrunner world series
39:59
race of the year
40:00
SPEAKER_01: they had one in argentina but it wasn't
40:02
SPEAKER_01: up for your fantasy pick.
40:03
SPEAKER_01: So we didn't talk about it.
40:04
SPEAKER_01: So hopefully we'll talk about Consolata's Don Lorte.
40:06
SPEAKER_01: And then looking forward after that, we got Big Alta Weekend and Chianti.
40:09
SPEAKER_01: So very excited to talk about those.
40:12
SPEAKER_01: Yours truly is signed up for the 28K if you want to pick me.
40:16
SPEAKER_01: I don't think I'll be able to race, but last year I did get points.
40:19
SPEAKER_01: So that was pretty cool.
40:20
SPEAKER_01: I got 10th place.
40:21
SPEAKER_01: So that's what we have to look forward to.
40:23
SPEAKER_01: But in the meantime, I appreciate everyone for listening.
40:27
And please have a great rest of your day,
40:31
wherever you're listening to this.
40:33
SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.