Latest / Let's Talk Trail Running / 2025 Il Golfo dell Isola Race GTWS Preview

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2025 Il Golfo dell Isola Race GTWS Preview · Let's Talk Trail Running

0:01
SPEAKER_00: Hello, and welcome back to another episode of Let's Talk Trail Running.
0:05
SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Rob Prosser.
0:07
SPEAKER_00: On today's menu,
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we're going to do a little preview for the third race in the
0:12
Golden Trail World
0:13
SPEAKER_00: Series this year,
0:14
SPEAKER_00: Ogolfo del Isola Trail Race.
0:17
SPEAKER_00: It's going to take place in Noli, Italy.
0:21
SPEAKER_00: In the northwest corner,
0:23
SPEAKER_00: Noli's little town on the Ligurian Sea,
0:27
and it's kind of close to the border with France and Monaco in
0:29
that northwest
0:30
SPEAKER_00: corner of Italy.
0:33
SPEAKER_00: Before we get into that,
0:35
SPEAKER_00: just kind of looking back on the previous episode,
0:38
SPEAKER_00: we talked about Transvalcania,
0:39
SPEAKER_00: and I also kind of mentioned Cocodono.
0:41
SPEAKER_00: 250,
0:41
SPEAKER_00: I don't know about you guys,
0:43
but it seemed like a lot of people kind of got slaughtered
0:46
between those two races
0:47
SPEAKER_00: with some very notable drops,
0:49
both in the Cocodona 250 with Courtney dropping and Rachel
0:52
taking the win very decisively.
0:54
SPEAKER_00: And then Trends of Alcania too.
0:56
SPEAKER_00: I think I mentioned that if
0:59
the main factor in transvolcania was going to be the heat and
1:01
how some of these
1:02
athletes handled it and ironically it was the exact opposite it
1:05
was actually a cold
1:06
miserable wet and freezing day where a lot of people dropped
1:09
because of hypothermia
1:11
so kind of an interesting theme we're seeing this year with a
1:13
lot of these races
1:13
SPEAKER_00: that are expected to be hot actually being really cold cocodona and uh
1:18
transvolcania both falling out of category and then canyons as
1:21
well a lot of people
1:21
did a lot of heat training for canyons and ended up being a
1:24
cold sloppy day so
1:26
SPEAKER_00: Yeah,
1:26
it didn't fare too well on those races with Ruth Croft and
1:30
David Sinclair dropping
1:31
SPEAKER_00: and a lot of my men's top five dropping from the race as well.
1:35
SPEAKER_00: But I don't think a lot of people did super well on them.
1:37
SPEAKER_00: Anyways...
1:38
SPEAKER_00: But I digress.
1:40
Today,
1:40
like I said,
1:41
we're going to preview the third Golden Trail World Series.
1:43
SPEAKER_00: I'm really excited for it.
1:44
It looks like we're finally shaping up to see that density that
1:46
we're used to
1:47
SPEAKER_00: seeing in Golden Trail.
1:48
SPEAKER_00: We've got Remy, the return of Remy Bonet.
1:51
SPEAKER_00: We got Eleusine back in the fight as well.
1:54
So kind of really the density you expect to see on a lot of
1:56
these classic European
1:58
SPEAKER_00: Golden Trail series races.
2:00
Originally,
2:00
the series was made to put together the most classic races in Europe.
2:06
SPEAKER_00: and highlight them and kind of make a series out of them.
2:09
SPEAKER_00: And even though Golfo de la Sola,
2:10
SPEAKER_00: from what I can tell,
2:11
SPEAKER_00: it's only been a run in the 2023 edition of the finals.
2:15
SPEAKER_00: Next week, we got Sagama upcoming.
2:16
SPEAKER_00: And then just looking at this lineup,
2:18
this is the density you're kind of used to seeing in a Golden
2:21
Trail series race
2:21
that makes it really hard to pick for them compared to kind of
2:24
what we saw at Japan,
2:25
SPEAKER_00: which really wasn't nearly as deep.
2:26
SPEAKER_00: And then China was getting a little bit more deep.
2:29
But this has definitely been the most competitive Golden Trail
2:31
series race to date.
2:33
SPEAKER_00: So once again,
2:33
SPEAKER_00: that race,
2:35
SPEAKER_00: northwest corner of Italy,
2:36
SPEAKER_00: it's a 20,
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SPEAKER_00: approximately 26K race with 14,000 or 1450 meters.
2:42
For the American audience,
2:42
it's about 16 miles and about 4,800 feet of vert.
2:48
SPEAKER_00: I think I'm going to read the results from the previous year,
2:51
SPEAKER_00: both the prologue and,
2:52
SPEAKER_00: excuse me,
2:53
SPEAKER_00: from 2023,
2:54
SPEAKER_00: the Golden Trail World Series final was at this location.
2:57
And from what I understand,
2:58
it seemed like it was the first year they run.
3:00
SPEAKER_00: I couldn't find any historical data for the race itself.
3:03
SPEAKER_00: But Golden Trail World Series did do their final here in 2023.
3:07
Last time they did it in October,
3:08
and this time they did it as a regular season race in May.
3:10
SPEAKER_00: So that might be a little bit of a factor.
3:13
SPEAKER_00: But they did race here in 2023 as the final.
3:14
So I'm going to talk about those results a lot and kind of use
3:17
that as a little bit of a
3:19
course preview and also just to give you insight on who did
3:22
well previously when i
3:23
was run here who ran to this type of course i don't know if
3:25
it's exactly the same
3:26
i'm kind of assuming that is about the same uh it is the same
3:30
course as the final
3:32
uh not the prologue but the final was that uh that year but i'm
3:35
not 100 on that so
3:37
um with that being said i think i'll start off by just kind of
3:40
reading the results
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SPEAKER_00: uh one through ten on the men's and women's side well
3:45
SPEAKER_00: I take it back.
3:45
I think I'll start talking about the men's side,
3:49
but I will read the results.
3:52
SPEAKER_00: 2023 is a big year.
3:52
SPEAKER_00: The final kind of had two breakout stars in 2023,
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SPEAKER_00: and they're names that we're really familiar with now.
3:59
SPEAKER_00: But one of them we weren't familiar with at all,
4:01
and then the other one hadn't raced quite to this level at that
4:05
point in their career.
4:06
SPEAKER_00: And so what I'm talking about is in 2023,
4:09
Madalina Floria kind of burst onto the scene and won both the
4:12
final and the
4:13
SPEAKER_00: prologue that year and kind of seemingly came out of nowhere.
4:16
SPEAKER_00: I mean, she had been doing road running in Europe,
4:18
SPEAKER_00: Um, but really hadn't seen her much on the trails.
4:21
SPEAKER_00: Um, and really kind of upset and surprised some people.
4:23
There really was a strong battle going between Sophia Lockley
4:26
and Judith Weider at the time.
4:28
SPEAKER_00: Uh, and more or less, she kind of took the race out of Sophia's hands.
4:34
SPEAKER_00: Um,
4:35
SPEAKER_00: and more or less saved Sophia cause Sophia,
4:36
SPEAKER_00: if,
4:37
SPEAKER_00: uh,
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SPEAKER_00: if Madalena Floria hadn't won both of those races,
4:40
SPEAKER_00: I'm pretty sure Judith beat her in both of those races.
4:43
SPEAKER_00: Um,
4:45
SPEAKER_00: Judith did beat her in the long, and let me double check the prologue.
4:49
SPEAKER_00: Judith finished behind her in the prologue.
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SPEAKER_00: But either way,
4:53
SPEAKER_00: basically,
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SPEAKER_00: in the final,
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SPEAKER_00: Judith,
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SPEAKER_00: if she had won,
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SPEAKER_00: she would have got the overall points and beat Sofia.
4:58
SPEAKER_00: But Sofia won.
4:59
SPEAKER_00: I think they might have tied, and Sofia had the head-to-head.
5:01
SPEAKER_00: So Monica, Madalena Florio, was kind of the breakout star.
5:06
in the 2023 and then on the men's side um elozine who we had
5:09
seen in golden trail
5:10
series races and had gotten some top threes and some really
5:13
competitive races i
5:14
don't think he had won one up to that point um we saw him kind
5:17
of come out
5:18
seemingly of nowhere and really beat everyone um in both the
5:21
prologue and the final
5:22
he won the long race and then he also um beat everyone in the
5:27
prologue including
5:28
philemon patrick and a very very fit remy who ended up winning
5:32
the series overall
5:32
SPEAKER_00: that year um
5:35
SPEAKER_00: So with that being said,
5:36
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to preview the men's side first,
5:37
SPEAKER_00: and then we'll get into the women's side.
5:40
SPEAKER_00: I also wanted to talk about the Skyrunning World Series,
5:42
SPEAKER_00: the Mount Zerbeon race,
5:43
SPEAKER_00: but I couldn't find anything on the start list for that race.
5:47
SPEAKER_00: So unfortunately,
5:48
SPEAKER_00: it would just be the Golden Trail Series,
5:49
SPEAKER_00: but I'd rather get out something than nothing.
5:51
And I think this Golden Trail Series race is really exciting
5:54
and worth an episode
5:56
SPEAKER_00: just by itself.
5:58
SPEAKER_00: So looking back,
6:00
SPEAKER_00: before I talk about the men,
6:00
I'll just read over the top 10 results from the men for both
6:04
the prologue and the
6:06
SPEAKER_00: long course.
6:07
SPEAKER_00: Like I said,
6:07
SPEAKER_00: the long course,
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SPEAKER_00: I believe,
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SPEAKER_00: is the same as it was last time,
6:10
SPEAKER_00: about 26 kilometers and 1,450 meters of elevation gain.
6:15
So when they ran it in 2023 in the final,
6:16
Elozine got the win in about an hour and 56 minutes.
6:20
SPEAKER_00: 15 seconds behind him was Philemon Carriago.
6:22
And then Patrick was about another minute behind,
6:26
was a minute behind Elozine in third place.
6:29
SPEAKER_00: Fourth place, Remy Benet.
6:30
SPEAKER_00: Fifth place, Eli Hemming.
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SPEAKER_00: Sixth place,
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SPEAKER_00: Matthias Kuybers,
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SPEAKER_00: a very fast Solomon athlete who I think just ran two of six on the roads.
6:39
SPEAKER_00: Seventh place, Thomas Roach from the UK.
6:41
SPEAKER_00: Eighth, Bart Pridziewski.
6:44
SPEAKER_00: Ninth, Kevin Kabat.
6:46
SPEAKER_00: And tenth, Micah Bedouin-Rousseau.
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Some other guys just outside the top ten,
6:50
Roberto Di Lorenze,
6:52
Marco Felosi.
6:53
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so that was the Golden Trail final that year.
6:58
SPEAKER_00: And then in the prologue, too, that was what surprised me the most.
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SPEAKER_00: Elozine got the win in the prologue,
7:02
SPEAKER_00: the short,
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SPEAKER_00: fast event,
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SPEAKER_00: beating out Remy in second place,
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SPEAKER_00: Philemon in third place,
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SPEAKER_00: Patrick in fourth.
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SPEAKER_00: Linus Holtegaard in fifth,
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SPEAKER_00: Matthias Kuybers in sixth,
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SPEAKER_00: Daniel Patterson in seventh,
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SPEAKER_00: Eli Hemming in eighth,
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SPEAKER_00: Thomas Roche in ninth,
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SPEAKER_00: and Roberto Di Lorenzi in tenth.
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SPEAKER_00: So a lot of the same names kind of intermingling in that top ten.
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SPEAKER_00: So with today's preview, what am I really excited about?
7:23
SPEAKER_00: I'm really excited about Remy.
7:25
SPEAKER_00: We're going to see his first race of the season.
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SPEAKER_00: I'm really excited about Elezin.
7:27
SPEAKER_00: We're going to see his first race of the season.
7:30
SPEAKER_00: And then we're going to see a lot of Kenyans again in this race.
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SPEAKER_00: So I'm really curious to see how some of these Kenyans do.
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And if we see something similar to last week where a lot of
7:39
Kenyan runners come out
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SPEAKER_00: and just kind of really take it out from the gun.
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SPEAKER_00: I think if there's one theme with a lot of the Kenyan runners,
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SPEAKER_00: we know they're always going to be super fast.
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SPEAKER_00: And the biggest question mark is kind of twofold for me.
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SPEAKER_00: One,
7:51
SPEAKER_00: as the races get longer,
7:52
SPEAKER_00: how well are they going to fuel or how much are they practice fueling?
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If we've noticed kind of one thing that they're usually not
7:57
very practiced at or
7:58
SPEAKER_00: good at,
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SPEAKER_00: it's typically fueling.
8:00
And I think we kind of saw that last week with the Kenyans
8:03
coming out and they were
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SPEAKER_00: in one through five or one through six,
8:06
SPEAKER_00: or not last week,
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SPEAKER_00: but whenever the China Great Wall race was.
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SPEAKER_00: They'll come out and they'll push really hard from the gun.
8:12
But then a lot of times if the race ends up being more like a
8:14
Sierra's and all
8:14
SPEAKER_00: where it's more closer to three hours or a longer race,
8:18
then a lot of times they might not do as good of a job in the
8:21
fueling and kind of
8:22
SPEAKER_00: fall off in the back half.
8:24
SPEAKER_00: And they can kind of get away with it for like an hour and a half.
8:26
SPEAKER_00: But a race like this with the men's winners coming in at about hour 55,
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SPEAKER_00: hour 56 in the final in 2023,
8:33
it's kind of right at that limit where you kind of want to
8:35
start fueling for that
8:36
SPEAKER_00: last hour.
8:36
SPEAKER_00: So I'll be curious to see about that.
8:39
SPEAKER_00: And then the other thing,
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SPEAKER_00: too,
8:40
SPEAKER_00: with the Kenyan athletes,
8:41
SPEAKER_00: in my opinion,
8:42
SPEAKER_00: a lot of times,
8:42
SPEAKER_00: is kind of how technical is the course.
8:44
SPEAKER_00: We'll see them run a little bit of the less technical stuff historically,
8:48
but you won't typically see them run something like a Dolomis
8:50
Sky Race or like a,
8:53
SPEAKER_00: you'll see some of them run Zagama,
8:54
SPEAKER_00: like Robert Camoyo typically do pretty good,
8:56
but you won't see a lot of them run Zagama because they're not
8:58
usually super
8:59
SPEAKER_00: strongly suited to technical stuff.
9:00
They want something that's a little bit more runnable where
9:03
they can really take
9:03
SPEAKER_00: advantage of their super flat speed and kind of open up that stride.
9:06
SPEAKER_00: So I'll be curious to see.
9:07
SPEAKER_00: I think this race is a good kind of in-between.
9:10
I believe it's going to be pretty technical and steep with some
9:12
of the up-downs,
9:13
SPEAKER_00: but it's not like an insane amount.
9:15
So I think this will be a good meeting point kind of in the
9:17
middle for fast people
9:18
SPEAKER_00: and for technical people.
9:21
SPEAKER_00: So those are some kind of themes that I noticed.
9:24
But just also looking at the men's side,
9:25
I mean,
9:25
I think I have notes on like 12-ish athletes.
9:30
Just a lot more density and a lot of the names that we're more
9:32
familiar with.
9:32
SPEAKER_00: So I'm really excited.
9:33
SPEAKER_00: Next week is going to be Zagama.
9:34
SPEAKER_00: I'm really excited to preview that.
9:36
SPEAKER_00: But I'm really excited to preview this race, honestly.
9:37
It doesn't have the historical significance that a lot of these
9:40
Golden Trail series have.
9:41
um like i said so far as i can tell it just did the final here
9:44
in 23 but just
9:45
looking at a start list this this is really exciting me as like
9:48
one of the more uh
9:49
definitely the most competitive race we've had in golden golden
9:51
trail this year and
9:52
possibly the most competitive sub ultra we've had this year as
9:55
well so um so what
9:57
that makes it let's jump into notes and just talking about some
10:00
of the men's racers
10:00
SPEAKER_00: and who i think is going to do well on this race
10:04
SPEAKER_00: Um, first and foremost, I want to start off with Remy Benet.
10:07
Uh,
10:07
Remy Benet is kind of the Solomon poster child of sub ultra and
10:11
especially uphill running.
10:12
SPEAKER_00: He's known to be one of the fastest uphill runners in the world.
10:15
SPEAKER_00: Maybe only second to Patrick, uh, Kip and Jano, um, Remy is back.
10:19
SPEAKER_00: Uh, he has stayed undefeated.
10:21
I think he's had a third season in a row of being undefeated
10:24
and the ski events that he does.
10:25
SPEAKER_00: Um,
10:27
the ski events that he does over in Switzerland and Europe in
10:31
the winter.
10:32
Um,
10:32
so he's still,
10:33
we know he's prime ski fitness,
10:35
um,
10:35
coming off a really good year.
10:36
SPEAKER_00: I've been following him with Strava.
10:37
SPEAKER_00: It looks like he's putting in some workouts.
10:39
SPEAKER_00: I think he just put in a workout today.
10:40
SPEAKER_00: It's a Wednesday morning over in Europe time.
10:43
SPEAKER_00: Um, last workout before the race, I would imagine he's looking fit.
10:47
SPEAKER_00: He's looking really fast.
10:48
important thing to note about remy i definitely think he's
10:50
gonna be super hungry to
10:51
get back that golden trail title um but also last year i mean
10:54
he wasn't slower last
10:56
year than the year that he won the series but everyone just got
10:58
that much faster so
10:59
i mean he didn't go slower at mammoth uh headlands was a new
11:02
race but a lot of his
11:02
races marathon of mont blanc you know he broke the course
11:05
record as well as uh
11:06
elozine but elozine won um so even though remy seemed to have a
11:10
quote-unquote down
11:11
SPEAKER_00: year last year he didn't
11:12
get slower everyone just got really fast and so i'm curious to
11:15
see what changes
11:15
he's made to his training this year to try to kind of bridge
11:17
that gap and get back
11:19
SPEAKER_00: on top um let's see so yeah remy one series in 23 um
11:26
and race awesome last year but he just was he was one of the
11:29
big four but a lot of
11:29
times he just wasn't fast enough to keep up with patrick fellam
11:32
on elizine uh
11:33
probably my favorite race uh last year was the marathon to mont
11:37
blanc if you watch
11:37
any of the highlights or recaps either from golden trail or if
11:40
you just go um and
11:41
kind of scroll through the video if they got the full footage
11:43
up on youtube i
11:44
SPEAKER_00: watched it live i think when it's happening or maybe watch the recap
11:47
Patrick,
11:48
excuse me,
11:48
Elozine and Remy,
11:50
they just keep taking shots at each other.
11:51
SPEAKER_00: And I mean, it's such a strategic race.
11:53
SPEAKER_00: You'll see one of them pull over,
11:54
pretend like he's tying his shoe just to kind of sit back on
11:56
the other shoulder.
11:57
SPEAKER_00: And they just trade leads, trade leads, trade leads.
11:59
SPEAKER_00: One fills up water there, one makes a move.
12:01
SPEAKER_00: And they were just going back and forth and back and forth.
12:03
SPEAKER_00: And Elozine actually made his move,
12:05
SPEAKER_00: if I remember correctly,
12:05
SPEAKER_00: his final one to take the lead on the uphill,
12:07
SPEAKER_00: which is pretty crazy when Elozine is out climbing Remy,
12:10
SPEAKER_00: who's known to be the GOAT.
12:13
SPEAKER_00: And with that being said,
12:14
Elozine is the next person I'd like to talk about last year's
12:16
returning champion.
12:18
SPEAKER_00: He's coming fresh with two new sponsors just in the past two weeks.
12:21
SPEAKER_00: So he already was the normal guy.
12:23
SPEAKER_00: But now he's got a sponsor in Morton for nutrition.
12:25
SPEAKER_00: So that's going to be interesting to see.
12:27
SPEAKER_00: And then he's also sponsored by Suunto.
12:29
SPEAKER_00: So I'm actually really excited about that because Elozine,
12:32
SPEAKER_00: so far as I could tell,
12:32
has never worn watches at races and doesn't seem to wear
12:35
watches at races.
12:37
Which for me,
12:37
as somebody who started running after Strava in GPS,
12:40
it just seems unfathomable.
12:45
one of the most talented racers in terms of tactics uh in the
12:48
whole golden trail
12:49
circuit if not the most talented um and i think we've seen that
12:52
you know he's just
12:53
kind of evolved he's always been super fit and he's always been
12:56
a really smart
12:56
racer but now he's just kind of got that extra level of fitness
12:59
to be able to like
13:00
execute the race at the end because if you go back and watch
13:03
the golden trail
13:03
series and uh when i was bored and at some version of military
13:07
training stuff
13:08
SPEAKER_00: I would just watch an episode each morning from the 2019 season.
13:12
SPEAKER_00: But if you go way back to like 2018, 2019 with Elozine,
13:17
SPEAKER_00: He's always been a really, really good racer.
13:19
SPEAKER_00: He used to just latch on to guys like Stian Angermund,
13:22
SPEAKER_00: who he knew was going to race the race really smart.
13:24
And he would just kind of sit with them the whole race and do
13:26
whatever they were doing.
13:26
SPEAKER_00: So he didn't want to go out too hard.
13:28
SPEAKER_00: And this would often lead to like a second through fourth place.
13:31
SPEAKER_00: And I think a lot of times,
13:32
I think there was a couple of times he even like didn't pass
13:34
Stian at the end,
13:35
SPEAKER_00: even though he probably could have,
13:35
SPEAKER_00: just because Stian basically was like his pace horse the whole time.
13:39
SPEAKER_00: So Elozine is just a really tactical, really smart racer.
13:43
SPEAKER_00: And I'm excited.
13:44
SPEAKER_00: If he's got a Suunto sponsorship,
13:45
SPEAKER_00: maybe we can start seeing,
13:46
SPEAKER_00: A,
13:46
SPEAKER_00: some of his training,
13:47
SPEAKER_00: or B,
13:47
we can at least see some of those Strava files from his races
13:50
because his downhills
13:51
SPEAKER_00: have got to be insane.
13:52
SPEAKER_00: His uphill skill is next level.
13:55
It's been really exciting just to see guys like Philemon
13:57
posting their race results
14:00
and their gaps and just seeing them run sub-five minute miles
14:04
on the last couple of downhills.
14:05
SPEAKER_00: You're getting in the 4.30s on trails.
14:07
SPEAKER_00: It's just kind of insane to see.
14:09
um so we'll see elzin's looking in pretty good shape he just
14:12
won a 10k that he does
14:13
the beginning of every year uh in switzerland and i think it
14:16
was around 28 or 29
14:17
minutes don't quote me on that but it's a race that he's gotten
14:19
i think he got
14:20
second out last year and i think his time was a little bit
14:22
faster this year so
14:23
everything that i can see says he's in at least as good of
14:26
fitness as he was last
14:27
year um which means that he's definitely somebody exciting to
14:29
watch and he also has
14:30
the confidence of having already won this a race on this course
14:34
at the finals of
14:35
SPEAKER_00: golden trail in 23.
14:35
SPEAKER_00: so
14:37
SPEAKER_00: Elzin, definitely a heavy favorite.
14:38
SPEAKER_00: Remy, I think a very heavy favorite to be in your top five.
14:42
SPEAKER_00: Just a matter of ranking at that point.
14:44
But I think both of them could easily be in your top three with
14:47
Remy as low as top five,
14:48
SPEAKER_00: but probably not lower.
14:50
SPEAKER_00: Next guy I want to talk about is Cesare Maestri.
14:52
SPEAKER_00: He's looking in really good shape already.
14:54
SPEAKER_00: He got that fifth place last week in China.
14:58
SPEAKER_00: And I think he's going to be a strong contender for points once again,
15:00
SPEAKER_00: somewhere in that four through eight range.
15:03
SPEAKER_00: He did not race here in 2023, so no previous result here.
15:06
But he did get eighth at both Golden Trail World Series last year,
15:10
both the U.S.
15:11
Golden Trail World Series last year,
15:12
and then fourth at Euro Champs up and down race.
15:16
SPEAKER_00: So I think Cesare is always a contender any race he's in.
15:20
SPEAKER_00: Typically, he can be in top 10 shape.
15:21
SPEAKER_00: The more runnable it is, I find the better he'll do.
15:23
So I'm curious about how he'll do and something that's a little
15:27
bit more up down like this.
15:28
But like I said,
15:29
he did get fourth at the Euro Champs up down race last year.
15:32
SPEAKER_00: So I do think he can also do pretty well in up down stuff.
15:37
SPEAKER_00: Next athlete, talk about new guy on the Golden Trail circuit.
15:39
SPEAKER_00: I think he's a younger dude.
15:41
SPEAKER_00: Jacob Adkin.
15:42
SPEAKER_00: He's a Scottish athlete for New Balance.
15:44
SPEAKER_00: I've been seeing his name pop up here and there.
15:46
He just raced Sky Race Day Mathesine this year on the sky
15:49
running circuit.
15:49
SPEAKER_00: He got sixth at it.
15:51
SPEAKER_00: He got second on the Marathon de Mont Blanc vertical kilometer last year.
15:54
And then he was second in the European Champs uphill,
15:57
I think only to Lucas Airely.
15:59
So he's really,
16:00
really good on these climbs,
16:01
really,
16:01
really good on these uphills.
16:02
SPEAKER_00: And I think we saw that in the Sky Racing Mathazine.
16:04
SPEAKER_00: He took it out and he kind of led everyone to the top,
16:08
SPEAKER_00: had a pretty good gap,
16:08
but then didn't quite have the legs on the downhill or the race management.
16:12
SPEAKER_00: So I think he's definitely somebody to look out for.
16:14
SPEAKER_00: I think this might be maybe not a bit long,
16:17
but I think he's still kind of racing into these distances and
16:19
kind of learning the pacing.
16:20
SPEAKER_00: And I think if it's a shorter race,
16:22
SPEAKER_00: like I said,
16:22
SPEAKER_00: second in the European Champs uphill,
16:25
SPEAKER_00: I think he also did the up-down and got like 11th or something.
16:29
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm curious to see.
16:29
SPEAKER_00: I could see him in the back half of the top 10.
16:31
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if I see him in the top five.
16:33
And I'm also curious if he just happens to share this same last
16:37
name as Scout Atkin
16:38
SPEAKER_00: or if they're related or if they're married.
16:40
SPEAKER_00: I haven't seen anything on social media that points to one or the other.
16:42
SPEAKER_00: So if anyone knows, please let me know or if it's just a coincidence.
16:47
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
16:48
uh some other males to look out for so some things i want to
16:50
talk about we're going
16:51
to talk about a group of kenyans here and they're not names
16:53
we're used to we're not
16:54
going to see uh patrick in this one so i think patrick's
16:57
finally taking a little
16:58
bit of a rest he just got two wins so i think he's in a really
17:00
good spot points
17:01
wise and i imagine he'll probably come back and race heroes and
17:04
all and um whatever
17:06
other race they're doing trying to think i don't remember
17:10
they're not doing
17:10
marathon de mal blanc this year but whatever race other races
17:13
mid-season uh i think
17:15
SPEAKER_00: they're doing another one in italy if i'm not mistaken
17:17
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe that's just where the final is.
17:18
SPEAKER_00: They're doing another race in the middle of the year, whatever it is.
17:20
SPEAKER_00: So I imagine he's coming back for those.
17:23
SPEAKER_00: Austria, maybe?
17:23
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think it's Austria.
17:25
SPEAKER_00: So a host of Kenyan names I want to talk about.
17:28
SPEAKER_00: Kevin Cabette, Paul Machoca, Michael Salelo Saoli,
17:33
We got Philemon also racing and then Timothy Kabet and Richard
17:38
Omaya Atubia.
17:39
SPEAKER_00: So once again,
17:40
SPEAKER_00: just like last week in China or last China race,
17:44
SPEAKER_00: excuse me,
17:45
SPEAKER_00: the last race that was in China in Golden Trail Series.
17:48
I still think if you have fewer than three Kenyans in your top five,
17:50
you're probably wrong.
17:51
SPEAKER_00: We might even see four.
17:52
I wouldn't be surprised if we see five or six Kenyans in our
17:55
top 10,
17:56
quite frankly.
17:57
So I want to talk about some of these guys and kind of give you
17:58
some information on
17:59
SPEAKER_00: them and kind of let you pick where you're at on that.
18:03
SPEAKER_00: So Kevin Kabet,
18:04
SPEAKER_00: he's coming off of a second place at the World Mountain Running,
18:08
SPEAKER_00: one of the WMRA events at Romania.
18:10
SPEAKER_00: He got second just to Paul Machoca, who we're going to talk about next.
18:14
Kevin Kabat is a little confusing because Kevin and Timothy
18:16
Kabat both raced last
18:18
SPEAKER_00: year at the Golden Trail World Series.
18:21
One race at the final,
18:22
one race at the prologue,
18:23
and they both got fourth place at their events.
18:24
SPEAKER_00: So Kevin Kabat did the prologue last year.
18:26
SPEAKER_00: I think he's a younger Kenyan athlete.
18:28
He also raced Marathon to Mont Blanc and got fourth place,
18:31
12th at Zagama.
18:33
And he did race the full distance in 2023 at Golfo de la Sola,
18:39
and he got ninth place.
18:40
SPEAKER_00: So he has course familiarity.
18:42
SPEAKER_00: And he's also got a third place in Seattle in 2023.
18:45
SPEAKER_00: So definitely a fast guy, definitely somebody to look out for.
18:47
SPEAKER_00: He's already raced the course, so that could work to his advantage.
18:50
SPEAKER_00: And I think he's definitely a strong choice with that course familiarity.
18:53
SPEAKER_00: Next I want to talk about is Paul Machoca.
18:55
SPEAKER_00: He's a sixth at Sears in all last year and fourth at Grossglockner,
18:58
SPEAKER_00: which is both really competitive races.
19:01
SPEAKER_00: He won the WMRA event in Romania two weeks ago.
19:04
SPEAKER_00: So he did beat Kevin Cabette.
19:06
SPEAKER_00: I don't think it was by more than like 15 seconds or a minute.
19:10
But so it appears he might be a little bit more fit than Kevin
19:12
Cabette or at least
19:13
SPEAKER_00: in a race of that distance.
19:14
SPEAKER_00: I think it was like a low one hour range for total time.
19:19
SPEAKER_00: Paul Machocas also got second at the World WMRA Final last year,
19:23
SPEAKER_00: just behind Patrick,
19:24
SPEAKER_00: and he was third at Trofeo Nisego,
19:26
SPEAKER_00: also just behind Patrick in Philemon.
19:28
SPEAKER_00: And then I would say that he's a very strong pick for the top five,
19:32
SPEAKER_00: and I'm pretty confident he's going to get points in this race.
19:34
SPEAKER_00: So definitely somebody to look out for.
19:36
SPEAKER_00: Next Kenyan male athlete I want to talk about is Michael Salelo Saoli.
19:43
SPEAKER_00: Kind of had him on my radar last year.
19:44
SPEAKER_00: He got third at Montu du Nide Diego.
19:49
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to say that race a bunch of times.
19:51
SPEAKER_00: Montu du Nide or Nii.
19:52
SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure.
19:53
SPEAKER_00: If somebody knows how to pronounce it, please let me know.
19:55
SPEAKER_00: But it's a really competitive race in France that's on that WMRA circuit.
19:59
SPEAKER_00: I'm pretty confident.
20:00
SPEAKER_00: He was also third at Grossglockner.
20:02
SPEAKER_00: both of which were stacked world mountain running runs.
20:05
SPEAKER_00: So they're very competitive.
20:06
SPEAKER_00: And then he won Giro de Mont against guys like Jack Kunzel,
20:09
SPEAKER_00: Daniel Pattis,
20:10
SPEAKER_00: Antonio Martinez Perez,
20:12
SPEAKER_00: and Luca Delpero.
20:13
SPEAKER_00: And that's a longer race too, that requires a little bit more nutrition.
20:17
SPEAKER_00: It's a three hour plus race.
20:20
So I think he probably has a pretty good feel for fueling and
20:23
will do good on a
20:24
SPEAKER_00: course like this.
20:24
Like I said,
20:25
I think this is just long enough where the nutrition is going
20:27
to play a factor.
20:28
SPEAKER_00: If the winners are coming in and through about an hour 50,
20:29
SPEAKER_00: I think it was an hour and a half or so.
20:32
SPEAKER_00: These guys, a lot of these guys could get away with it.
20:34
SPEAKER_00: But given this race is a little bit longer,
20:35
I think that will play a factor into which one of these Kenyan
20:38
guys is going to
20:40
SPEAKER_00: fuel well and also manage hydration and stuff like that well.
20:44
SPEAKER_00: Next athlete, talk about Philemon.
20:46
I think anyone in the Golden Trail Circuit is pretty familiar
20:48
with Philemon at this point.
20:49
SPEAKER_00: He's coming off back-to-back second places.
20:50
I'm sure he's real hungry for getting a win and kind of getting
20:53
rid of that second place streak.
20:56
He did get second in the final here to Elozine when he had his
21:00
breakout double win,
21:01
and then he got third in the prologue to Remy and Elozine at
21:05
the same course.
21:06
um so philemon's in really good shape i think he's a lock for
21:10
the top five um would
21:11
love to see him get a win here and curious how the combo of
21:15
philemon remy and uh
21:17
and elzin up front is gonna go and if one of those three win or
21:20
if it's gonna be
21:20
SPEAKER_00: one of these other kenny guys i'm talking about that will surprise us uh
21:25
SPEAKER_00: Two more Kenyans I want to talk about are, or three more, I guess.
21:29
SPEAKER_00: Timothy Kabat, he's coming off fourth place last week.
21:31
SPEAKER_00: He led for a lot of the race and then kind of faded into fourth.
21:35
Curious to see if he's going to learn from his mistakes with
21:37
fueling and hydration
21:38
SPEAKER_00: and come back and do really well.
21:42
And then Timothy Kabat got fourth at the Golden Trail World
21:44
Series final the longer
21:45
SPEAKER_00: distance last year.
21:47
So I think he's probably a pretty strong lock for somewhere in
21:50
that top 10.
21:51
I'm going to have a hard time picking and differentiating who I
21:54
want up there,
21:54
SPEAKER_00: but I definitely think that Timothy,
21:57
SPEAKER_00: Philemon is always up there.
21:59
SPEAKER_00: So Timothy,
22:00
SPEAKER_00: Philemon,
22:01
and maybe Paul Machoco would probably be the three that I would
22:03
choose as of right now,
22:05
SPEAKER_00: but I'm not 100% on that.
22:07
SPEAKER_00: Uh, two more Kenyans to talk about while we're rounding out.
22:10
SPEAKER_00: So Richard Omaya Atua,
22:11
SPEAKER_00: uh,
22:12
he won gross Glockner last year against a really stacked field
22:14
and Montu didn't
22:15
SPEAKER_00: need Diego.
22:16
Uh,
22:16
he got 18th at Sears and all,
22:18
which makes me think that he probably came out pretty hot.
22:20
And I think he was up there with that lead back for a lot of it
22:21
and kind of faded into it.
22:23
SPEAKER_00: I'm curious if he's somebody that,
22:25
SPEAKER_00: um,
22:26
SPEAKER_00: might need some more practice feeling,
22:27
SPEAKER_00: uh,
22:28
SPEAKER_00: cause the gross Glockner,
22:28
SPEAKER_00: the Montu do need or right around like an hour,
22:30
SPEAKER_00: hour 15 and Sears and I'll obviously it's more like two and a half hours.
22:34
SPEAKER_00: Um, and I'm pretty sure he was up there with that lead pack, uh,
22:37
SPEAKER_00: throughout the race in the first half.
22:38
SPEAKER_00: So I'm curious to see how he's going to do.
22:41
SPEAKER_00: And same thing with Samuel Kiprojic.
22:43
We saw him come out with the lead Kenyan pack and kind of fade
22:45
to sixth place.
22:47
SPEAKER_00: So I'm curious to see if he's going to kind of learn from his mistakes.
22:49
SPEAKER_00: But I think 100% chance the Kenyans take the race out super hot.
22:53
And we'll kind of see if that strategy works for them and if
22:55
they do a little bit
22:56
SPEAKER_00: more fueling this week and if they can bump up their finishes.
22:59
SPEAKER_00: Which, I mean, they had amazing finishes last race, honestly.
23:03
SPEAKER_00: But if they can just finish as strong as they start, honestly.
23:07
SPEAKER_00: Some other guys to look out for,
23:08
SPEAKER_00: Jan Torreya,
23:09
SPEAKER_00: a young Spanish guy,
23:11
SPEAKER_00: signed to the Salman international team.
23:13
I got possibly the next Remy or kind of like Salman's next
23:17
young gun who's going to
23:17
SPEAKER_00: be really successful.
23:19
He's coming off a third place at Sky Race Day Mathesine just
23:21
earlier this year.
23:22
He got 10th at ETC,
23:24
the shortest distance for UTMB last year,
23:27
and 8th at the Eurochamps up-down.
23:30
SPEAKER_00: Um, and he did race this course at 23 in the final.
23:32
SPEAKER_00: So he does have some course familiarity.
23:34
SPEAKER_00: I think he's somebody who's going to be getting better and better as,
23:37
SPEAKER_00: uh,
23:38
SPEAKER_00: as time goes on,
23:39
SPEAKER_00: um,
23:41
SPEAKER_00: as time goes on in the golden trail circuit.
23:44
SPEAKER_00: So I would keep an eye out for him.
23:45
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if he's got quite top 10 for this race this year.
23:48
SPEAKER_00: Um, he definitely has that top 10 potential.
23:51
SPEAKER_00: So next on the list, Theodore Klein.
23:53
SPEAKER_00: He's a French guy.
23:54
He typically makes the French national teams,
23:57
and he's raced at the past two Worlds.
23:59
SPEAKER_00: He did race at Monte Duny Diego.
24:02
SPEAKER_00: I'm butchering that, I'm sure, and got seventh place.
24:05
He got third at Eurochamps in the up-down,
24:06
just behind Roberto Di Lorenzi and Lucas Early.
24:09
SPEAKER_00: And he was sixth in the uphill behind Roberto and Fred Tranchard.
24:14
SPEAKER_00: And then he raced at the last two Worlds.
24:17
worlds for the french team which i already mentioned so curious
24:20
about him i think
24:20
he's a little bit better i don't know he's good in the uptown
24:22
but we haven't seen
24:23
him in too many golden trail series races so i'm curious and
24:25
he's definitely
24:25
somebody to look out for um but i don't know that i have him in
24:29
my top five uh alex
24:31
SPEAKER_00: garcia carillo uh spanish brooks uh trail runner um
24:52
Bye.
25:20
SPEAKER_00: My apologies,
25:21
one day I will get technologically sophisticated enough to edit
25:24
out stuff,
25:25
SPEAKER_00: but right now it's not that day.
25:29
SPEAKER_00: So I'm back.
25:29
So Alex Garcia Carrillo,
25:31
Spanish Brooks trail athlete,
25:34
younger dude,
25:34
super fast.
25:35
We saw him get 12th at Headlands and second at Headlands last
25:39
year in the U.S.
25:39
SPEAKER_00: and second at UTC just behind Lucas Airely.
25:42
He was 12th at Sierra's and all and ninth at the Golden Trail
25:45
World Series China
25:47
SPEAKER_00: last year and second at Marathon de Mont Blanc half marathon.
25:50
SPEAKER_00: So we've seen him kind of right on the edge of that top 10 ranking four.
25:55
SPEAKER_00: These Golden Trail events finishing in the top 10.
25:57
SPEAKER_00: So I'll be curious to see if he can kind of break that top 10.
26:03
SPEAKER_00: He did see this course in 2023 at the final and got 18th in place.
26:08
So he might be a fringe kind of right on the back half of the
26:10
top 10 type of guy.
26:14
SPEAKER_00: Another athlete whose name is on the list,
26:15
but I'm not confident that they're going to be racing is going
26:17
to be Christian Allen,
26:19
SPEAKER_00: the mullet man from Utah,
26:20
SPEAKER_00: Nike trail athlete,
26:21
SPEAKER_00: super speedy road guy who also is making a splash as a U.S.
26:26
SPEAKER_00: guy on the European scene.
26:28
SPEAKER_00: I'm not confident that he's racing.
26:30
SPEAKER_00: He just ran in Utah yesterday,
26:32
and he's coming off of six weeks of no running because of a
26:35
stress reaction in his chin.
26:38
SPEAKER_00: It's a bummer because he was looking really fit this year.
26:40
SPEAKER_00: He ran a 210 at Houston,
26:42
and I think he was originally going to do a cherry blossom and
26:44
potentially Boston.
26:45
SPEAKER_00: But that stress reaction kind of kept him from doing it.
26:47
SPEAKER_00: So I'm not confident that Christian Allen is going to be racing this,
26:51
but I'm hopeful that he takes care of his foot and can get back
26:54
for a really
26:55
SPEAKER_00: awesome summer season of racing.
26:58
Some other names to look out for and somebody who I'm pretty
27:00
confident is going to
27:01
SPEAKER_00: get points probably in the four through eight zone.
27:04
SPEAKER_00: Roberto Di Lorenzi.
27:05
SPEAKER_00: He races so much, but he's always so consistent.
27:08
SPEAKER_00: This year,
27:08
SPEAKER_00: he's already got three second places in Sky Running World Series events,
27:11
SPEAKER_00: two of which were to Luca Del Toro.
27:13
SPEAKER_00: And then the other one was at Sky Race State Mathesine to a chairman lab.
27:19
SPEAKER_00: He did run a half marathon earlier this year.
27:21
He's not quite as fast as he was last year,
27:23
at least on the roads he wasn't.
27:25
SPEAKER_00: He ran a 64.08 at Barcelona half last year and he ran 67.42 this year.
27:30
But I don't think he's been focusing as much on road stuff as
27:32
he did last year.
27:33
SPEAKER_00: And in my opinion,
27:35
he's so consistent and he's always a lock for a top 10 in
27:37
pretty much any race he runs.
27:39
uh he did race the prologue here in 23 and got 10th and he was
27:41
also 12th at the
27:42
final i think he's a super solid pick for somewhere in that
27:45
four through eight and
27:46
i would be very confident with somebody putting him in the back
27:49
half like four or
27:49
SPEAKER_00: five for their top if it's a five five deep pick um
27:55
SPEAKER_00: Last names I want to talk about, Marco Falozzi.
27:57
SPEAKER_00: He got sixth at Mammoth last year,
27:58
SPEAKER_00: 16th at Headlands,
28:00
SPEAKER_00: and then 14th at the Prologue and 27th at the final.
28:02
SPEAKER_00: He could be a fringe back after the top 10 guy.
28:05
SPEAKER_00: He seems to be very, very good at running downhills.
28:07
SPEAKER_00: And then Marcin Kubiczka,
28:09
SPEAKER_00: a Polish athlete,
28:11
SPEAKER_00: 17th and 16th at the finals last year,
28:12
SPEAKER_00: 12th at Zagama.
28:13
SPEAKER_00: And then he tried to race the Tatra race that got canceled.
28:16
SPEAKER_00: So that kind of wraps up the men's side of the previews.
28:20
SPEAKER_00: Definitely super excited to see...
28:23
Because I haven't opened the picking function yet,
28:25
I haven't really sorted out my top five.
28:27
But looking through these names,
28:28
I would probably have to put Remy and Elzin and Philemon.
28:35
SPEAKER_00: And then I'd probably pick two Kenyans, if we're being quite honest.
28:38
And I'd probably go with Paul Machoca and maybe...
28:48
Timothy Kabet,
28:49
potentially.
28:51
Yeah,
28:51
Paul Machoca and maybe Timothy Cabette would probably be my choices.
28:54
SPEAKER_00: Although Michael Sayoli, I think, could also do pretty good.
28:57
SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, I mean, that's a pretty vanilla pick.
29:01
SPEAKER_00: But, I mean, it's tough.
29:02
SPEAKER_00: It's always tough to see with Remy and Elzin not having raced.
29:06
SPEAKER_00: I mean,
29:06
SPEAKER_00: I guess if I had to pick a top five,
29:07
SPEAKER_00: maybe Elzin,
29:09
SPEAKER_00: Philemon,
29:09
SPEAKER_00: Remy,
29:10
SPEAKER_00: and then there are two Kenyans rounding it out.
29:12
SPEAKER_00: But I'm not sure.
29:13
SPEAKER_00: But I'm just going to give you the preview.
29:15
SPEAKER_00: I haven't made my picks yet, but I think all those guys are strong.
29:18
SPEAKER_00: And I think you'd be hard-pressed to find...
29:21
SPEAKER_00: at least three Kenyans in the top five, if not four.
29:23
And you'd be safe to pick,
29:25
honestly,
29:25
four Kenyans in the top five if you wanted to.
29:27
SPEAKER_00: But it's hard to pick against also Remy and Elousine,
29:31
SPEAKER_00: who have,
29:31
SPEAKER_00: of course,
29:31
SPEAKER_00: familiarity in coming out on their first races of the year.
29:35
SPEAKER_00: That's the men's half of this preview.
29:37
On the women's half,
29:39
some themes we're seeing,
29:40
we're not seeing the big-hitting names.
29:42
I was really hoping maybe Judith Weider would be back,
29:44
but we might see her at Zagama next week.
29:48
SPEAKER_00: Or somebody like Sophia Lockley.
29:51
SPEAKER_00: But it still is denser, and it's getting denser every race.
29:54
We're seeing more Kenyan women this race than we did last race,
29:57
so that's exciting.
29:59
SPEAKER_00: On the women's side, the last time this race was run for...
30:04
SPEAKER_00: The Golden Trail final in 2023,
30:06
we had Madalina Florea winning the race just 15 seconds in
30:12
front of Judith Wieter.
30:14
SPEAKER_00: So Madalina Florea in first,
30:17
SPEAKER_00: Judith Wieter in second,
30:18
SPEAKER_00: Sophia Lockley in third,
30:20
SPEAKER_00: Meow Yao in fourth,
30:21
SPEAKER_00: Malin Osa in fifth,
30:23
SPEAKER_00: Julia Font Gomez in sixth,
30:24
SPEAKER_00: Sarah Alonzo in seventh,
30:26
SPEAKER_00: Elise Ponset in eighth,
30:27
SPEAKER_00: Alex Gaggy in ninth,
30:29
SPEAKER_00: and Van Dongen F in tenth.
30:32
SPEAKER_00: Uh,
30:32
SPEAKER_00: just outside of the top 10,
30:33
SPEAKER_00: we have Rosa Laura filu,
30:35
SPEAKER_00: who's going to be racing this race,
30:37
SPEAKER_00: uh,
30:37
SPEAKER_00: Sylvia Nord scar on a Gibson.
30:40
SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah.
30:41
SPEAKER_00: So, uh, and then on the prologue side of things for the women, uh,
30:47
SPEAKER_00: Madalena Florea won.
30:48
SPEAKER_00: Sophia Lockley got second.
30:49
SPEAKER_00: Judith Weter got third.
30:51
SPEAKER_00: Malin Osa got fourth.
30:52
SPEAKER_00: Silvia Nordsquare fifth.
30:53
SPEAKER_00: Alonzo, Sarah Alonzo sixth.
30:56
SPEAKER_00: Allie Ostrander seventh.
30:57
SPEAKER_00: Elise Ponsat eighth.
30:59
SPEAKER_00: Emily Menue in ninth.
31:01
SPEAKER_00: And Yao Meow in tenth.
31:03
SPEAKER_00: So a lot of overlap for both of those, just like on the men's side.
31:07
SPEAKER_00: For the winning female, Madalena Florea ran at about 2.18.
31:10
SPEAKER_00: So I'd expect the women's winning time to be somewhere in the two teams.
31:18
so uh yeah and then on the women's side um it's getting deeper
31:21
and deeper but still
31:22
hasn't been quite as deep as some of these races we've seen but
31:24
i do still think i
31:26
agree with it uh both on the women's and the men's side this is
31:28
probably the
31:28
deepest race that we've seen so notably missing sarah alonzo
31:32
and malinoso who i
31:33
think did the same thing last year they raced the first two
31:36
races in asia and then
31:37
kind of took a big break um for a while until they came back
31:41
and raced later or i
31:42
imagine both of them are going to race sagama since they're
31:44
basque athletes too and
31:45
SPEAKER_00: so they're probably focusing on that
31:46
SPEAKER_00: versus this race.
31:48
SPEAKER_00: Still no Judith Weider, no Sophia Lockley.
31:51
And then I'm also curious to see if Minka Brinkman is coming
31:53
back to the trail side
31:54
SPEAKER_00: of things this year,
31:56
now that it's not an Olympic year and she's not focusing on the
31:58
road stuff as much.
31:59
SPEAKER_00: So hopefully she does.
32:02
SPEAKER_00: So looking at the females, I don't think...
32:09
I don't think on either of these races there's a clear-cut
32:11
favorite in my opinion,
32:12
SPEAKER_00: but I would say if I had to pick one,
32:14
SPEAKER_00: I think coming off of her one last week,
32:16
Caroline Kimotai is probably the clear-cut favorite with Joyce
32:20
Najeru and Manalina
32:21
SPEAKER_00: Floria maybe in like two,
32:24
SPEAKER_00: three spots for favorites.
32:25
SPEAKER_00: We're also seeing some more Kenyan females as well.
32:28
SPEAKER_00: Go through the list of names and just kind of looking at who's racing.
32:31
SPEAKER_00: Rosa Laura Filu.
32:33
SPEAKER_00: Spanish athletes for compress sport.
32:35
SPEAKER_00: And I don't think she has a shoe sponsor.
32:37
SPEAKER_00: She had a really good year last year.
32:38
SPEAKER_00: She's a really consistent runner.
32:40
SPEAKER_00: Um,
32:40
and she was on the early season leaderboard of the golden trail
32:43
world series due to
32:43
SPEAKER_00: some good results in the China and Japan race.
32:46
SPEAKER_00: I think she ended up fading and she didn't do as good at the final.
32:49
Uh,
32:49
and I think she was in the back half of the top 10 by the end
32:51
of the year.
32:52
SPEAKER_00: Um, but she did awesome.
32:53
SPEAKER_00: She was ninth at OCC,
32:55
SPEAKER_00: fifth at marathon to Mont Blanc,
32:56
SPEAKER_00: eighth at Zagama,
32:57
SPEAKER_00: 10th at China race,
32:58
SPEAKER_00: and then 18th at the golden trail final.
33:00
SPEAKER_00: I'm really excited to see what she can do this year.
33:02
SPEAKER_00: I think she's a pretty young runner from Spain.
33:05
And I don't think she's from the Basque country like Sara
33:08
Alonso and Malinosa.
33:09
But I think she is a really young Spanish runner who is going
33:12
to be really
33:13
promising the next couple of years and just raced really
33:15
consistently last year.
33:16
SPEAKER_00: So excited to see what she can do this year.
33:18
SPEAKER_00: I would definitely could see her being in the back half of the top 10,
33:21
SPEAKER_00: maybe somewhere in like that six through eight range for this race.
33:25
Next name to look out for,
33:26
and one that I'm really curious to see,
33:28
Sarah Carter.
33:29
SPEAKER_00: She's a U.S.
33:30
SPEAKER_00: athlete.
33:31
SPEAKER_00: She was on the trail team last year,
33:32
and she's coming off of finishing her collegiate career at
33:36
Colorado State University,
33:38
SPEAKER_00: where she ran a 3408 10K.
33:41
And then she's coming off of a 7311,
33:42
so an hour and 13-minute half marathon at Mesa this spring.
33:47
SPEAKER_00: So she's obviously very, very fit.
33:50
I think she just recently announced a sponsor to Topo in time
33:53
for racing at Chuckanut,
33:55
where she got third place in that cold hypothermia-laden rainy
34:01
Washington day.
34:02
SPEAKER_00: So you know she can fuel super well and also take care of herself.
34:06
um and then she raced a lot of competitive races last year with
34:08
the trail team i
34:09
think she did like broken arrow in all the golden golden trail
34:13
ones in the states
34:14
uh and then i don't know that she did the final but i'm really
34:16
curious to see i'm
34:17
excited to see uh how she might develop and become a really
34:20
good trail runner one
34:21
of uh the better ones from the u.s um since we really don't
34:24
have a ton of big names
34:25
in the u.s minus sophia lockley and then danny marina who's
34:29
kind of seems to be
34:29
SPEAKER_00: phasing into 50ks and out of this sub ultra type stuff so
34:34
SPEAKER_00: Next name to look out for Madalena Floria.
34:36
SPEAKER_00: I think she's a very, very strong pick for one of those top three spots.
34:39
The only thing I'm curious about is she has mentioned kind of
34:43
being pretty beat up
34:44
from the past two races and just like really sore and her body
34:47
being tired.
34:48
SPEAKER_00: So hopefully she's gotten the rest that she needs and comes back.
34:51
But if anything,
34:52
I mean,
34:52
she,
34:52
this is the course where she made her name and kind of,
34:55
SPEAKER_00: kind of thrust herself into the spotlight.
34:57
SPEAKER_00: Nobody really knew who she was before this race.
35:00
SPEAKER_00: Um,
35:00
SPEAKER_00: and so,
35:00
SPEAKER_00: uh,
35:01
SPEAKER_00: really excited to see,
35:02
I think she might've had a good result as here's an all
35:04
marathon earlier that year and,
35:07
SPEAKER_00: uh,
35:07
SPEAKER_00: wasn't kind of known to come out hot and then have issues with nutrition.
35:10
SPEAKER_00: But, um,
35:12
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm really curious to see.
35:13
I think she probably has the confidence of knowing that she's
35:16
already won this race
35:16
SPEAKER_00: and raced here before.
35:17
And so hopefully she did whatever rest she needed in between
35:21
the last two races and
35:23
SPEAKER_00: this one,
35:23
SPEAKER_00: since she's already raced twice this year with two top three results.
35:26
SPEAKER_00: But I could see her winning this very easily.
35:28
And I think it'd be really wise to have her in the top five,
35:33
top three,
35:33
rather.
35:35
SPEAKER_00: Next name to look out for, Araya Liachi.
35:39
SPEAKER_00: She's a Swiss athlete.
35:41
SPEAKER_00: Super fast.
35:41
SPEAKER_00: I think she's coming over from the road side of things.
35:43
SPEAKER_00: And had some really good results last year.
35:45
SPEAKER_00: She did get fifth at Headlands and seventh at Mammoth.
35:48
SPEAKER_00: So two top tens in the U.S.
35:49
SPEAKER_00: Golden Trail Series races.
35:51
SPEAKER_00: And then she got eighth at the final and at Sierra's in all last year.
35:54
SPEAKER_00: So a bunch of top tens.
35:56
I definitely think she's a strong pick for the back half of
35:58
your top five if they
36:00
SPEAKER_00: go five deep on these picks.
36:02
SPEAKER_00: And I can see her finishing as high as probably fourth or fifth maybe.
36:06
SPEAKER_00: But I don't know if I see her finishing quite higher.
36:10
SPEAKER_00: Next person to look out for, Joyce Najeru.
36:13
So we've already kind of seen her have two tough races in that
36:16
she went off course
36:17
SPEAKER_00: in the Japan final and still came in sixth.
36:20
SPEAKER_00: And then she seemed,
36:22
I really don't know what happened if she just kind of blew up
36:24
and pushed too hard
36:25
SPEAKER_00: on the China one.
36:26
But she kind of just decided to pull the plug when she was
36:28
about three-fourths
36:29
SPEAKER_00: through the race and dropped.
36:30
SPEAKER_00: She was still kind of in that top five, but I don't know.
36:32
SPEAKER_00: I still haven't heard exactly what happened.
36:35
So hopefully whatever happened,
36:36
she's healthy,
36:37
she's okay,
36:38
and it wasn't too big of a deal.
36:39
SPEAKER_00: But I'm really curious to see how she responds to two less than perfect,
36:43
SPEAKER_00: especially for her being an athlete of her caliber and her talent.
36:48
SPEAKER_00: Two less than perfect races.
36:49
SPEAKER_00: I'm very curious to see how she responds.
36:51
SPEAKER_00: I'm a big fan of hers.
36:51
I think she's extremely positive and extremely good person to
36:54
have in this sport.
36:57
SPEAKER_00: And she did not race this in 2023.
36:58
So I don't think she knows the course quite as well as somebody
37:01
like Madalena
37:02
SPEAKER_00: Floria who might have a little bit of an advantage there.
37:05
SPEAKER_00: So Joyce, I think a very strong pick for the top five.
37:07
I'll still probably pick her in my top five despite having kind
37:10
of two rough days out there.
37:12
SPEAKER_00: And I would probably have her still in that top three area as well.
37:17
Next person to look out for is going to be a new name,
37:21
probably to most people.
37:22
SPEAKER_00: It's Valentin Kioch-Rudo,
37:25
SPEAKER_00: Kenyan athlete,
37:27
SPEAKER_00: coming up,
37:27
SPEAKER_00: I think,
37:28
SPEAKER_00: with the Salomon team,
37:29
SPEAKER_00: Milmani runners.
37:31
SPEAKER_00: She did race Worlds at Innsbruck, and she got fourth in the up-down.
37:33
SPEAKER_00: She was just behind Grayson and Joyce,
37:35
SPEAKER_00: but beat out Madalena and Solaris Thysang we're about to talk about.
37:39
And then she did just race two weeks ago at the World Mountain
37:42
Running kickoff in
37:44
SPEAKER_00: Romania and got a tight second place.
37:47
SPEAKER_00: And then, uh, to scout Adkin.
37:50
SPEAKER_00: And then she finished five seconds behind,
37:52
SPEAKER_00: uh,
37:53
SPEAKER_00: jointly in Chip and Jano in a trail race in Kenya last November.
37:56
SPEAKER_00: It was like an hour long.
37:57
SPEAKER_00: So I think Valentine is probably somebody,
37:59
SPEAKER_00: uh,
38:00
SPEAKER_00: once again,
38:01
SPEAKER_00: probably want to see,
38:02
SPEAKER_00: you probably want to put at least three Kenny women in this top five.
38:04
SPEAKER_00: I had to guess.
38:05
And I think she would be a strong contender for one of them
38:07
might kind of surprise some people.
38:08
And I wouldn't be surprised if she's up there in that one
38:10
through three spot for this race.
38:14
SPEAKER_00: Some other names.
38:16
SPEAKER_00: So Alex Gaggi, she's an Italian athlete.
38:19
SPEAKER_00: She did race here in the 23 final and got nine.
38:22
SPEAKER_00: Eighth place at ETC, the shortest UTMB event last year.
38:24
SPEAKER_00: Fifth at Zierras and All in Dolomis in 2023.
38:27
SPEAKER_00: And sixth at Giridamont last year.
38:29
I think she's a strong contender for the backup of the top 10
38:32
and does have the
38:33
SPEAKER_00: course familiarity.
38:34
SPEAKER_00: Somebody else I want to talk about, if I probably had to pick another,
38:38
SPEAKER_00: A Kenyan athlete would be Filaris Keese.
38:41
SPEAKER_00: Well, Caroline Kimetai would be one.
38:43
SPEAKER_00: And then Filaris Keese, I think, is another one.
38:46
SPEAKER_00: We've seen her a lot at Sears and All.
38:47
SPEAKER_00: She got fourth at Sears and All last year.
38:49
SPEAKER_00: She was third at Sears and All in 23 and second at Sears and All in 2022.
38:54
SPEAKER_00: So she races Sears and All very well.
38:56
SPEAKER_00: She raced Trofeo Nisego and got sixth last year,
38:59
SPEAKER_00: third at Monte Du Nidiegel,
39:02
SPEAKER_00: second at Gross Glockner,
39:04
SPEAKER_00: and then she was also second at Worlds in the uphill.
39:07
SPEAKER_00: So Valerius Kiesang,
39:08
SPEAKER_00: definitely a very strong runner,
39:09
SPEAKER_00: has a lot of experience in these races,
39:11
SPEAKER_00: could do pretty well.
39:13
finishing up the kenyan names uh miriam chip curie i couldn't
39:17
find anything on her
39:19
so kind of a wild card uh there is an athlete with a similar
39:23
name that runs at mizu
39:24
um but she has two r's in her name and that athlete's only a
39:27
freshman and like 18
39:28
or 19 uh kenyan athlete that came over the states to run so i
39:31
don't think it's the
39:32
same person so really no idea how she's gonna do it could be a
39:34
wild card and then
39:35
SPEAKER_00: the other person i mentioned is
39:38
SPEAKER_00: definitely worth,
39:39
SPEAKER_00: I mean,
39:39
SPEAKER_00: I would probably pick her to win,
39:40
SPEAKER_00: quite frankly,
39:41
SPEAKER_00: is Caroline Kimotai,
39:42
SPEAKER_00: or at least I'd put her in my top three.
39:44
SPEAKER_00: She's coming off a win at the Golden Trail China,
39:46
SPEAKER_00: so we know she's a pretty good strategic runner.
39:48
SPEAKER_00: She seemed to kind of figure out what her strengths and weaknesses were.
39:51
SPEAKER_00: This race is a little bit long.
39:53
SPEAKER_00: Well,
39:54
SPEAKER_00: It's probably similar.
39:54
So I think she'll do just fine fueling with the winners coming
39:57
through probably at
39:58
SPEAKER_00: around 215,
39:59
SPEAKER_00: 220 maybe.
40:00
SPEAKER_00: I think she could very easily win the series this year.
40:03
SPEAKER_00: She might be the breakout athlete of the year.
40:05
It'll be curious to see how she does over some longer and more
40:08
varied terrain.
40:09
But I think China was a pretty good mix of lots of different
40:12
types of terrain with
40:13
SPEAKER_00: the wall being a factor,
40:15
SPEAKER_00: with the steep updowns.
40:17
So I think Caroline Kimmatae is probably the favorite up there
40:20
with Monica,
40:22
SPEAKER_00: Madalina,
40:22
SPEAKER_00: Floria for winning this race.
40:28
SPEAKER_00: Let's see if I'm missing anyone.
40:29
SPEAKER_00: All right.
40:30
SPEAKER_00: And then some other female names worth...
40:33
mentioning naomi lang she's a scottish athlete on the solomon
40:37
international team um
40:39
pretty uh she's pretty young i think she's only 23 years old
40:42
she got seventh and
40:43
ninth at the prologue in the finals last year so two top tens
40:46
in the golden trail
40:46
finals and then fifth at europe champs in the up down and then
40:49
she won the 20k
40:50
ecotrail paris this year i could definitely see her in that
40:54
five through eight
40:55
SPEAKER_00: range as well
40:57
SPEAKER_00: Thera Willahoyt is an English athlete.
41:00
SPEAKER_00: She does more WMRA stuff, but she is very fast.
41:03
SPEAKER_00: We saw her get a third at Giro de Mont last year,
41:05
SPEAKER_00: which is a longer race,
41:06
SPEAKER_00: but very classic Italian one.
41:08
SPEAKER_00: Seventh at European Champs in the uphill, just behind Judith Weider.
41:12
SPEAKER_00: And then she got third at Broken Arrow VK in 2023.
41:15
She was fifth at Kobe this year,
41:16
but I didn't see her on the start list initially.
41:18
SPEAKER_00: Otherwise, I probably would have picked her.
41:19
I think she might have been a late edition,
41:21
and they shouldn't have her in the start list.
41:24
SPEAKER_00: Two more names, and then I'll kind of wrap it up.
41:27
SPEAKER_00: Vivian Bonzi,
41:27
SPEAKER_00: she got 12th at the Golden Trail Finals last year,
41:30
SPEAKER_00: Italian lady,
41:31
SPEAKER_00: 26th at Prologue,
41:33
SPEAKER_00: 3rd at ETC,
41:34
SPEAKER_00: so the shortest UTMB race,
41:35
SPEAKER_00: and 14th and 15th at the Eurochamps up,
41:37
SPEAKER_00: down,
41:37
SPEAKER_00: and the uphill.
41:39
She's been on the Italian national team for Innsbruck Worlds,
41:43
where she competed.
41:44
SPEAKER_00: And then the last one is Nomi Vachon, French athlete for Brooks.
41:51
SPEAKER_00: She just is coming off a third place at the UTMB 50K,
41:54
SPEAKER_00: the Vontu race that Ben Demon and a few other athletes did.
41:58
SPEAKER_00: And then she got seventh at the Piranu Half Marathon last year,
42:02
SPEAKER_00: top 10 in Dolomites in 23 and the Schleige Sky Race in 2023.
42:05
And then she won the shorter Templier race last year and also
42:10
tried to race the
42:12
SPEAKER_00: Tatcher race that got canceled because of thunderstorms last year.
42:15
SPEAKER_00: So if I had to kind of make some predictions,
42:18
SPEAKER_00: I think we're going to see either Caroline or Maddalena Florea win.
42:22
SPEAKER_00: So Caroline Kimathai or Maddalena Florea.
42:25
SPEAKER_00: I think Joyce will be somewhere in that top five.
42:28
I could even see Joyce getting a redemption win and kind of
42:31
coming back and racing to her level.
42:33
If I had to pick some other top five contenders,
42:35
I think one of either Solaris Keesing or...
42:41
SPEAKER_00: Valentin, Ruto are both strong picks.
42:43
SPEAKER_00: I'd probably lean a little bit more towards Solaris.
42:47
SPEAKER_00: I think Araya Liacci, the Swiss athlete, is also a very strong pick.
42:51
SPEAKER_00: And then, rounding out top five, Rosalara or maybe Sarah Willahoyt.
43:01
SPEAKER_00: So...
43:02
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, so I think it's a little bit deep, but I'll be very excited.
43:05
SPEAKER_00: I'm hoping, I'm looking forward to previewing Zagama next week.
43:08
SPEAKER_00: So that's going to be the next thing on the list.
43:10
SPEAKER_00: And I'm hoping these races just keep getting more and more competitive.
43:14
SPEAKER_00: The race does look beautiful.
43:15
It's right there on the coast with the water in the background
43:17
and lots of steep up-downs.
43:19
SPEAKER_00: And I think this is the first time they tried the flower format.
43:21
SPEAKER_00: So if they're keeping it, then I think it's a flower format race as well.
43:25
SPEAKER_00: But that's about all for this week's picks.
43:27
SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry I didn't have a strong one through five.
43:29
It's a little bit harder for me to pick my top five without the
43:32
picks being opened yet.
43:33
SPEAKER_00: But hopefully I release this and the picks open right after I release it.
43:37
And in the meantime,
43:37
yeah,
43:38
let me know what you like,
43:39
what you don't like.
43:40
I appreciate you listening and hope it's been helpful in making
43:44
your fantasy pre-trail picks.
43:45
SPEAKER_00: And I'll talk to you guys here in a week for Zagama.