Run It Back
Joyline Chepngeno runs it back at Sierre-Zinal, run2gether sweeps, Katie Schide charges to third, Bigfoot 200 course records, Tara Dower’s Long Trail bid, Wy’East, Fat Dog, and more
Issue 51
Sierre-Zinal: Chepngeno Goes Back-to-Back
Joyline Chepngeno is now a two-time Sierre-Zinal champion. A year ago she stunned the sport by winning in her first-ever trail race. This year she proved it was no fluke, repeating in 2:54:49.
Behind her, countrywoman Caroline Kimutai set a blistering early pace but settled for second in 2:55:31. Then came the surprise of the day: Katie Schide, less than a month after her Hardrock 100 win, stormed the descent to move from sixth at 20K into third in 2:58:30. “Catching a glimpse of two women ahead of me right before the last little descent, making a move to empty everything… all I could think was this is exactly why I came here,” Schide wrote on Instagram. The next American woman across the line was Anna Gibson, finishing ninth in 3:05:25 — three minutes faster than last year — despite rolling her ankle earlier in the week.
On the men’s side, the run2gether squad swept the podium. Philemon Kiriago took the win in 2:28:45, adding to his 2023 victory and backing up his runner-up finish to Kilian Jornet last year. He was chased home by teammates Patrick Kipngeno (2:29:08) and Michael Selelo Saoli (2:29:14). Swiss Olympic triathlete Adrien Briffod (IG) was the revelation early, surging to a big lead in the early miles before hanging on for fourth in 2:32:06.
Not everyone had their day. Morocco’s Elhousine Elazzaoui, nearly unbeatable the past two seasons of GTWS, wound up ninth. “Yesterday wasn’t one of my best days, and I struggled quite a bit with stomach issues,” he shared afterward. Francesco Puppi, undefeated since OCC last year and on a four-race win streak coming in, had downplayed expectations pre-race—“realistically I’m not going to win what is widely regarded as the most competitive mountain race in the world”—acknowledging that the punchy 31K course isn’t his specialty. He finished 10th and reflected that “sometimes the real win is how you carry yourself across the line.” Among the Americans, Christian Allen landed 21st after a strong start, while Taylor Stack led the U.S. in 12th — just a week after his third at Pitz Alpine.
Other Results
At the Bigfoot 200 Mile in Washington, Kilian Korth (IG) won in 45:03:41, setting a new course record just seven weeks after taking the Tahoe 200—putting him on track for a possible sweep of the Triple Crown of 200s (Tahoe, Bigfoot, Moab) this fall. Ashley Paulson (57:00:08) won the women’s race in her third-ever 200, also setting a new course record. Both marks count as official records despite faster times last year since that was a wildfire-altered alternate route.
David Goggins returned to ultrarunning for the first time in five years, finishing 23rd (66:04:17), and called the race “an epic event that will break you the f*** off if you aren’t ready for it”. Harvey Lewis, who somehow slotted the 200 in as his fourth major ultra of the summer, said it was “one of the toughest but also most beautiful” races he’s ever done, which is really saying something given how many races he’s done. And in a timely bit of history, RD Candice Burt reflected on her Substack about creating the first U.S. point-to-point 200 back in 2014 (Tahoe)—helping define a distance that’s continuing to pick up steam every year and now has its own legends and rivalries.
At the Wy’East Trailfest 50k in Oregon Jackson Cole (4:24:14) grabbed his second big win of the summer after Cirque Series Alyeska, edging triathlete-turned-trail runner Eric Lagerstrom (4:44:34). Fellow triathlete star Heather Jackson won the women’s race in 5:20:41, good for 5th overall, later calling the course “one of the coolest trail runs I’ve ever done.” Kristina Randrup and Ellie Taylor rounded out the women’s podium in 5:33:56 and 5:49:23.
In the 50 miler, where Case Vander Ploeg (8:58:09) and Madison Hart (9:58:41) took wins, with Hart finishing 4th overall.At the Fat Dog 120 Mile in British Columbia, Scott Maguire won in 29:45:54, while Jenny Quilty topped the women’s race in 31:59:32—good for sixth overall and a new course record by nearly three hours. On her Substack, Quilty reflected on the 203km, 8,500m-gain route as “so special—we problem solved, we followed plans, we had fun,” a full-circle moment from once saying she’d never do the race to executing a smart, steady plan through high alpine singletrack and remote wilderness.
News & Links
Tara Dower has set off on her supported FKT attempt of Vermont’s 273-mile Long Trail, aiming to go under 3 days, 21 hours—the current record set by Will Peterson last year. She’s also trying to raise $10k for the Green Mountain Club, who maintains the trail. And for the dot watchers, here’s her tracker link.
Rachel Entrekin, who will face-off against Tara at Mammoth next month, and who’s now been on our cover more than any other athlete (3x and counting), published a tongue-in-cheek “open letter” to Hardrock RD Dale Garland making her case for a coveted “Dale’s Pick” entry—one of just a few spots outside the notoriously tough lottery, where runners often spend a decade or more collecting qualifiers before getting in.
Hayden Hawks says he’s healthy and will run the full loop at UTMB this year. He announced those plans after winning CCC last summer, but a knee injury and meniscus surgery this spring—knocking him out of Western States—put them in doubt. Excited to see him toe the line.
Abby Hall, who won Western States earlier this summer, announced on IG this week that she’ll be running UTMB too. She says she feels rested, healthy, and eager for another “chance to go big,” framing it as a nothing-to-lose opportunity to keep learning her craft.
Timothy Olson is back on a start line this weekend, racing the Bulldog Ultra 50K. The two-time Western States champ and Pacific Crest Trail FKT holder also revealed he’ll take on his first 200-miler—the Mammoth 200—later this year (if this was known already, I’d missed it).
Former Olympic marathoner Ryan Hall logged 70 miles, 29,200 feet of vert, and 43 solo hours linking seven Elk Mountain 14ers in an off-trail, mostly scramble route he calls Moksha. He framed it as both a physical test and spiritual pilgrimage, meditating atop each summit—most memorably Pyramid at 10:20 p.m., alone in the dark.
Abigail West, who set a supported FKT on the Georgia Loop in May, and her partner Michael Ross, announced they’re expecting their first child in February. West called it their “biggest creative project yet” (they’re both artists) and joked that people can finally stop asking about her racing schedule.
In our High Lonesome writeup a few weeks ago, we noted Amelia Boone’s “healthy” finish. Turns out she later learned she’d fractured her patella in a mile-29 fall.
Tracksmith, best known for pricey road and track gear, has stepped into trail with its new Overland Collection. The launch’s copy and styling have drawn plenty of snark from the trail community (just check the comments on their IG posts), but I suspect it’ll resonate with a segment of runners, especially in the Northeast, as trail running’s popularity grows.
Speaking of new shoes, Mount to Coast dropped a sharp new “Snow Line” colorway for its T1 trail shoe, which, to my eye, looks quite cool.
ITRA and WMRA announced that Cape Town, South Africa will host the 2027 World Mountain & Trail Running Championships from October 6–10.
Lastly, Jenn Woltjen just launched a new Substack subdirectory devoted to trail and ultra running. It’s essentially a living list of publications on the platform covering the sport, and is a handy starting point if you’re looking to discover more voices in the space.
Aimee Jacobs: Running on Unexpected Time
When we first wrote Aimee Jacobs’ name in TUM back in January, it was for her breakout win at Bandera 100K, where she not only topped the women’s field but finished third overall in 11:33:10. That result announced her as a new contender in the sport — a San Antonio–based Army physical therapist, relatively new to ultras.
Her backstory makes the rise even more striking: last August she was diagnosed with pelvic chondrosarcoma, a rare pelvic bone cancer, and just three months later she lined up for her first 100-miler at Dinosaur Valley, and won the whole race outright, setting a course record.
Now she’s on the eve of her first Leadville Trail 100, where she’ll toe the line tomorrow morning. This summer she’s been building toward it, taking lessons from a humbling day at Silver Rush 50 (where she ended up with HAPE at altitude), and spending the last few weeks road tripping from Texas to Colorado, camping and running along the way to acclimate. Her coach, Ryan Miller, describes her as having “the most relentlessly positive mindset of anyone I’ve ever met,” and pointing out that she routinely stacks 100+ mile weeks on just five or six hours of sleep, all while balancing Army PT work and school.
Aimee calls this season “unexpected time” — a year she gets to race before surgery that could change everything. She’s determined to use it fully, chasing bucket-list races like Leadville, Javelina, and Black Canyon, with eyes on a Western States golden ticket.
And she’s doing it with purpose. Aimee is using every race she runs to raise funds for CHRISTUS Children’s pediatric cancer care, helping provide access to lifesaving treatment for young patients who don’t have the same resources she’s been fortunate to receive. You can learn more and support her fundraiser here.
We ran a written Q&A with Aimee this week — covering her mindset, her goals, and how she’s preparing for Leadville. You can read it here:
Follow Aimee on Instagram at @a_jacobs89 and support her fundraiser here.
That’s it for this week, y’all! It’s time for me to round the fam up and head to the pizza shop, and tomorrow I’ll be keeping an eye on the Leadville tracker while welcoming the return of EPL.
Special thanks to jameson collins, Lauren Cramer, Robrunsround, and Candice Burt for sharing their performances of the week in our the TUM Chat, and adding helpful context for this week’s edition.
Until next week,
Ken
You can follow me on Instagram here, Strava here, and join the TUM chat with 2,000 other trail & ultra runners here. If you have news to share, partnership inquiries, or just want to say hello, email ken@theultraminute.com.
Thanks for the share/shout out. To readers who may be interested- Bigfoot 200 lottery is open on Ultrasignup until August 23 for the 2026 race!
The athlinks tracker for Leadville leaves much to be desired, haha. Following as best I can but woof!