2011 IAU World Trail champion Erik Clavery (© Nadeem Khan)
Erik Clavery and Maud Gobert of France claimed victories at the 3rd IAU World Trail Championships on Saturday (9) in Connemara, Ireland.
Clavery ran a time of 6:39:07 and Gobert ran 7:41:31 to win the championship. The men’s and women’s squads from France also won the team event.
The championship was held in the western part of Ireland. Race day conditions were near ideal with sunny breaks and cooler temperatures in the morning followed by warmer temperatures in the afternoon.
The world championships event had 121 runners registered from 20 countries, a record turnout for the trail event. Also, for the first time, the IAU coordinated with the LOC, a team event that mirrors IAU’s team competitions in the 24 Hour and 100km events.
In the absence of defending champion Thomas Lorblanchet Clavery ensured that the individual men’s title remained in France. He won the 70km race in 6:39:07. He was followed closely to the finish by Canadian Jason Loutitt who ran 6:40:32. The bronze medal was grabbed by Patrick Bringer of France in 6:47:50.
The competition lived up to its pre-race hype. Rookie international ultrarunner Loutitt had a five-minute lead going into the 8km switchback at the 40km mark. In this section, Clavery made up the distance and did not relinquish the lead. Loutitt dropped to fourth place on the drive back to home but in the last 5kms made up the difference and finished in the silver medal spot. Bringer ran a very strong race, working through the competition for the first two-thirds of the race before solidifying his hold on the bronze medal.
In the women’s race, Gobert was followed into the finish line by Italian Cecilia Mora in 7:50:02. Third place was grabbed by Lucy Colquhoun of Great Britain in 7:57:20.
In the pre-race day chat, returning champion Mora was quite relaxed and was looking forward to racing on Saturday. She held her strong form until about the 25km mark, when Gobert used her technical and trail skills to go past Mora to drive strong for the next forty plus kilometres. Colquhoun came back from a two year international racing hiatus and grabbed the third place with a very strong and courageous second half of the trail race.
This race also had a team competition in addition to the individual titles. In the men’s event, France was very impressive taking three of the top seven places. They won gold with a combined time of 20:24:50. Italy took the silver medal with a time of 20:56:36. Bronze medal went to Norway taking third place with a time of 21:39:02.
In the women’s team competition, France was notable taking three of the top six spots, winning gold in a combined time of 24:00:02. They were followed by Italy winning silver in 24:21:35. Canada took the bronze medal in 27:01:08.
The race was very well organised and the team competition brought a new level of racing to the ever-popular trail event. The trail events are becoming popular around the world and the IAU is confident that the next edition of this event will bring in more athletes and teams to the event.
Leading Results -
MEN:
1. Erik Claverty, FRA 6:39:07
2. Jason Loutitt, CAN 6:40:32
3. Patrick Bringer, FRA 6:47:50
4. Thorbjorn Thorsen Ludvigsen, NOR 6:49:55
5. Silvano Fedel, ITA 6:51:18
WOMEN -
1. Maud Gobert FRA 7:41:31
2. Cecilia Mora ITA 7:50:02
3. Lucy Colquhoun GBR 7:57:20
4. Aurelia Truel FRA 8:04:22
5. Cinzia Bertasa ITA 8:14:01
Teams -
MEN:
1. France 20:24:50
2. Italy 20:56:36
3. Norway 21:29:02
WOMEN -
1. France 24:00:42
2. Italy 24:21:35
3. Canada 27:01:08
Nadeem Khan (IAU) for the IAAF