Quebec ultrarunner Marianne Hogan was again in lovely kind to shut out a difficult 2023 season, capturing second place (she additionally ran to second in 2021) at Saturday’s Extremely-trail Cape City (UTCT) 100K in Cape City, South Africa. Hogan completed the race in 12 hours, 39 minutes, 53 seconds, behind New Zealand’s Ruth Croft, who sped to a win in 12:12:20. Russian runner Ekaterina Mityaeva rounded out the rostrum in 12:44:07. 

Extremely-trail Cape City is described on the occasion web site as “a front-loaded, technical route providing two important climbs on Desk Mountain and Karbonkelberg throughout the first 50K, with 4,972 metres of elevation acquire.”

The second-place end at UTCT (together with a win on the Tsaigu 85 km race in Linhai, China in October) is a redemption for Hogan, after having to take a lot of the 2023 season off resulting from damage. Hogan is understood for managing to hit the rostrum at each UTMB (second place) and Western States 100 (third) in 2022; the runner tore her psoas muscle throughout her epic run at UTMB, which contributed to a sacral stress fracture the runner was identified with in April.

On the finish of October, Hogan received the Tsaigu 85K race (she referred to as it “ day to be rekindled with the idea of racing,” on Instagram), and her well-executed podium end at UTCT cements her return as a remarkably resilient ultra-trail athlete. Pre-race, Hogan was celebrating her means to race once more on social media. “Who is aware of what’s going to occur on Saturday, and the way the physique will really feel on such a brief coaching interval,” she wrote. “However I positive as hell loved these previous few months, and am already excited for extra lengthy bike rides & nice adventures with associates. That is the place I’m at proper now, and I’m gonna savor my means to indicate up on the beginning line of UTCT on Saturday.”

New Zealand’s Croft ran properly from the beginning; she additionally took first place to Hogan’s second at Western States 100 in 2022. Hogan ran head-to-head with Croft till Desk Mountain (round 31K), the place Croft steadily started to construct a niche between herself and the remainder of the pack. Behind Croft, Hogan and Mityaeva had a battle for second, with Mityaeva sneaking into the lead when Hogan took a nasty fall.

A spectacular push by Hogan within the dwelling stretch landed her simply forward of Mityaeva (who was fourth in 2022 at UTCT) on the end.

The boys’s race

With Brit ultrarunner and favorite-to-win Tom Evans out of the combo (the runner withdrew days earlier than the occasion after being attacked and mugged on a coaching run), Russian athlete Dmitry Mityaev was in a position to dominate from the beginning, breaking away from the pack after the primary checkpoint and executing a flawless efficiency. Regardless of taking a painful fall (like Hogan within the ladies’s race), lacking a flip and having to backtrack, Mityaev completed in 10:43:06.

Virtually 20 minutes behind Mityaev was American runner Caleb Owens, second in 11:02:28, adopted by Anthony Costales, additionally of the U.S., in 11:24:08.

Moreover the 100K race, Extremely-trail Cape City has 4 different occasions: a 100-miler, a 55 km race, a 35 km path race and a 25 km “explorer” race. After Evans’ assault and subsequent race withdrawal earlier than the occasion, race administrators introduced elevated safety measures, nonetheless, three runners have been mugged in the course of the 100-mile race. In a press release posted on Fb, race director Stuart McConnachie stated that the three runners have been bodily unhurt and had chosen to hold on with the race. “All runners passing by means of the Simonstown checkpoint are being knowledgeable, and the matter has been handed over to the South African Police Service.”

For full outcomes of all of the UTCT occasions, head right here.