Kilian and Emelie crowned Ultra Champions in USA

Race report: SKYRUNNER® WORLD SERIES - Ultra final , the 100 km Ultra Race of Champions (UROC) - Vail, Colorado, USA - Saturday, September 28, 2013

Kilian Jornet takes the Skyrunner® Ultra title for the second time since the introduction of the distance in the World Series last year and Emelie Forsberg, in her first 100 km and with three straight wins, takes over from Nuria Picas as the new Ultra queen.

The five-race Series, after the previous epic events at Transvulcania, Ronda dels Cims, Ice-Trail and Speedgoat, concluded Sunday in Vail, Colorado at the 100 km Ultra Trail of Champions (UROC) (HERE) with one of the deepest Ultra fields seen in recent times.

The men’s race went to an ecstatic Rob Krar, who recently signed up with The North Face (HERE) and placed second at Western States. After 100km at constant high altitude and with snow on much of the course, he finished in 9h29’00”.

A big welcome back to Dakota Jones, (Montrail) who, after a quiet year placed an excellent second in 9h32’26”.  Salomon’s Cameron Clayton was third in 10h06’24”, while Kilian placed fourth in 10h19’18” - for him, a day of torment. The paved road section, which accounted for 19% of the course, represented the biggest challenge, no doubt favouring runners from a traditional running background - with the exception of Emelie Forsberg, whose talent knows no boundaries. The constant high altitude over the 100 km the course was another factor which the runners had to deal with.

Strong race favourite Sage Canaday (Scott), sadly had a bad day. After initially going out strong he finished 6th, enough to maintain his second place ranking position in the Skyrunner® Ultra Series. Among the Sseries competitors who faired well here were Frenchman Martin Gaffuri, who placed eighth and now ranks fourth in the series, and Luke Nelson (Patagonia Ultra Running) who finished 11th and now ranks seventh.

Photos: UROC winners Rob Krar (© ISF) and Emelie Forsberg (© JordiSaragossa)

In the women’s race pre-race favourite Emelie Forsberg, (Salomon), racing her first 100 km, ran strongly throughout although seriously challenged by the effects of high altitude. Stephanie Howe, (The North Face) was hot on her heels and almost closed the gap every time Emelie succumbed to breathlessness. However, Emelie is not a lady who gives up easily and, summoning all her strength, she held her lead position to the finish line where, as darkness fell, she took 15th position overall after 12h06’33” of racing. Stephanie’s time (17th overall) was 12h29’27”. Michele Yates (Ultimate Dirction/GU), winner at Run Rabbit Run 100, was third 13h19’08”.

Italian Francesca Canepa (Montura/Vibram), was fourth in 12h55’07” (20th overall), an excellent result considering her win at the mammoth Tor des Geants 330km race only two weeks earlier.  She reached the race leading the ranking but her fourth position wasn’t enough to hold off Emelie’s three straight wins for the title.

Look out for the finals of the Vertical and Sky Series to be held in Limone on Lake Garda on October 11-13 where the titles and Skyrunner® Series prizes will be contended by the world’s top skyrunners.

Follow news and updates on www.skyrunning.com and on Facebook and Twitter

Men's Skyrunner® Ultra Series results

Women's Skyrunner® Ultra Series results

Click here for Skyrunner® World Series rankings

100 km Ultra Race of Champions (UROC) - Vail, Colorado, USA on Saturday, September 28, 2013

Click here to check out the race website

Men's results

Women's results

Click here for full results