50th Running
This weekend will mark the 50th rendition of one of Europe’s oldest trail races, Sierre-Zinal. Founded the same year as the Western States Endurance Run, Sierre-Zinal is rich in history and has become one of the most competitive sub-ultra races in the Golden Trail World Series, and ultimately the world, every year. This year is no exception as some of the best in the world will go head-to-head on Saturday August 12th.
Golden Trail World Series
If you haven’t been tuned into the sub-ultra space and are unfamiliar with the Golden Trail World Series (GTWS), you have been missing out!
The GTWS is a 7-race series featuring some of the most iconic sub-ultra mountain events in the world. Most of the races are hosted across Europe and North America and offer various distances and terrain difficulties.
Throughout the course of the GTWS, major prize purses are at stake, amplifying the competitive depth of each race and making each broadcast must-watch TV.
Ultimately, the series culminates with the GTWS Championship Event, a multi-day stage race in which the top 30 male and female runners in the GTWS rankings are invited to race. This Championship Event also features a major prize money, as runners compete to crown a GTWS Champion. Here is how things stack up as of right now.
Sierre-Zinal
Located in the heart of the Valais Alps, a mountain range located in Switzerland and Italy, on the Western Side of the Alps, Sierre-Zinal provides runners with majestic views as they traverse epic mountain terrain. The beauty of this course is likely one of the many reasons the race will celebrate its 50th running this year.
The race course takes runners on a 31K (19.26 mile) journey starting in the town of Sierre, and ending in the town of Zinal (see where the name comes from!). With 2200m (7,218 ft) of elevation gain and 1100m (3,609 ft) of descent, this point to point adventure is seemingly a mountain runner’s dream, right?
Well, most of the climbing in the race comes within the first 10K (6.2 miles), leaving runners with 21K (13.1 miles) of runnable terrain that they need to have legs left for. This is one of the most interesting things about Sierre-Zinal. It is truly a meeting ground where mountain athletes and road runners can compete on a semi-neutral playing field.
The mountain athletes will have a clear advantage over the first 10K where they will have 1,500 meters of elevation gain. However if they aren’t careful, the more runnable miles on the ridge before descending back into the town of Zinal are a perfect opportunity for speedy road runners to make that early deficit up.
While we all enjoy seeing the truly dominant performances, this diverse race course and incredible depth of field brings a level of excitement and energy surrounding the finish that is truly unmatched. As an example, last year’s Men’s race saw the time gap of less than 90s between 1st and 5th, and it is common to see short time gaps between places throughout the leaderboard.
There are few things as exciting in our sport as watching sprint finishes through Euro mountain towns at highly competitive races which is almost commonplace at this point at Sierre-Zinal, making it a must-watch event each year.
How To Watch
Sierre-Zinal features a world-class livestream hosted for free on YouTube. All the details about how to tune into the stream can be found below.
Broadcast Start: Saturday August 12th at 10:30 AM Local Time (4:30 AM ET / 1:30 AM PT)
Race Start: Saturday August 12th at 11:00 AM Local Time (5:00 AM ET / 2:00 AM PT)
English Broadcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnbOBHATPvQ
French Broadcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItOhXNrDZXw
Other Ways to Follow:
Who To Watch
Women's Field
Nienke Brinkman (Bib #301)– The former Dutch Marathon Record Holder (if you are going to lose the record, Sifan Hissan is a great person to lose it to) experienced a ton of success on the trails in 2022. The Nike Trail Athlete who trains with NN Running Team saw nearly everything she touched turn to gold in 2022 with wins at Zegama-Aizkorri, Pikes Peak, and Flagstaff Sky Peaks before winning the Madeira Island Trail 5-Day Race which served as the GTWS Finale in 2022. This is likely to be Brinkman’s only trail race of the year before she shifts her focus to the roads for the 2024 Paris Olympics, so let’s enjoy watching her race while she is here! Check out her interview with the Sub-Hub Podcast to hear more.
Philaries Kisang (Bib #303)– Last year’s runner up on the women’s side is back and riding a pretty solid wave coming into this year’s race. Following a runner up performance in the VK at the 2023 World Mountain Running Championships, Kisang is coming into this race with a renewed sense of confidence. The Kenyan born athlete now lives in Austria and trains with the Run2gether group was quoted in her Sub-Hub interview as having added “more hills” to her training. A runner up performance in 2022 with little uphill training? Who even does that! The additional trail-specific training is going to make Kisang someone to keep an eye on at the front of the race this year.
Allie McLaughlin (Bib #312)– One of the true crowd favorites here in the USA, Allie Mac is set to toe the line at this year’s Sierre-Zinal. With a strong start to the 2023 season, the newly signed Hoka athlete had a relatively tough weekend at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Istanbul earlier this year. In typical Allie Mac fashion, she took it in stride and bounced back, winning the 2023 Broken Arrow Skyrace 23K, a part of the North American Golden Trail Series. The paragliding fanatic has been living her absolute best life coming into this race and you know what they say– a happy and healthy Allie Mac is a dangerous Allie Mac! Regardless of her positioning in the race, her energy is contagious making her an easy athlete to cheer for.
Sophia Laukli (Bib #310)- The world-class cross-country skier burst onto the scene in 2022. There are few people riding as much of a heater as Laukli is coming into Sierre-Zinal having won the Marathon du Mont Blanc and finishing 2nd at the Dolomyths Run earlier this year. It seems as if she is starting to dial in the trail-running training that works best for her, making her someone to keep an eye on this weekend. Check out her interview with the Sub-Hub crew here.
Judith Wyder (Bib #305)- No stranger to the GTWS, the 2019 Series Champion (and runner up at Sierre-Zinal), returned to the series for the first time since 2021 earlier this year at the Dolomyths run. Following a 2nd place finish at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships Short Course in June, Wyder captured the win at the Dolomyths Run. The Hoka athlete is looking to continue her stellar season at Sierre-Zinal as she toes the line against some of the world’s best sub-ultra mountain runners.
Other Americans to Watch
The list wouldn’t be complete without pointing out some other notable American runners to follow on the women’s side.
Anna Gibson (Bib #336) is on the start list, if she runs the recent Brooks signee and USATF National Championships 1500M Finalist will be fun to watch. Gibson won the Broken Arrow Skyrace VK and was 2nd in the 23K back in June, just days after competing at the NCAA Championships on the track and weeks before competing at the USATF Championships on the track!
Allie Ostrander (Bib #359) is on the start list to potentially make her GTWS debut. The NNormal athlete has an incredible story having dealt with / continuing to overcome disordered eating. She has long been one of the best young Steeplechase runners in America and if she toes the line it will be fun to see her on the trails.
Tabor Hemming (Bib #314) burst onto the scene last year as an unsponsored athlete, finishing 9th at Sierre-Zinal. The recent Salomon signee will be looking to have a strong run and improve upon that position in 2023.
Men’s Field
Rémi Bonnet (Bib #9)– The defending GTWS Champion is returning to Sierre-Zinal, a race where he finished 8th in 2022. Bonnet had an incredible 2022 season, winning nearly every race he ran and running away with the overall Series win. The Swiss athlete and member of team Salomon is looking to follow up a win at Marathon du Mont-Blanc earlier this year with a win on his home turf at Sierre-Zinal. Hear more about his thoughts coming into this race by checking out his Sub-Hub interview.
Patrick Kipngeno (Bib #10)- Kipngeno is one of the most interesting athletes to watch in the race this year. Holder of a 1:02 half marathon PR and winner of the 2023 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships VK in absolutely dominant fashion, Kipngeno has a unique blend of mountain running ability and speed that is perfectly suited for this course. It will be interesting to see how the race ultimately unfolds, but Kipngeno will definitely be looking to make things interesting up in the front as he tries to bring home the gold following his 2nd place finish in 2022.
Tom Evans (Bib #12)- Like Kipngeno, the 2023 Western States 100 Champion, Tom Evans, has a unique blend of mountain running ability and speed. The 1:03 half marathoner is in the middle of dialing up his training for UTMB, which is just a few weeks following Sierre-Zinal. If Tom toes the line, which worked out well for Killian last year, he is clearly someone to keep an eye out for. The former British Army Captain and current Adidas Terrex athlete has been on fire over the last 2 years and will look to continue showcasing his abilities against a stout men’s field at Sierre-Zinal.
Eli Hemming (Bib #31)- Now if we want to talk about athletes who have been on absolute heaters, look no further than Eli Hemming. The former professional triathlete burst onto the scene in 2022 at the Broken Arrow Skyrace, where he finished 2nd in both the VK and 23K races. Hemming followed that up by having stout performances across the GTWS in 2022, including a 4th place finish at Pikes Peak and a 2nd place finish at Flagstaff Sky Peaks. The Salomon sponsored athlete from Colorado kicked off 2023 in the same fashion, winning the Broken Arrow 23K and coming in 2nd at the Marathon du Mont Blanc. Hemming has been on a roll as of late and it will be fun to see him mixing it up with some of the best mountain athletes in the world this weekend.
Jiasheng Shen (Bib #73)- Following an incredible run at the 2023 Western States 100, leading to a 4th place finish, Shen will be toeing the line at Sierre-Zinal amongst some of the best athletes in the world. It will be interesting to see how Shen performs over this shorter distance just a few months after a 100-miler. He is a 2:20 marathon runner so he has decent speed, but the way he ran the first (more mountainous) section of the Western States course leads me to believe the early stages of Sierre-Zinal are going to be in his wheelhouse.
Other Americans to Watch
The list wouldn’t be complete without pointing out some other notable American runners to follow on the men’s side.
Craig Hunt (Bib #32) has been on a bit of a run as of late at the ultra distance, having won the Desert Rats by UTMB 50K and finished 2nd at the American River 50M earlier this year. The Flagstaff, Arizona local and 2:15 marathoner Craig Hunt has some really solid leg speed and could surprise some people this weekend at Sierre-Zinal.
Tim Tollefson (Bib #75) is a U.S fan favorite every time he toes the line. If Tollefson toes the line at Sierre-Zinal, it will be fun to see how his experience at mountainous ultra-distances treats him in a race like this.
Jeff Mogavero (Bib #87) has a lot of experience in more mountainous ultra-distance trail races. Mogavero was the runner up at the Broken Arrow 46K earlier this year and has spent quite a bit of time in the Alps training for this race. There is no doubt he is going to come into the race fit and ready to run with some of the best in the world.
Michelino Sunseri (Bib #81) is coming off a win at the Broken Arrow 46K earlier this year. He has run an interesting variety of races over the years, but one thing that sticks out to me is Sunseri’s love for challenging mountain races. This will be the most competitive race he has been in, and it will be interesting to see how he stacks up against such a deep field.
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