Six months after giving start to her daughter, Canadian human rights lawyer and ultrarunner Stephanie Case shocked even herself by profitable the Extremely-Path Snowdonia (UTS) by UTMB 100K in Eyri, Wales— and she or he didn’t even comprehend it till after she crossed the end line. Case, who has beforehand stood on the rostrum at Hardrock 100 and was the primary lady (and third general) to complete the 2021 version of 450-kilometre Tor des Glaciers, isn’t any stranger to racing with grit—and on little sleep.
Beginning half-hour behind the elites within the third wave of runners, Case powered via 6,300 metres of climbing and a brutally technical course in 16:53:22, breastfeeding her daughter Pepper at support stations, and pacing herself with no data of the place she stood within the race. “It was meant to be my warm-up for Hardrock,” she wrote on Instagram post-race. “I began within the final wave… however I might go at my very own tempo in blissful ignorance of my inserting.”
By the point she reached the end line, she’d leapfrogged the complete elite subject on chip time— together with British runner Lauren Graham, who completed in 16:57:44 and Japan’s Kimino Miyazaki, who crossed the road in third in 17:06:34.
“I needed to indicate her how superb mother runners could be”
Case, who stepped away from racing for 3 years whereas going via IVF and a number of miscarriages, mentioned the expertise was emotional and empowering. “Each kilometre that handed jogged my memory that I hadn’t misplaced a factor… I’ve gained extra pleasure and energy from this sport as a mother than I ever did earlier than.”
She additionally acknowledged the bodily realities of postpartum operating with attribute honesty: “Let’s be actual—after I began dry heaving, I misplaced all bladder management after 95km.” She hopes her efficiency encourages new mothers to chase huge objectives: “There isn’t a ‘comeback’ after childbirth. There’s simply the subsequent section.”
Mat Blanchard is again
Within the males’s race, British athlete Jonathan Albon stormed to victory in 11:34:51, however Mathieu Blanchard, a twin citizen of France and Canada, made a powerful assertion of his personal. After tackling the Yukon Arctic Extremely earlier this yr and taking a protracted restoration break, the Salomon athlete returned in model. Blanchard completed second in 12:03:09, a outstanding 40 minutes forward of the earlier course document.
Even a fall 20km into the race couldn’t gradual him down. “Engraved reminiscence of the eighth kilometer / First time down, thrill of the grasp,” he wrote on Instagram after the race. His subsequent cease: Hardrock 100 in July.
Fernie’s Ethan Peters crushes UTS 100-miler
Ethan Peters, a 26-year-old from Fernie, B.C., quietly stormed the UTS 100-mile race, crossing the end in 23:59:20. It was a gritty run over a few of Wales’ wildest mountains, and Peters held robust to say the win by practically two hours. Behind him had been Austria’s Florian Grasel (25:43:20) and the U.Okay.’s Tom Joly (27:21:40).
Peters ran his first 100-miler at 19, and has quietly constructed a powerful resume. In 2024, he was the highest Canadian finisher at UTMB, inserting thirty sixth general in a stacked worldwide subject. His win in Wales locks in an computerized qualification for the 2026 UTMB Finals.
For full outcomes of Extremely Path Snowdownia, head right here.
