Chiang Mai Brings the Heat | World Mountain and Trail Running Championships
Published Mon 07 Nov 2022
The inaugural World Mountain and Trail Running Championships hosted in Chiang Mai, Thailand has been run and won over four days, with 27 Australians taking to the diverse program which found a common denominator in brutal terrain and conditions to match.
With races ranging from the Junior Up Down Mountain over 6km to the Open Long Trail Race covering 80km, the championships came together for the first time in 2022 having previously been held separately – with World Athletics building on the creation of a single definition for mountain and trail running in athletics.
Scaling near vertical climbs over rocks and sand, athletes were greeted with the added challenge of the relentless heat in Thailand, with many stumbling through the finishing chute and into the hands of medics.
Top results came on both the trails and mountains with a pair of 29th place finishes from Paige Linegar and and Elena Stephenson, with Linegar completing the Short Trail Race (40km) in a time of 4:20:14 and Stephenson overcoming the Up Down Mountain Race (10km) in 54:27. The results were matched by junior Zack Newsham when charging up and down the mountain in the Junior Up and Down Race (6km) with a time of 27:06.
Vladislav Ixel produced a determined run to complete the Men’s Short Trail Race (40km) in 32nd position in a time of 3:39:36 when amassing over 2,500m of elevation gain, with 2:20:08 marathoner Aidan Hobbs following him in 52nd position after being on course for over four hours.
The grueling Long Trail Race (80km) saw Australian competitors on course for up to 12-hours, with Sarah Ludowici and Joshua Chugg the fastest woman and man home from down under. Ludowici scrapped her way to 35th position in a time of 10:22:25, while Chugg’s prowess on the trails for over eight-hours earned him 47th place in the field of 101.
Winner of the last three Australian Mountain Running titles, Simone Brick, laid her championships on the line in a quest to discover the limits of her body – ultimately finding them at 45th place in the world in the Up Down Mountain Race with a time of 57:51.
“It wasn’t pretty, but I did everything I could to stay positive and keep moving forward. I was a dizzy stumbling mess… It’s up there with the longest hour of my running life,” Brick wrote on Instagram.
“It was a case of suck it up, feel the pain I put myself in, memorise that feeling, get to the finish line, and LEARN so I don’t do this again.”
Louise Sharp and Jeremy Hunt led the way for the Australians in the Up Mountain Race, finishing in 36th and 45th placings respectively in times of 1:07:28 and 59:21.
Full results can be found HERE.
By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 7/11/2022
