1,400 runners at 2023 Speedgoat Mountain Races by UTMB
SNOWBIRD, Utah | July 25, 2023 — On July 21-22, the 2023 UTMB World Series continued with the 2023 Speedgoat Mountain Races by UTMB. Celebrating its 16th anniversary, the mountain race weekend featured 1,400 registered runners from 48 US states and 24 countries, regions and territories embarking on one of the four distances offered.
The four demanding courses included a 50K, 28K, 21K, and 10K filled with views and mountain trails of the unique rocky terrain of the Wasatch Mountains in Utah.Nestled in the Little Cottonwood Canyon, Snowbird Ski Resort served as both a challenging and welcoming venue for the runners as they made the ascent to the summit of Snowbird and down the Peruvian Gulch while taking in the scenic backdrop.
The four distances were split up across two days of racing. The 28K and 10K took place on Friday, July 21 while the 50K and 21K took place on Saturday, July 22. Each race started and finished at the Snowbird Ski Resort Center Plaza area surrounded by family, friends, and supporters.
Billed as the toughest 50K in the USA – this course offered a total of 11,400 feet of elevation gain. A series of climbs brought runners views at the summit of Snowbird, Baldy and Hidden Peak. It took an extraordinary effort from West Jordan, Utah’s Christian Allen to take the title this year as he crossed the finish line in 5:23:38 after traversing the mountainous terrain. In the women’s race, Helen Mino-Faukner (Truckee, CA) was able to take home the women’s title with a time of 6:09:17
The shorter distance 28K is held on the same trails as the signature 50K route, giving runners the same views at the summit of Snowbird. This challenging race brings 6,300 feet of elevation gain. Andy Wacker (Boulder CO) pulled out the win in the men’s competition with a time of 2:55:06 while the women’s title went to Hannah Rowe (Boston, MA) with a time of 3:35:54.
The new 21K course started with a series of five climbs to the summit, then wound through the Snowbird tunnel and descended on a combination of service road and singletrack. In the men’s and women’s 21K it was Timothy Parr (Leadville, CO) with a time of 2:06:33 and Brittany Blitzer (New York, NY) finishing in 2:58:22 who home the titles.
In the 10K distance, the shorter, yet still challenging event gave runners a taste of the Wasatch Mountains with 1,650 feet of elevation gain. Here, it was Timothy Parr claiming his second victory of the weekend in a time of 46:33 while Karley Rempel (Boulder, CO) was victorious with a time 53:36.
All finishers of the 50K, 28K and 21K Speedgoat Mountain Races by UTMB collected Running Stones that can be applied to the Dacia UTMB Mont-Blanc – UTMB World Series Finals draw.