SNOWBIRD, Utah. (July 21, 2024) – The Speedgoat Mountain Races by UTMB® offered some of the most exhilarating trail running on the planet. Both elite and passionate runners from around the United States and the globe descended on Snowbird Ski Resort in Snowbird, Utah, on Friday, July 19, and Saturday, July 20, to take on four demanding courses of 50km, 28km, 21km, and 11km filled with breathtaking views and beautiful mountain trails on the unique rocky terrain of the Wasatch Mountains.
On Friday, the Speedgoat Mountain Races by UTMB® kicked off the racing as runners took to the 28km course, beginning at the famous Snowbird Center. Hawk Call (USA) took the victory, speeding past the competition and finishing at 3:13:08. Cole Besser (USA) finished in second place with a time of 3:19:56, while Blaise Miller (USA) took third with a finishing time of 3:22:54. In the women’s race, Robyn Lesh (USA) was crowned champion in the 28km race with a time of 21:35:56–Lesh’s first victory since turning pro back in 2022. Sarah Carter (USA) crossed the finish line second with a time of 22:35:52, and Jaycie Thomsen (USA) completed the course at 23:11:53, finishing in third place in the women’s race.
“This race is a lot of fun! You go running quick and then go up a mountain, down the other side, back up and straight down the front side. So pretty much after the second hidden peak you just send it at full speed,” winner Robyn Lesh said about how she felt about her 28km race. Lesh would go on to speak about how special it is to win her first major race as a pro, “My first year running professional, I got third here and to follow to that up with a first here a couple years later is really special.”
In the second race of the day, Taylor Bodin (USA) took the top spot in the men’s 11km race in a time of 46:23. Josie Alexander (USA) was the female 11km winner with a time of 1:00:45. Zachary Tittensor (USA) and Larsen Boyer (USA) rounded the podium in the men’s competition. At the same time, Candace Fredericks (USA) and Kylie Townsend (USA) claim second and third, respectively, in the women’s 11km race.
The racing continued Saturday, where runners ascended into the mountains for the 50- and 21km races. For his fourth podium finish and third victory in the 50km Speedgoat Mountain race, David Sinclair (USA) put on an absolute clinic, finishing with a time of 4:57:35, a new course record for the 50km Speedgoat Mountain Race. Samuel Hendry (CAN) kept pace with Sinclair through the race’s first half. Still, Sinclair kicked it into another gear, blazing the back half of the race to a course record and another win in the Wasatch Mountains. Hendry crossed the finish line second in 5:24:57, with Scott Patterson (USA)rounded out the top three in a time of 5:32:26.
“I kind of nailed the pacing, nailed the nutrition, nailed the cooling strategy. It was a perfect day out there,” said David Sinclar after blowing away the competition for his third 50km Speedgoat Mountain Race win on Saturday. “I just love this race, one of the hardest 50k’s in the country. It’s got a little bit of everything: beautiful scenery, hard technical parts, a couple runnable smooth sections.”
The women’s 50km race was neck-and-neck until the second-to-last hydration station when the winner, Jazmine Lowther (CAN), demonstrated her class. Lowther blasted away from second place Mali Noyes (USA) to finish first in the women’s division and 17th overall, crossing the finish line with a time of 6:15:05. Noyes swiftly followed in second with a time of 6:22:31 and Kodi Kleven (USA) completed the course in 6:24:12, finishing in third place.
The 21km events provided some resounding finishes–Justin Watkins (USA) and Emily Schwerdt (USA) reigned victorious, beating the second-place finishers by more than two minutes each. Watkins’ winning time of 2:19:01 was enough to beat podium placers Brenden Pachniak (USA) and Jose Cruz (USA)’s times of 2:21:10 and 2:21:29. The Colorado Springs native Schwerdt and her 2:43:01 finish time were good for first in the women’s division and fifth overall, steaming past second place Sara Wessen Chang (USA), who finished in 2:45:51, and third place Ameya Eddy (USA), who crossed the finish line with a time of 3:08:07.
“It was so beautiful so when [the race] got hard, I was just trying to soak in how awesome it is out here” said Schwerdt at the Snowbird Plaza finish line. When asked what her favorite part of the course was, she said “Probably the top [of the mountain], because there was a lot of energy up there.”
All finishers of the Speedgoat Mountain Races by UTMB collected Running Stones that can be applied to the UTMB Mont-Blanc draw.
Presale for the 2025 Speedgoat Mountain Races by UTMB, taking place on July 18-19, 2025, is currently open through July 14th and can be accessed by visiting https://speedgoat.utmb.world/register.
Next Up for the UTMB® World Series:
The 2024 UTMB® World Series is scheduled to continue in 2024 when the series heads over to Central Europe for the KAT100 by UTMB on August 1-3. To see the full schedule of UTMB® World Series events, visit https://utmb.world/.
For more information about the Speedgoat Mountain Races by UTMB®visit speedgoatmountainraces.com. For more information about the 2024 UTMB® World Series visit www.utmb.world.
