Fiona Pascall and Jim Walmsley Win Massive – iRunFar

Beginning in Radda in Chianti, Italy, at 4 a.m. Saturday, March 22, the 2025 Chianti Extremely Path by UTMB 120k offered the setting for quick racing in each the ladies’s and males’s races, with deep fields on each side gathering numerous consideration from the ultrarunning neighborhood.

Because the second-to-last 2025 Western States 100 Golden Ticket race, prime athletes had been trying to safe their place within the California occasion, with two spots being awarded to the highest two finishers in every class. Finally, Jim Walmsley of the U.S. and Fiona Pascall of the U.Okay. got here away with the victories in 9:59:48 and 12:34:59, respectively.

Within the males’s race, the assembly of Spain’s Kilian Jornet, Walmsley, and France’s Vincent Bouillard positive drew the ultrarunning world’s consideration. Whereas the primary two are maybe probably the most well-known names in males’s ultrarunning, the latter was a relative unknown earlier than storming to victory on the 2024 UTMB. Walmsley already has entrance to the 2025 Western States 100 from his 2024 win, however Jornet and Bouillard had been positively at this race in quest of their very own Golden Tickets.

Within the girls’s race, defending champion Azara García of Spain was again. American Abby Corridor, who completed fifth and out of doors of the Western States 100 Golden Tickets on the 2025 Black Canyon 100k final month, was in Italy to attempt once more for a ticket. Additionally lining up was Fiona Pascall from the U.Okay., who was coming off of wins on the 2024 Wildstrubel by UTMB 72k  and the 2024 Mozart by UTMB 100k.

The 120-kilometer (75 miles) race, with greater than 5,200 meters (17,000 ft) of climbing, takes a picturesque route by way of the vineyard-covered hills of Chianti, a area recognized for its wine, positioned south of Florence. The course was backloaded with elevation change, climbing the smaller Monteluco close to the center of the route and Villa San Michele as the ultimate climb, the latter the course’s excessive level. The loop’s profile seems like a serrated blade with incessant climbs and descents that stick with it till the ultimate climb again to Radda in Chianti. This course had no “it’s all downhill to the end” second.

Rain in a single day and within the early hours of the race, together with the footsteps of hundreds of runners throughout all the occasion’s races, made the course muddy, with a few of it fairly sticky and different components extremely slick. In reality, the ultimate climb to the end was so slippery that the digicam e-bikes following the highest runners couldn’t make it as much as keep in touch with them. The circumstances made for attention-grabbing racing all through, with some runners evaluating it to cross-country circumstances within the U.Okay.

Learn on to see how the 2 races unfolded.

2025 Chianti Extremely Path by UTMB 120k Girls’s Race

The entrance finish of the ladies’s race offered a few of the most fun head-to-head racing of the day. Early on, a bunch containing the U.Okay.’s Fiona Pascall, Johanna Antila of Finland, Azara García of Spain, and the U.S.’s Abby Corridor shaped, operating by way of the primary checkpoint at Arillo Terrabianca, 12 kilometers in, along with an hour elapsed. The 4 had been nonetheless inside two minutes of one another on the prime of Poggio San Polo, 24k into the race and simply over two hours elapsed.

On the prime of the climb as much as Monteluco at 51k, the most important climb of the entrance half of the race, the 4 had been nonetheless inside two minutes of one another. Behind them, Aroa Sío (Spain) chased about 25 minutes down on the lead group. Alessandra Boifava (Italy) was one other 9 minutes again in fifth.

The gaps began to open on the descent to Cantalici, 58k in, however stayed comparatively small. Antila led the cost, coming into the checkpoint with 5:32 on the clock. She was adopted by Pascall three minutes again and García one other minute in arrears. Corridor was an extra 4 minutes again.

Over the following climb, Pascall clawed her manner again to the chief, and the 2 reached the Gaiole in Chianti checkpoint at 74k in along with 7:07 elapsed. García maintained contact, although, solely 5 minutes again, whereas the hole to Corridor grew to 17 minutes. Pascall continued to use the strain because the course as soon as once more turned upward, reaching Villa Vistarenni, 87k in, with 8:31 on the clock, now 4 minutes forward of Antila and 13 minutes up on García. Corridor stayed in fourth, 13 minutes extra again. In the meantime, Stephanie Howe (U.S.) moved forward of each Sío and Boifava, each of whom would finally end within the girls’s prime 10, and was inside putting distance of her fellow countrywoman.

Pascall reached the excessive level of the course, Villa San Michele at 108k, in 11:04:58, sitting in eleventh total. Antila continued to chase, shut sufficient at 10 minutes again that something might occur within the closing 12k of the race, if one thing went sideways for Pascall. One other 16 minutes again was García, who was adopted by Corridor one other 20 minutes again, now seemingly out of rivalry for her second try in 2025 at incomes the coveted Golden Ticket.

Finally, Fiona Pascall crossed the end line in 12:34:59 in first place, incomes her invite to Western States 100. She then needed to cross the end line a second time as a result of the end line tape wasn’t in place for her when she first arrived. Notably, Pascall’s older sister, Beth Pascall, gained the 2021 Western States 100, and it looks as if the youthful Pascall is following in her footsteps, indicating on the end that she deliberate to simply accept her Golden Ticket.

Behind, a visibly struggling Johanna Antila pushed on in deteriorating climate, the cloud turning to fog and the rain rising. Nonetheless, her hole was large enough to carry onto second place with a time of 12:53:22, and she or he additionally earned her Golden Ticket.

Azara García, who was seemingly barely holding on within the closing kilometers of the race, secured third place in 13:12:31.

2025 Chianti Extremely Path by UTMB 120k Girls’s Outcomes

1. Fiona Pascall (U.Okay.) – 12:34:59
2. Johanna Antila (Finland) – 12:53:22
3. Azara García (Spain) – 13:12:31
4. Abby Corridor (U.S.) – 13:31:25
5. Stephanie Howe (U.S.) – 13:34:56

Full outcomes.

2025 Chianti Extremely Path  by UTMB 120k Males’s Race

As anticipated, the boys’s race was a showdown between the U.S.’s Jim Walmsley, Spain’s Kilian Jornet, and France’s Vincent Bouillard. The lead trio took little time to determine a niche on the remainder of the sector, reaching the Poggio San Polo at 23.8 kilometers collectively in 1:44 elapsed. Already, they’d a couple of hole of 5 minutes on Luke Grenfell-Shaw (U.Okay.) and Andreas Reiterer (Italy), who was an extra minute behind in fifth.

By the highest of Monteluco, 51k into the race and the excessive level of the primary half, Walmsley opened a niche of 5 minutes to Jornet and Bouillard, who continued to run collectively. Grenfell-Shaw and Reiterer stayed in fourth and fifth, now over 20 minutes off the lead.

Over the next descent and subsequent countless climbs, Walmsley ran on his personal by way of the vast dust roads crisscrossing the vineyards, seemingly having fun with the cloudy skies and persevering with to open the hole on the remainder of the sector. He would say after the race that he didn’t deliberately make any strikes, moderately he merely discovered that his rhythm was sooner.

By Villa Vistarenni at 87k and the beginning of the right climbing of the second half of the race, Walmsley had a 30-minute lead on Jornet and Bouillard, who continued to eat up the gap by operating collectively. Behind them, Aubin Ferrari (France) made a significant transfer into fourth, now 55 minutes behind the chief. Lambert Santelli (France) continued to hover within the prime 5, an extra 5 minutes behind Ferrari. Early tempo pushers Grenfell-Shaw and Reiterer had each dropped again from rivalry, and ultimately from the race.

Jim Walmsley reached the course highpoint, Villa San Michele, at 108k, solo with 8:42 elapsed on the race clock and cruised again to Radda for a victory in 9:59:48. He regarded nothing if not recent, although he did say that the race was extremely troublesome, particularly with the muddy course circumstances.

Behind him, Jornet and Bouillard duked it out, with Jornet stronger on the climbs however Bouillard sooner on the descents. The pair mentioned after the race that they will need to have had tons of of back-and-forths. It was clear early on that Jornet was nursing some discomfort in his left leg as nicely.

Finally, when the course turned uphill for the ultimate time, Kilian Jornet attacked to tug away and end second in 10:27:27. The livestream commentators mentioned he had a 3 p.m. taxi to catch to get to the airport to get residence to his new child, born simply final week, so he knew he needed to end as quickly as attainable, and his crew mentioned that his half-hour margin meant that he wasn’t getting a bathe earlier than journey.

Vincent Bouillard completed in third in 10:27:57, a cheeky smile on his face and with hugs for Walmsley, Jornet, and his help crew. With a spot on the Western States 100 already ready for Walmsley, Jornet and Bouillard each eagerly indicated they deliberate to simply accept their Golden Tickets.

2025 Chianti Extremely Path by UTMB 120k Males’s Outcomes

1. Jim Walmsley (U.S.) – 9:59:48
2. Kilian Jornet (Spain) – 10:27:27
3. Vincent Bouillard (France) – 10:27:57
4. Aubin Ferrari (France) – 11:16:11
5. Lambert Santelli (France) – 11:36:57

Full outcomes.