This weekend, Chianti Extremely Path by UTMB is about to ship an electrifying showdown as three of the trail-running world’s titans—Spain’s Kilian Jornet, Jim Walmsley of the U.S. and the reigning UTMB champion, France’s Vincent Bouillard—line as much as race 120K race by way of Tuscany’s picturesque landscapes. The occasion, which started Friday and runs by way of Sunday, affords 5 races, however all eyes are on the marquee distance, which guarantees to have followers on the sting of their seats—and you may watch the drama unfold stay.
The 120K course begins and ends in Radda, Italy, a medieval village nestled between Siena and Florence. Runners will traverse a route that passes 25 historic castles, winding by way of vineyards and over rolling hills with a complete elevation achieve and descent of greater than 5,000 metres. The race serves because the second-to-last Golden Ticket race earlier than the 2025 version of Western States 100 (assured entry for the highest two female and male finishers). The highest three finishers within the males’s and girls’s classes of the 46K, 73K and 120K races can even earn automated entries into OCC, CCC and UTMB, respectively, on the 2026 UTMB World Collection Finals in Chamonix, France.
Who to look at
In case you’re a fan of the game, that is large—four-time UTMB champion Jornet and four-time Western States 100 champion Walmsley (who additionally holds the UTMB course document, set in 2023) don’t usually race one another. Add in Bouillard, who shocked the path world by profitable UTMB final yr after Walmsley dropped with an damage, and this 120K has all of the makings of a traditional. Whereas Jornet has pulled off some wildly spectacular FKTs in recent times, he could also be working on fumes after the beginning of his third baby (with fellow ultrarunner Emelie Forsberg) final week. In the meantime, Walmsley and fellow Hoka athlete Bouillard have been scouting out the course in Tuscany, and whereas Walmsley has already secured a spot on this yr’s WSER, Bouillard will likely be hoping to punch his ticket.
Kilian confirmed IN for Chianti Castkes 120k this weekend! #utmbworldseries pic.twitter.com/DfUg8fvKiB
— Liam (@aidstationfireb) March 20, 2025
The ladies’s race gained’t disappoint, both. Defending champion Azara García de los Salmones of Spain, who in 2024 completed greater than an hour forward of her closest competitor, will return to line up in opposition to American ultrarunner Abby Corridor, an achieved veteran who took fifth at Black Canyon Ultras in February and who appears to be like decided to chase a Golden Ticket. Fiona Pascall from the U.Okay. ought to present some fierce competitors, after profitable the Mozart 100 by UTMB in Austria in June.
Extra distances, extra pleasure
The opposite distances at Chianti Extremely Path additionally characteristic stacked fields. Within the 20K, Morocco’s Elhousine Elhazzaoui, contemporary off a record-setting win on the 2024 Marathon du Mont-Blanc and the general Golden Path World Collection title, will face Italy’s Giacomo Forconi, a short-course specialist who racked up six wins final yr throughout 50K and 20K races. The 46K has its personal showdown, with 2024 OCC champion Francesco Puppi of Italy going up in opposition to Kenyan speedsters Kevin Kibet and Timothy Kibett, each recognized for tearing up quick, mountainous programs. The ladies’s race is equally stacked, that includes 2024 Sierre-Zinal winner Joyline Chepngeno of Kenya and Zegama champ Sylvia Nordskar of Norway. Over within the 73K, Italy’s Andreas Reiterer, who took third at UTMB final yr, will battle Sweden’s Petter Engdahl, a former CCC champion. On the ladies’s aspect, Poland’s Martyna Mlynarczyk and Germany’s Rosanna Buchauer—who completed second and third at CCC 2024—are set for an additional fierce matchup.
Methods to watch
Tune in to the stay stream with sure-to-be spectacular footage (of each athleticism and delightful Italian surroundings) kicking off at 4 a.m. native time on Saturday morning (11 p.m. Friday ET).
For extra details about any of the races at Chianti Extremely Path by UTMB, head right here.