Women trail runners had a huge weekend of achievements at the Ultra-Trail Australia event in the Blue Mountains, with stories of heart and resilience splashed across social media.
Already the country’s premier annual trail running event, UTA is known for attracting runners around the globe to its challenging courses. However, this was the first year the race series was elevated to the status of UTMB World Series Major status, joining iconic races in Europe, the Americas, and Asia as a top event in the sport.
As part of the Major status, a new 100-Miler race, the UTAMiler, was introduced. It’s a distance that many in the trail running community view as a lifetime goal, making it an especially welcomed announcement from the race organisers.
In the women’s race, Meghann Coffey, from Australia, nabbed the coveted first place Miler finish. Coffey covered the 100 mile (160km course) in an impressive 21 hours and 52 minutes, setting the standard for future runners to try to reach.
In second place for the Miler was Australian runner Cecilia Mattas, with a time of 22 hours and 43 minutes, followed by the third place finisher, also from Australia, Kellie Angel, in 23 hours and 14 minutes.
Over to the 100km women’s race, there was a close battle for the top spot, with British runner Eve Moore ultimately taking the top spot, in a time of 10 hours and 55 minutes.
Last year’s UTA 100Km winner, Beth McKenzie, from the US, came in close behind Moore with a time of 11 hours and 14 minutes. McKenzie’s finishing moment saw her cross the line holding the hands of her two daughters, who had been meeting their mum at aid stations throughout the day. It was undoubtedly a special scene for all.
Australian runner Emily Brunt followed suit in third place for the women’s 100km in a time of 11 hours and 25 minutes.
Throughout the day, in other races as well, there were many scenes where trail runners grabbed their children to have them share in the finishing moment. Families were scattered everywhere on the course, with the race trying to highlight the sport of trail running as “family business”.
In the 50km women’s race, New Zealand’s Caitlin Fielder claimed victory in a time of 5 hours and 2 minutes.
Also from New Zealand, Jessie Speedy secured the 22km race win in a time of 1 hour and 57 minutes. In the 11km race, Australia’s Simone Brick finished first with a time of 1 hour and 17 minutes.
Female participation in the sport of trail running has been steadily growing since around 13 per cent in 1997 to 46 per cent in 2022, according to data from the RunRepeat’s ’The State of Trail Running in 2022’ report.
There were over 3000 women at the Ultra-Trail Australia event this week, meaning 42 per cent of runners were women. While not yet at 50 per cent, the race organisers acknowledged their goal is to keep improving the female participation rates, saying “we know that we can be better”. There was also a Women in Trail Q&A event held with the aim to connect like-minded women trail runners.
As the race distance increases, there’s often barriers to women participating in the event, such as the time commitment it takes to train for such a goal. Considering women often take on greater caring responsibilities, efforts to create a family-friendly atmosphere at race events shows a desire to support more women to take up the sport.
Also happening last weekend was the Ultra-Trail Snowdonia over in Great Britain, where photos have been widely shared of the first place 100km women’s finisher breastfeeding her daughter along the race course.
Stephanie Case, a human rights lawyer, ultrarunner and mum won the race six months after giving birth. It’s representation such as this that could see the growth of women in trail running expand even further.