The 2nd edition of EcoTrail AlUla in Saudi Arabia confirmed its status as a pioneering trail event for the country and region. The participation field doubled compared to the first pre-pandemic edition in February 2020 and local and regional trail runners flocked to Saudi’s premium tourist destination now that country immigration procedures have relaxed. The 80K route had been significantly fine-tuned to increase runability, important given the necessary 12h30’ cut-off time that had to be adhered to. In addition, the finish was now located at Hegra, the impressive UNESCO World Heritage Site and icon of AlUla, a town roughly 7 hours’ drive north of Jeddah.

Local 80k runners showed their enthusiasm after the flag off by setting a fast pace. Known runners such as Japan’s Yuta Matsuyama, winner of Ultra Trail Chiang Mai in 2019, and Pierre Breuer (2nd in 2020) let them take an advantage on the first flat 15 km. It was to be expected that the locals would be overpacing themselves and when the frontrunners came out of the 12km long ‘canyon section’, the most technical of the race with several rock climbs to negotiate, the more experienced international runners came to the fore. Abdulaziz Alghamdi made it over halfway in the lead position, but shortly afterwards faded away and even retired around km 60. Mickael Gasc, from southern France but based in Saudi Arabia, took over the command with Pierre Breuer chasing him initially. Meanwhile, temperatures in Al Ula were rising above 30 degrees, adding to the difficulty of the race. A few days prior to the race the max afternoon temperature was hardly 16, so it was a bad stroke of luck for those struggling with heat. Yuta Matsuyama was among the latter. The Japanese Uglow runner got a knock of the hammer and would even drop out of the top 10. Energy management and pacing was key in the 80k race to score a result and Mickael Gasc did that very impressively. The gap to second place kept on increasing and would measure 50 minutes at the finish in Hegra. Gasc concluded the course in 7h38. Second place went to a trio of friends and teammates based in Dubai: Gareth Gallagher, Marcus Smith and Robert Jones.

In the women’s race the victory was mainly contested between Ivana Kolaric, originally from Serbia but now residing in Dubai, and India’s leading female trail running ambassador Nupur SIngh. Kolaric, who also competes in triathlon, was always ahead but Nupur SIngh for a long time kept her within range. SIngh, supported by our nutrition partner Unived, has very fast PBs on the half and full marathon, even though the covid 19 situation kept her out of action for basically two years. It was the Indian’s first appearance on the ATM circuit and she certainly left an impression. While Kolaric did go on to win, Nupur took time to take photos and videos and still kept a solid pace all the way to the finish in Hegra and take second place. If she were to decide to focus on it, she could be a dark horse for this year’s ATM Championship title in December. What a breakthrough that would be for India’s blossoming trail running community!

EcoTrail AlUla: wins for Mickael Gasc and Ivana Kolaric