More than 2 800 athletes from 66 nations converged on the Mother City for three days of trail racing at the RMB Ultra-trail Cape Town. Elite international competitors joined local champions and trail runners to tackle five challenging routes across Table Mountain and the Cape Peninsula: 16km, 23km, 35km, and the flagship distances of 55km, the UT100 (100km), and the gruelling UTCT (100-miler).

Featured Winners
PT55: Britain’s Robbie Simpson achieved a remarkable hat-trick of victories in 5:18:58 ahead of American Jeshurun Small in 5:23:29. Local trail legend Ryan Sandes took third in 5:41:23. In the women’s race Spanish veteran Anna Tarasova took the title in 6:02:55 with France’s Louise Serban-Penhoat, coming in second and local South African favourite Landie Greyling, the 2022 champion, claimed third in 6:27:59.

UTCT: The flagship 100-miler began as the sun set on Friday, sending athletes into a night. Russian athlete Aleksei Tolstenko celebrated his 40th birthday defending his title with an improved time of 21:06:54, shaving 40 minutes off his previous year’s winning performance. South Africa’s Matthew Bouch came in second in 22:10:06 after he was forced to withdraw in 2023. Germany’s Jérôme Vanderschaeghe, fresh from his triumph at the 73km Grand Raid in May, secured third in 22:33:19.

The women’s race saw local hero Kerry-Ann Marshall triumph in 25:38:16, adding to her impressive record of first, second, and fifth-place finishes in previous UT100 events and a second-place in the 2022 UTCT. South African-born Naomi Brand, now living in New Zealand, took second, shaving three hours off her time, significantly improving last year’s second-place performance; she crossed the finish line in 26:35:21, slashing over three hours off her previous time. Austria’s Cornelia Oswald claimed third in 29:38:03.

UT100: Twenty-five-year-old French phenomenon Hugo Deck won on debut in 10:31:02. Portugal’s Miguel Arsenio also celebrated his birthday with a sterling second-place finish in 10:45:23, whilst American Michelino Sunseri marked his 100km debut with a third-place finish in 11:16:08. In the women’s division, Canadian Jazmine Lowther crossed the line first in 12:04:25. Russia’s Antonina Iushina secured second place in 12:50:01, while Germany’s Eva Maria-Sperger, after taking three ultra-distance podiums this year, added to her impressive run with a third-place finish in 13:07:21.

READ MORE ON: trail ultra-trail cape town