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The Grossglockner Mountain Run once again turned the heart of the Hohe Tauern National Park into a celebration of mountain running, bringing together elite athletes, recreational runners and local communities for a weekend dedicated to the sport. As the eighth race of the WMRA Mountain Running World Cup 2026, the Austrian classic also marked an important point in the season.

The Legendary Highland ultra trail race Skyline Scotland, which had been feared lost when organiser Ourea Events went into administration earlier this year, will begin a new chapter in 2027 with the UTMB World Series. Skyline Scotland is a world-renowned mountain running festival set amongst the iconic peaks of Lochaber including Ben Nevis and Glen Coe, which features technical, dramatic, and unforgettable terrain.

Jenn Lichter continued her inspiring trail running story when she made a sensational 100-mile debut at Western States, not only winning the race but setting a new female course record into the bargain. Now hailing from Missoula, Montana and with an incredible personal journey to get to this point, Lichter was positive from the outset and then ran away from her rivals in the last 25 miles and dipped under the previous best mark set by the GOAT Courtney Dauwalter.

Vincent Bouillard made ultrarunning history at Western States over the weekend, shattering the course record by nearly 25 minutes as well as joining the select group of people to win both that race and UTMB, the two biggest 100-milers in the world. The Frenchman crossed the line at the Placer High School track in 13 hours, 46 minutes and 15 seconds, the first person to go sub-14.

Course records were smashed and history made as France’s Vincent Bouillard and America’s Jenn Lichter took the respective titles at the iconic Western States Endurance Run. The world’s oldest 100-mile trail run takes athletes from Olympic Valley to Auburn in California and with the third coolest day in the race’s 53-year history, predictions beforehand suggested that record times could be under threat.

Kilian Jornet is the greatest male ultrarunner of all time – and has a storied history at the Western States Endurance Run. His first appearance in 2010 was part of the legendary ‘Unbreakable’ year which really put the race on the global map. Twelve months later – and unbroken – he returned. And won. He didn’t go back to America’s greatest 100-miler until last year when he finished stronger than anyone to take third.

Hayden Hawks has gone incredibly close to a win at Western States and is hoping this is the year he finally gets to stand on the top step of the podium. He was second in 2022 and third in 2024 and the American star forms part of a stacked men’s field, which includes the legendary Kilian Jornet who was third last year. All the while Hawks has been getting quicker too and he’s documented his build up to the race in a series of short videos, the latest of which is embedded below.

Organisers of the Hamburg half-marathon have announced that this weekend’s race has been postponed due to the scorching heatwave that continues to wreak havoc across Europe. Temperatures are pushing towards record June highs, with some forecasters even predicting they could reach 40C in the coming days. Several heat warnings have also been issued, with authorities rightly concerned about the adverse effects of such intense weather.

Abby Hall arrives at Western States this week with a very different mindset to 12 months ago. As she says herself in a short film from sponsors Suunto, which is embedded below, it had been an “improbable” journey just to get a place and make the start line in 2025.

There’s no Courtney Dauwalter, Katie Schide or Rachel Entrekin, three of the very biggest names who have done so much to elevate women’s ultrarunning to new heights. But this is still a very special line up, underlined by nine of last year’s top 10 returning. Pride of place goes to defending champion Abby Hall and the video below nicely illustrates the shift in mindset from 12 months ago.