Star American duo Jim Walmsley and Katie Schide were crowned the champions in the Long Race at the World Mountain & Trail Running Championships.
The event was run in ideal conditions on the spectacular Pyrenean course around Canfranc Pirineos in Spain.
Walmsley had to fend off a two-pronged attack from French runners Benjamin Roubiol and Louison Coiffet but asserted in the last third of the 82km race to add the ‘Long’ crown to the ‘Short’ title he won in 2019.
The women’s race was far more clear-cut with Schide in control from the outset and she would cross the line in splendid isolation, 25 minutes clear of her closest rival.
Men’s race – Three-way battle
Walmsley joined pacesetter Roubiol after 15km and Coiffet would bridge up to the pair by the 25km mark.
Fot the next few hours the trio were locked together but strength in numbers didn’t help the French duo break Walmsley.
Indeed the opposite happened as he started to move clear and he was a minute ahead after 60km and then seven minutes with just the final climb and around 12km to go.
There was no easing off for Walmsley, even after the 5,400+ metres of elevation was ticked off and he looked down to the finish in Canfranc in the valley. That was because there were still team medals to play for – which were decided by the cumulative time of the three leading athletes from each nation.
Walmsley looked super smooth on the final descent and the run to the line which he crossed in 8:35:11.
Just over nine minutes later Roubiol and Coiffet came across the finish together holding a French flag – and they had additional reason to celebrate later when France were crowned team champions.
There was a bit of confusion as to whether chip timing would determine who got silver and bronze in the individual race but it was then confirmed that they were joint second.
Speaking at the finish, Walmsley said: “It’s still sinking in. A lot has gone into this. My planned summer didn’t quite pan out as expected [he had to miss Western States] but it’s all come together nicely.
“I won the ‘Short’ trail in 2019 so getting to win the ‘Long’ six years later is pretty cool.”
Asked about the course, he added: “I think the Pyrenees really tested everyone – it’s just a super rugged trail I’m happy to get through it smoothly.
“I’ve been here about two weeks and I got to really appreciate the mountains – it’s a bit too technical to look up too much in the race though!”
Women’s race – Schide a class apart
Schide has been pretty much unbeatable in the last couple of years, winning Western States and UTMB in 2024 and then Hardrock 100 on her debut this season, since when this title was her big target.
And she wasted little time kicking clear – she was 38 seconds in front of Italy’s Fabiola Conti inside the first 5km.
Sunmaya Budha of Nepal joined Conti not long after and that pair ran together for much of the rest of the race but the gap between them and Schide quickly grew.
It was over five minutes at 25km and then 22 minutes approaching 50km.
It went over the half an hour mark approaching the last 20km but Budha then eased clear of Conti and for the first time in the race, Schide’s lead stopped growing.
It was exactly 30 minutes with 12km to go but Schide was in complete command and crossed the line in just under 10 hours.
Budha was second, 25 minutes back, with Conti holding on for third.
Again though Schide couldn’t relax as the team prize at that point was incredibly finely balanced between the USA and Italy but as the other runners started to come through it became clear Italy had won gold.
“It feels really great, I’m super happy,” said Schide afterwards.
“It’s such a different course to what we often see – and just beautiful. It’s definitely super hard but I just focussed on my own effort and I knew I had a bit of a gap throughout the race.”
Long Trail World Championship 2025 results
Saturday 27 September, 82 kilometres
MEN:
- 1. Jim Walmsley (USA) – 8:35:11
- 2= Benjamin Roubiol (FRA) – 8:46:05
- 2= Louison Coiffet (FRA) – 8:46:05
WOMEN:
- 1. Katie Schide (USA) – 9:57:59
- 2. Sunmaya Budha (NEP) – 10:23:03
- 3. Fabiola Conti (ITA) – 10:35:51
