Britain’s Lewis Ryan followed up last year’s win in the Arc of Attrition 50 with a clear-cut victory in the 100-miler while Noor van der Veen of the Netherlands took the women’s crown.
Ahead of the race start from Coverack at midday on Friday there had been fears about Storm Éowyn but thankfully the winds had dropped and conditions were actually relatively forgiving for this event!
The race is a fraction over 100-miles long, almost entirely following the Cornish section of the South West Coast Path as runners complete an ‘Arc’ around the Cornish peninsula.
This was the first year the event had come under the UTMB banner and it kickstarted the 2025 UTMB World Series in style – here’s how the race played out…
Doubling up
Lewis Ryan’s victory in the 50-miler last year had marked him out as one of the leading male contenders for the full version 12 months on.
He was content to let others set the pace early on, with Peter Stock (GBR) first to the opening checkpoint at Lizard Point.
But Ryan had eased into second place by Porthleven after 39km and he moved to the head of affairs at the halfway stage at Porthcurno.
His namesake David Ryan (IRE) had been running virtually alongside him virtually throughout until this point and took over in front for a brief spell to Land’s End.
But Lewis Ryan would forge clear soon after and by the time he reached St Ives in the early hours of Saturday morning he had a lead of nearly 15 minutes and wasn’t threatened thereafter.
He finished strong too, crossing the line in Porthtowan at 7.22am in a time of 19 hours, 22 minutes and 35 seconds.
David Ryan took second almost exactly 20 minutes behind, while British duo Hugh Tibbs and Simon Withers went under the arch together for a share of third place.
Breakthrough win for van der Veen
French ultrarunning star Claire Bannwarth had been the highest-ranked female runner on the start list but having raced in Hong Kong the week before she was a DNS.
And in her absence the women’s race was dominated throughout by van der Veen who paced it brilliantly.
A steady start saw her reach the first checkpoint in 40th place overall but as the race wore on she gradually worked her way through the field and was always in complete control of the women’s title.
By the final checkpoint at Portreath she was up to seventh overall and her advantage to second-placed Sarah Page (GBR) was just under two hours.
Van Der Veen, who was 19th behind Katie Schide at UTMB last year, stopped the clock in Porthtowan in 22:30:44 for the biggest success of her career so far.
Page duly took second in 24:17:28, with Zoe Murphy (GBR), just as she had in last year’s Dragon’s Back, rounding out the podium in third.
Click here for a full report on the Arc of Attrition 50.
Arc of Attrition by UTMB 100 results, Friday 24 to Saturday 25 January 2025, 100.8 miles (162.3km)
MEN:
- Lewis Ryan (GBR) – 19:22:35
- David Ryan (IRE) – 19:42:3
- Hugh Tibbs (GBR) and Simon Withers (GBR) – 20:24:39
WOMEN:
- Noor van der Veen (NED) – 22:30:44
- Sarah Page (GBR) – 24:17:28
- Zoe Murphy (GBR) – 25:42:26
