The blockbuster clash in the UTA50 race at the 2026 HOKA Ultra-Trail Australia by UTMB saw reigning OCC champ Miao Yao of China get the better of UTMB winner Ruth Croft of New Zealand.
And here’s how all the the features races played out in the Blue Mountains…
UTA50 – women
The women’s UTA50 race was a nail biter to the very end, with Miao breaking the tape in a new course best time of 4:33:12, just over a minute ahead of Croft in 4:34:42. Australia’s Holly Ranson made up a couple of places in the last few kilometres to finish third in 4:57:13.
Miao took an early lead over Croft and held the gap to about two minutes during the first half of the course.
During the second half, Croft started in eat into Yao’s lead as they raced to the bottom of Furber Steps – at which point 951 steep stairs separate runners from the finish line. Croft managed to catch Yao on the steps, but an untimely water flask drop meant the Kiwi stopped to pick it up and in doing so, began to cramp. Miao continued to power on and pushed hard all the way finish line to take the win.
“This race is important training building into CCC this year,” said Miao. “I really enjoyed the course, it was tough, but I loved it. I hope I can come back next year.”
“Honestly, I’m super happy with it,” said Croft. “To be honest, I didn’t feel like I had the speed for the 50km because it hasn’t really been the focus of a lot of the training block but I’m just super happy that I was able to still hold on up there today.
“I raced here in 2021, and I went a bit too hard in the first half, and I really suffered on the climb out. So, I knew Miao Yao would be a lot faster than me on that descent and so my goal was to not pound my legs too much there so that I could actually move on the way out and I think it worked out pretty well.
“I kind of caught her and then dropped my soft flask so had to go back and get it and then kind of lost that contact, and then I started cramping pretty badly from there on,” she said.
UTA50 – men
New Zealand’s Daniel Jones defended his UTA50 title in the men’s race.
As the sun rose up from the sweeping valleys in the majestic Blue Mountains, Jones got out to an early lead but was tracked closely by Japan’s Hajime Kasagi.
Ultimately, the Kiwi proved too strong as he continued his dominance in Oceania races, earning back-to-back UTA50 victories in 4:04:11. Kasagi held on for second place, more than 10 minutes behind Jones, with Australia’s Blake Turner rounding out the men’s podium in 4:18:05.
“I’m feeling great,” said Jones. “It’s awesome to do a repeat performance of last year and it’s just amazing here. It feels like I’m a hometown boy on this course now because I was getting all the support out there. You know, you roll around and it was tight racing, so I’ve just got to be happy that I was able to finish strong and put a bit of a gap in the last quarter, and got the win.”
UTAMiler
Antonina Iushina and Aleksei Tolstenko took the UTAMiler titles over 100 miles, with both runners breaking the course best times set last year by more than an hour.
Iushina was in a league of her own all day, leading from start to finish to take the win in a time of 19:51:13, more than two hours faster than the previous course best time of 21:52:24, and nearly two hours clear of Australia’s Steph Auston in second place. New Zealand’s Emma Timmis rounded out the women’s UTAMiler podium in 22:57:49.
The men’s UTAMiler race was a tale of two Aleksei’s, as Tolstenko battled it out with Aleksei Beresnev for 97 of the 100 miles, with Tolstenko engineering the decisive break as they neared the base of the infamous Furber Steps.
Tolstenko ultimately claimed the victory in 17:38:27, just less than six minutes clear of Beresnev in 17:44:08. Australia’s Chris Lenkic finished third in 18:34:57.
UTA100
The final two titles of the 2026 HOKA Ultra-Trail Australia by UTMB, the men’s UTA100 and women’s UTA100, were won by Blue Mountains-based Michael Dunstan and Poland’s Katarzyna Dombrowska.
Dunstan, who has called the Blue Mountains home for the past three years, completed the iconic 100km in 9:04:19. He was pushed hard all the way by China’s Guidu Qin, who finished as runner-up and just over four minutes behind Dunstan. American Adrian Macdonald finished third in 9:32:47.
The women’s UTA100 was won by Polish runner Katarzyna Dombrowska, who dominated throughout the race – only to come within a kilometre of falling short as she cramped coming up the final 951 Furber Steps, stopping to stretch out her calf for nearly five minutes.
