North American stars dominate as Hall and Gill claim emotional wins at Kosci100

On a day that had it all, from blue skies to thundery storms, North American runners made their mark on Ultra-Trail Kosciuszko by UTMB, with Abby Hall (USA) and Quinton Gill (CAN) claiming victory in the 100km races.

Hall, a two-time UTMB Mont Blanc CCC (100km) podium finisher, demonstrated her class to lead the women’s race from start to finish, taking the tape in 10:42:46. Sydney based Kiwi Juliette Soule (NZL), racing just her second 100km, finished as runner up behind Hall in 11:14:44 with Buha Bali (AUS) rounding out the podium in third in 12:51:46.

In the men’s Kosci100, Blue Mountains based Canadian Gill emerged victorious in what was his first 100km race in a time of 10:10:30. Behind him, Matt Gore (AUS) and Josh Chugg (AUS) worked together to create a gap between themselves and those chasing podium places, while Gore was able to squeeze a little extra out of his legs in the final few kilometres to pull away to finish in second, nearly six minutes ahead of Chugg in third.

Worth the wait for Hall

After enduring a frustrating couple of years while she recovered from a serious knee injury, Hall’s mantra for the day was to run with confidence and end her year on a high in a race and place she’s never experienced before.

“It’s so meaningful to me [to have a day like this]. I think anyone who’s been through a step back in the sport can attest to those little moments when no one’s watching and you’ve got a dream and you’re grinding away at it, and today is a meaningful step in the journey of what I’ve been working to get back to for so long,” said Hall. “There was so much really amazing support. Thanks to all the awesome crowds and cheering, it was full on. It blew away my expectations, everyone came out in full force.

“I love it here. I really love it here so much, I just had the best trip. I’ve been hanging out with Lucy [Bartholomew] the last 10 days, we went to her race in the Grampians last weekend where I got to support her and then today, she got to crew and support me. It’s just so meaningful, the relationships we make in the sport are what makes it fun. To be able to share moments like this with a friend is a million times more meaningful than me just being here by myself,” she said.

Abby Hall wins 2024 Ultra-Trail Kosciuszko by UTMB 100km title [Photo credit: Tim Bardsley-Smith | UTMB]

Though her main goal was put together a performance she could be proud of, another of Hall’s ambitions was to qualify for the CCC race at the 2025 UTMB World Series Finals in Chamonix, France. By finishing in the top three of the Kosci100, she did just that.

“I’ve made some really great memories there [UTMB Mont Blanc] over the years, especially at CCC. This year, my first race back, coming back from surgery and everything, was the full 100-mile UTMB, and that was a big undertaking. I had a rough one out there. I’m always about the long game, so for me, the dream always lives on. The plan was to immediately pivot to where I can find a fun way to end my season and punch my ticket back to Chamonix. I’m happy to have done that here today,” said Hall.

Emotions running high too for Gill

“I feel ecstatic, words really can’t explain it,” said Gill. “A lot of hard work’s gone into this event, so it’s a little bit emotional right now considering the roller coaster of years I’ve had leading up to it. So to come here, everything just fell in line so perfectly, it was an amazing day out. I couldn’t ask for more.

“The support at aid stations was absolutely amazing. Obviously, my support crew who were there with me, I wouldn’t have been able to do without them. But I think just the organisation made everything very flawless and the transitions were just really quick and easy, course markings were fantastic, I never had to doubt myself once, which is always awesome. The weather just added a fun twist to it. My Canadian blood absolutely loves the cold out there, so that was nice. A great way to end the run.”

Gill spent weeks preparing specifically for his first 100km and UTMB World Series race, including a recon of the entire course three weeks out from the event. His hard work paid off and Gill couldn’t be happier.

“I think the biggest thing that I did that made this race possible for me is I came down to the course three weeks ago, and I did the entire 100km over three days and just broke it up like that. I honestly think that gave me the advantage because I knew where I needed to push and where I needed to slow down as we ran the course,” he said.

“I love races, but races are just the steppingstones to bigger and better things. They’re the cherry on top of all the hard work that we put in to show what the human body is capable of.”

Due to adverse weather conditions, the Kosci100 and KosciMiler races were paused for around two hours to ensure the safety of all athletes. Overall results were therefore calculated based on each athletes’ finish time minus the time they were held.