At just 21 years old, Malen Osa Ansa stormed her way to 2nd place in the Zegama-Aizkorri Golden Trail Series, completing her first ever marathon distance race in 4:35:19. Astonishing stuff.
Crossing the finish line on Sunday just six minutes after winner Sylvia Nordskar, who took her first ever GTS success, Ansa said ‘she didn’t expect it at all’.
“I enjoyed every moment; the fans were amazing. Along the course, I kept hearing my name, which gave me a lot of strength to be second,” she added.
Fighting through adversity
At the beginning of the race, Ansa wasn’t even in the top five women. Struggling to keep up the pace with the front runners, she says she ‘almost gave up’, but soon found her stride and began picking off the runners in front of her. She reached Santi Spiritu (20k) in 4th place, having climbed five places since the last checkpoint.
Over the next 12k, Ansa moved into 2nd place and held on for the finish, where she took her first podium – and on home turf.
“Zegama is a super special race with an incredible, unique energy that infects and transports you. It made me faster. I still can’t believe it,” says Ansa.
You can’t explain what I experienced yesterday… to say the least, it was more wonderful than I dreamed. Thank you, thank you, and thank you, that’s all I can say.
Malen Osa Ansa, Instagram
The next race in the GTS for the young, promising athlete is the Tatra Skyrace in Poland, on August 18.
Outside of racing, Ansa and fellow American runner Caitlin Fielder plan to run a stage of the L’Étape du Tour, in France, during the summer.
Fielder was among the athletes to watch in last weekend’s Zegama-Aizkorri race, after finishing 2nd in 2023, but she didn’t quite have the race she hoped for, finishing in 10th place.
Rough day for Fielder
Following the race, Fielder shared on her Instagram: “Jeez, bit of a rough day in the office but the fans made it so much better.”
At the end of last year, Fielder struggled with her health and found it hard to stay on top of her training. But the new year brought a new running coach and with that new strength, leaving her feeling ‘stronger than ever’.
Next up for Fielder is the Marathon du Mont-Blanc.
