‘Lizzy’ Hawker Places First at The North Face Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc
Photo by Franceso Tomasinelli / 04.09.2008
For the 6th annual event, over 2,300 competitors from nearly 60 different nations left the starting line in Chamonix, France on the afternoon of Friday, August 29. Outrunning all her adversaries, Elizabeth “Lizzy†Hawker, the English powerhouse completed her exploit on Saturday evening, shortly before 8pm, with a time of 25h19:41.
Lizzy entered her first ultra-run in 2005 and surprised herself and the world with her success. In the past few years she has earned a place amongst the ultra-running elite, with achievements that include a Gold Medal and becoming World Champion at the 2006 100km World Championships. She was also 1st in The North Face Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc in 2005 and at the 2006, 2007 and 2008 Zermatt Marathons where she set a course record in 2007. Not only a formidable athlete, Lizzy also earned her PhD in Polar Oceanography during 2005.
In 2007, she won the premiere Mountain Marathon Cup, a circuit of alpine marathons with one comprehensive final ranking. And in October, Lizzy and her British teammate, Stephen Pyke, broke a world record by running from Everest Base Camp to Kathmandu in just over three days - and only a few days after Lizzy and her team mates had reached the summit of the stunningly beautiful mountain of Ama Dablam.
Beginning and ending in Chamonix, the 6th annual UTMB covered 166 kilometres and over 9,400 meters of total elevation change. Taking place mostly on remote backcountry trails, some with considerable exposure, the course circled the Mont Blanc massif through three countries—France, Italy and Switzerland.
The men’s race was won emphatically by Spanish running sensation Kilian Jornet who finished a full hour ahead of his nearest challenger, Dacchiri Dawa-Sherpa, in a time of 20:56:59. Full results are on the race website at http://www.ultratrailmb.com/.
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