Lizzy Hawker wins The North Face® Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc® for an incredible fifth time
Press Release / 06.09.2012
Extreme weather conditions forced organisers to establish a new route for The North Face® Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc® races. The headline UTMB® race was revised to trail only through France, starting in Chamonix, Friday 31th August at 7pm, for a distance of 103km at 6000 D+, with 2,482 participants. Conditions included heavy rain, glacial wind, and slippery mud and rock.
In the women’s category, The North Face® athlete, Elizabeth ‘Lizzy’ Hawker (GBR), claimed first place for an unsurpassed fifth time at The North Face® UTMB®. The only athlete ever to have achieved the coveted title five times (2005, 2008, 2010, 2011 & 2012), 36-year-old Hawker (GBR) finished a strong 45 minutes ahead of 2nd placed Francesca Canepa (ITA), and ranked 16th in the race overall.
“Sometimes the best race is not when you win but when you overcome the inner competition. This year shows you have to look inside of yourself and stay in the moment. You can’t control the weather. I’d like to thank all the supporters and volunteers for all their encouragement,” commented Hawker.
In the men’s division, Frenchman François D'Haene (FRA) took first place with a time of 10h:32m:36s followed 30 minutes later by Jonas Buud (SWE) (11h:03m:19s). The North Face® athlete, Mike Foote (USA), crossed the finish line just sixteen minutes later to take 3rd spot (11h:19m:00s). Speaking of his experience, Foote explained: ”It was wet, rainy and miserable the first half, but at about 50km I just committed to race my hardest. I just kept thinking about my family and friends back home in Montana, and my cross country team and it got me though it.”
The North Face® female athletes also achieved notable Top Ten positions: 28-year-old Rory Bosio (USA) just missed out on podium by finishing in 4th place at a time of 13h:43m:10s, and finishing in the top 50 overall. Fernanda Maciel (BRA) achieved a merited 7th place finish, to add to her recent 2nd place achievement at The North Face® Lavaredo Ultra Trail 120km; Helen Cospolich (USA) arrived in 17th position and in the top 200 overall.
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