[France · Trail] Diagonale des Fous: Ruth Croft (27:13) and Hugo Deck (22:54) take the wins
The flagship race of the Grand Raid de la Réunion (October 15-18) covered 180 km with 10,200 m of climb and, with a rerouted course to ease congestion around Cilaos, became the longest edition yet at nearly 112 miles. New Zealand's Ruth Croft won the women's race in 27:13:23, more than an hour clear of American Alyssa Clark (28:26:53), with France's Agathe Bes third (29:05:19). It is Croft's third of the four iconic 100-mile wins after Western States and UTMB, leaving only Hardrock. In the men's race France's Hugo Deck took the lead after 115 km and won in 22:54:19, ahead of Robin Juillaguet (23:51:54) and Belgium's Jérôme Vanderschaeghe (24:10:35); pre-race favourite Tom Evans was seventh in 26:21. (Source: iRunFar, Oct 19)
[Belgium · Trail] Big Dog's Backyard Ultra World Team Championships: Geerts and Steyaert set 124-lap, 831.5 km world record
The biennial team championships started on October 17 with 67 nations and 990 runners racing simultaneously in their own countries, one 6.706 km lap per hour. Belgium's Merijn Geerts (52) and Ivo Steyaert (56) ran 124 laps together - 831.5 km (516.7 miles) over 124 hours - and stepped down before lap 125, breaking Australian Phil Gore's 2025 record of 119 laps (about 798 km) at Dead Cow Gully. Under the rules, stopping together on the same lap means no individual winner. Team standings: USA 1,120 laps, Australia 1,069, Belgium 1,058, Japan fourth on 1,038. (Source: iRunFar, Oct 22; Marathon Handbook)
[Malaysia · Trail] 33rd Mount Kinabalu International Climbathon: Oberbacher 3:20, Villarroel 4:09
A Skyrunner World Series race in Kinabalu Park, climbing about 2,800 m within 12.2 km before turning back down. Italy's Alex Oberbacher overtook compatriot Daniel Antonioli on the descent to win in 3:20 (Antonioli 3:23, Evgeny Markov 3:29). Spain's June Villarroel came through for the women's win in 4:09, with Svetlana Nurmukhametova second in 4:18 and Belgium's Vanja Cnops third in 4:42. (Source: iRunFar, Oct 19)
[China · Trail] Ultra-Trail Mount Yun by UTMB: Chinese sweep of the 100K titles
Mount Yun by UTMB staged four races from 22 km to 167 km; Hu Zhao won the men's 100 km in 10:06 and Anna Li the women's race in 12:43, opening China's November trail season. (Source: iRunFar, Oct 19; UTMB live results)