Announcement from American Trail Running Association (ATRA) member Québec Mega Trail (QMT) regarding athlete selection for the 2023 field.
Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, February 22, 2023 — Québec Mega Trail is proud to announce that 42 elite runners will participate in the 2023 edition, guaranteeing an exceptional level of competition for the event that will be held from June 29 to July 2. Among them, 23 elite Canadian athletes will be at the starting line of the various events, along with 13 athletes from the United States and 6 from Europe.
“We are very proud to welcome so many high-level athletes. It is a great mark of recognition for the QMT. The whole local community is delighted to have the most competitive ultra trail race in Canada.” — Jean Fortier, General Director and founder of Québec Mega Trail.
See the complete list of professional athletes here.
QMT 2021
The QMT-110: fierce competition on the women’s side
The 110k event promises quite a battle this year on the women’s side with Alisa Macdonald, from British-Columbia, who finished second at the Western States 100, in California (United States), in 2022, and Sarah Gage, winner of the Dead Horse Ultra 50k, 2021, in Utah (United States). Québec’s Mylène Sansoucy, who has an ITRA score of 653, will definitely be a local opponent to keep an eye on. She was a strong performer all summer long in 2022, finishing in second place at the UTHC 125 km, after winning the Trans-Vallée (57 km) and the Trail du Grand-duc (50 km).
On the men’s side, American Brian Tolbert will go against, amongst others, Marvin Foucher, from Montréal, but born in France. Marvin has won the last edition of the Bromont Ultra 80k after earning the bronze medal at the Toronto Marathon in 2022.
Kelsey Hogan will be defending her title
Winner of the QMT-100 last year, Kelsey Hogan, from Newfoundland, will be back to defend her title in the same event. Several opponents, from Canada and abroad, are going to be there to try and take the title, including Nichole Abma, from Alberta, who climbed on the podium on her first participation ever at a 160k race last summer in Whistler, British Columbia, and Vanessa Morales, from France, who broke the women’s world record on climbing the Kilimanjaro (Tanzania) in 2021, will also be among the favorites.
Antoine Guillon (France), Drew Mueller (United States), Cole Crosby (United States), Pavel Paloncy (Czech Republic), Jake Moreau (Canada), and Daylan Wizniuk (Canada) will fight for the first position on the men’s side and will try to finish the event under 19:35:52; a record set last year by Sangé Sherpa. It will certainly be a difficult task. Several Québecers could also steal the first place on the podium. Marc-Antoine Forand, who finished second at the Bromont Ultra 160, in 2021, Matthieu Pelletier, winner of the Bromont Ultra 160, in 2022, as well as Jean-François Cauchon, who finished second at the QMT-100 last year behind Sherpa, will also try to with the main event.
Québec Mega Trail 2022. Photo by: Sebastien Durocher
QMT-25: surprises ahead
The 25 km event that is part of the Golden National Trail Series by Salomon, has attracted many elite athletes and promises quite a show to the public. Samuël Poher (Canada), Jeffrey Stern (United States), and Joey Bellanger (France) will be among the competitors on the men’s side, while the women’s will include Lindsey Herman (United States), and the Québecers Élisa Morin, Mélodie Gilbert, as well as, Anne-Marie Comeau, former cross-country skiing olympian athlete. Holder of the course record, Comeau will be in known territory as she comes from Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges, and could cause quite a surprise.
Québec in the spotlight in all events
Several elite athletes from all around the province could end up on the podium throughout the event. The QMT-50 will feature Christopher Lévesque-Savard, second in the QMT-25 in 2022, Patrick Lehoux-Gagnon, third in the QMT-25 in 2022, Jean-Philippe Thibodeau, champion in the QMT-80 in 2022 and in the QMT-50 in 2021, Gabriel Sanfaçon, first in the QMT-110 in 2022 and third in the QMT-160 in 2021, as well as Laurianne Roberge, winner of the 42 km classic of the UTHC in 2022.
Cindy Champagne, second in the UTCC 62 km in 2022, and Olivier Moreau, champion in the 52 km of the Trail du Grand-Duc and in the 32 km of the Trail du Massif du Sud last year will be on the starting line of the 80 km.
In total, 2,800 competitors of all levers will take part in the nine trail running events that will be held during the weekend. Those interested can still register for a few events, including the QMT-100 miles. All the details are here.
Photo by: Sebastien Durocher.
About Québec Mega Trail
QMT is a legendary ultra trail race, renowned as one of the most beautiful but also as one of the hardest in Canada. Crossing the Charlevoix and the Côte-de-Beaupré regions, it takes runners all the way to Mont-Sainte-Anne, and more than 2,500 racers meet there every year. An incubator for high-level athletes, the organization also offers challenges for beginners. Founded in 2012, the Québec Mega Trail actively promotes trail running while being a reference in terms of safety, sustainable development, and constant innovations.
The QMT 2023 will be held from June 29th to July 2nd at the Mont-Saint-Anne. It offers nine events to trail running enthusiasts (QMT-100 MILES (160 km), 110 km, 80 km, 50 km, 25 km, 15 km, 10 km, 6 km, and 1 km). Québec Mega Trail is part of the prestigious Golden Trail Series and is the only American partner race of the Grand Raid de l’île de la Réunion and the Madeira Island Ultra Trail (MIUT). Moreover, the 100 miles and 110 km are qualifying races for the mythical Western States 100.
