Announcement from the Golden Trail World Series supported by Salomon. Salomon is a long time member of the American Trail Running Association.
The 2021 Golden Trail World Series (GTWS) edition is on track with a pre-registered starting list at the highest level it’s ever seen. An elite compilation from across the world ready to thrash it out in 2021 after last year’s race cancellations.
Here are the 6 iconic GTWS 2021 races: Zegama, Marathon du Mont Blanc, Dolomyths Run, Sierre-Zinal, Pikes Peak Marathon, Ring of Steall, and the Grand Final, the K42 Adventure Marathon, in Patagonia (Argentina).
Elite American Trail Runners
Top American trail runners registered for one or more GTWS races include: 2018 USATF 50 km Trail Champion David Sinclair, 2018 USATF Trail Marathon Champion Anthony Costales, 2015 World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships silver medalist Andy Wacker, 2012 USATF Mountain Running Champion Sage Canaday, 2019 U.S. Mountain Running Team member Seth DeMoor, former U.S. Junior Mountain Running Team member Jackson Brill, Christian Gering, Bailey Kowalczyk, 2018 USATF Trail Marathon Champion Rachel Drake, 2019 USATF 50 km Trail Champion Dani Moreno, 2019 U.S. Mountain Running Team member Emily Schmitz, 2015 World Mountain Running Championships women’s team silver medalist Kimber Mattox, 2018 USATF Half Marathon Trail Champion Ashley Brasovan, 2012 World Long Distance Mountain Running Champion Stevie Kremer and Cat Bradley.
Ashley Brasovan at the 2018 World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships.
Elite Women’s Field
2021 will see an incredibly exciting women’s field, starting with Judith Wyder (Team Salomon, Switzerland) GTWS 2019 winner, Dolomyths Run and Ring of Steall record holder, she’s back after the birth of her second child, will she hold onto her 2019 GTWS title after her year away? Teammate Maude Mathys (Team Salomon, Switzerland) GTC 2020 winner and Sierre-Zinal and Pikes Peak Marathon record holder, will not make her return easy. What will Rachel Drake (Team Nike, USA), 2nd overall at GTC 2020, make of the GTWS races as a rookie up against the well-honed regulars on these technically challenging and varied race routes? There’s Blandine L’Hirondel (Team Hoka One One, France) 3rd overall GTC 2020 & IAU World Champion 2019, the skimo specialist Johanna Åström (Team Arc Teryx, Norway) who crushed the Tromsø skyrace course record in 2019 and 5th overall at the 2020 GTC, Denisa Dragomir (Team La Sportiva, CompresSport, Romania) European Skyrunning Champion 2019. Other exciting women to watch, Anaïs Sabrié (Team Matryx, France) Holly Page, (Team Adidas Terrex, UK) 10th overall GTWS 2019, 2nd ROS 2019, Fanny Borgstrom, (Sweden) 3rd at ROS 2019 and 11th at GTWS 2019. What an exciting year!
David Sinclair. Joe Viger Photography.
Elite Men’s Field
Check out the fast and furious men’s line up! Who will prove themselves to be the Italian hero, Davide Magnini (Team Salomon, Italy) 2019 Mont-Blanc Marathon and Dolomyths Run winner, 2nd overall GTWS 2019, or his double Nadir Maguet (Team La Sportiva, Italy) Ring of Steall 2019 winner? Will Frédéric Tranchand (Team Scott, France) be as powerful as he was on the first stage of the GTC 2020 against Bart Przedwojewski (Team Salomon, Poland), GTC 2020 winner, who is more motivated than ever to defend his title? Stian Angermund (Team Salomon, Norway) Zegama record holder, 5th overall GTC 2020, Rui Ueda (Japan) Skyrunner World Series Champion 2019, Jonathan Albon (UK) IAU World Champion 2019, Francesco Puppi (Team Nike, Italy) 7th overall GTC 2020, Nicolas Martin (Team Hoka One One, France) 10th overall GTC 2020, and Rémi Bonnet (Team Salomon, Switzerland) 8th overall GTC 2020, seems to have made a giant leap from boy-cub to lion after an exceptional skimo season.
Click to see the full elite athlete list. Men above 850 ITRA points in the small race category. Women above 625 ITRA points in the small race category.
Anthony Costales at the 2018 World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships.
Additional GTWS Information
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic we are still living in uncertain times and we must be prepared to adapt the race schedule if needs be, here are our backup plans:
If 1, 2 or 3 races are cancelled: The GTWS still takes place with a reduced number of races and the number of mandatory qualifying races changes (5 races: 3 best results out of 5; 4 races: 2 best results out of 4; 3 races: 2 best results out of 3).
If more than 3 races are cancelled: We move to a GTC format with Golden Tickets** to win on: The GTWS qualifying races which will take place, the GTNS races which will take place, other races and/or Golden Segments.
The 2021 GTWS will make you sweat, scream, shout, and gel-dunk just from your sofa! The GTWS 2021 will release 7 episodes, 30 minutes each, at the end of the year – plus 10-minute recaps directly after each race – all filmed during each race, so you can enjoy the full experience wherever you are in the world – as if you had been side-by-side with the best trail runners on the planet!
Prize Money
Remember that there’s $190,000 prize money up for grabs during this 2021 GTWS.
See all the details on the GTWS website.
Trail runners must take part in at least 3 out of 6 qualifying races and reach the top 11 to be invited to the Grand Final. If a runner didn’t reach the top 11 but participated in 3 of the 6 qualifying races, he/she can still go to the Grand Final at his/her own expense and still have the chance to win the race and prize money! The Golden Trail World Series final ranking will be determined by the runners’ 3 best results during the season, plus their result at the Grand Final.
About
The Golden Trail World Series stands out in the modern sports world respecting unique values like parity, equity, transparency and honesty. The races have been chosen to highlight the most iconic events in this sport today. The Series aims to promote professional trail runners as the world-class athletes that they are, to showcase and protect the awe-inspiring nature and environments where we play and compete, and to acknowledge the amazing, passionate fans as an essential ingredient in the sport. Each of the six races in the Series has been specifically selected because of the scenery, challenges, history and atmosphere that they offer to both the runners and the public. These are the races that every runner wants to experience and some of the first written on any runner’s bucket list.
** Salomon Golden Trail Championship “golden tickets” are not related to the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run’s golden ticket program founded in 2015.
