M65-69 at UTMB: Pascal Lété Conquers Courmayeur-to-Chamonix in Under 20 Hours

• Pascal Lété, 68, wins in 19:31:32 — the only M65-69 finisher under 20 hours, averaging 17:27/mi across 108 km and 6,200+ meters of climbing.
• Alekper Ahmedov (21:22:39) and Ian Ridoutt (22:04:23) complete the podium, separated by 41 minutes and 44 seconds from each other but nearly two hours behind the winner.
• Joseph Macheda posted the 126th-fastest men's split on Vallorcine Entrée→Sortie — the sharpest single-segment performance among the eight finishers in this group.
• Michael Entwistle, 68, crosses in 28:20:01 — completing the point-to-point from Courmayeur to Chamonix with just under 40 minutes to spare inside the 28-hour limit.

Pascal Lété didn't just win the M65-69 race — he ran away from it. The 68-year-old moved steadily and relentlessly through the men's field across the full 108 km, climbing from 634th among the men at the first checkpoint all the way to 375th by the finish. That's not a surge; that's a sustained, disciplined march through one of ultrarunning's most demanding courses, with thin air above 8,000 feet and 71°F humidity adding to the load. His 17:27/mi average, held over nearly 19.5 hours, tells the story of a runner who managed effort across every ridge and valley between Italy and France.

Behind him, Alekper Ahmedov (2nd, 21:22:39) and Ian Ridoutt (3rd, 22:04:23) ran very different races to reach the podium. Ahmedov, 65, tracked a trajectory similar to Lété's — steadily climbing through the men's field from 731st to 516th — while Ridoutt, 67, moved in the opposite direction, sliding from 440th among the men at the opening checkpoint all the way back to 556th by the finish. Ridoutt faded as others found their legs, but he held on for third. The Champex-Lac segment told a small story within that battle: Ridoutt posted the 239th-fastest men's split there, faster than Ahmedov's 385th, meaning he clawed back time in the mountains even as the overall gap held firm.

Joseph Macheda (4th, 22:39:10) deserves a mention for the sharpest late-race punch in the group — his 126th-fastest men's split on Vallorcine Entrée→Sortie was the strongest segment performance among all eight finishers here, a sign of real reserves late in a 22-hour effort. Mario Recalcati (5th, 24:08:26), Peter Hall Nielsen (6th, 25:49:42), and Alain Farron (7th, 26:13:22) all finished with meaningful time to spare, while Michael Entwistle's 28:20:01 — eight finishers, eight completions — closed out a group that put every one of its members across the line in Chamonix.