M70-74: Wolfgang Braun Owns the Mountain

• Wolfgang Braun, 72, takes the M70-74 title in 11:23:32 (18:20/mi) — more than 41 minutes clear of the field.
• Jerry Stephenson, 70, runs a steady, progressive race to claim 2nd in 12:05:26 (19:27/mi), climbing from 837th among men at the opening checkpoint all the way to 605th by the finish.
• Mike Heiliger, 73, completes all 60 km to take 3rd in 13:51:04 (22:17/mi), finishing well within the 14h 30min time limit.
• Braun's closing Argentière→Finish split ranked 290th among men; Stephenson's was 469th — Braun was the stronger finisher of the two.

Three men tackled one of trail running's most demanding point-to-point courses — 60 km from Orsières to Chamonix, with over 3,500 meters of climbing and a new high point added in 2026 between Col de Balme and Col des Posettes — and all three got it done. In the M70-74 field, that is the headline before a single split is even examined.

Braun controlled this race from start to finish. His gender place drifted slightly through the mid-race checkpoints, as is common on a course that punishes early aggression, but he steadied and surged over the final third — moving from 678th among men at one point all the way up to 521st by Chamonix. His Argentière→Finish split, 290th-fastest among all men on that closing stretch, showed he still had something left when it mattered most. At 18:20/mi across a course that climbs into thin mountain air, that is a controlled, purposeful effort.

Stephenson told a similarly encouraging story over the back half. Starting the race ranked 837th among men, he ground his way forward at nearly every checkpoint, arriving in Chamonix 605th — a net gain of more than 230 places across the men's field. His 19:27/mi average reflects a patient strategy, and his 469th-fastest closing split confirms he was still moving well when many others were fading.

Heiliger, at 73 the oldest finisher in the M70-74 field, completed the course in 13:51:04 — leaving nearly 40 minutes to spare against the cutoff. His 22:17/mi pace across a course of this severity, at his age, is its own kind of accomplishment.