F50-54 at UTMB 2026: Kagerer Claims the Crown in Chamonix

• Corine Kagerer won the F50-54 field in 29:43:53 (16:30/mi), finishing more than two hours ahead of second place across 174 km of alpine terrain.
• Ann Andries took 2nd in 31:42:18, posting the fastest women's split through the Champex-Lac feed zone — a standout segment in a race that spanned France, Italy, and Switzerland.
• Junko Yano (3rd, 35:16:04) and Nathalie Milou (5th, 36:56:10) both logged strong finishes on the La Flégère→Finish stretch — Milou the 57th-fastest women's split there, Yano the 82nd.
• Meixiong Yang (4th, 36:06:05) was one of the biggest movers in the field, climbing from 212th among women at the first checkpoint all the way to 97th at the finish.

Corine Kagerer, 52, ran a race that was as tactically composed as it was physically dominant. Her gender ranking swung through the mid-race miles — as high as 51st among women before settling at 56th by the penultimate checkpoint — but she arrived in Chamonix in 29:43:53, a margin of nearly two hours over her nearest F50-54 rival. On the Grand Col Ferret→La Fouly descent, she posted the 45th-fastest women's split, a sharp effort on one of the course's most demanding transitions from high alpine to valley running, where the thin air above 8,000 feet gives way to legs that have already banked many hours of work.

Ann Andries, 54, was the story of the middle race. She moved steadily through the women's field — from 96th at the opening checkpoint to 63rd by the penultimate one — and her fastest women's split through the Champex-Lac section was the kind of precision segment that speaks to someone who knew exactly where she wanted to push. She finished in 31:42:18, a clear and well-earned 2nd place.

Behind the podium, the race became a compelling study in late-race movement. Meixiong Yang entered the final stages having climbed from 212th among women at the first checkpoint to 97th at the finish — a relentless forward march across nine-plus hours of racing. Nathalie Milou (5th, 36:56:10) and Zuffova Jana (6th, 37:01:21) were separated by just over five minutes at the line, while Tara Warren (7th, 37:40:31), Claire Stone (8th, 38:01:49), and Harriet Gaywood (9th, 38:08:42) rounded out a tightly packed middle tier. All 34 finishers completed one of ultrarunning's most storied courses — 174 km around the Mont-Blanc massif — within the 45-hour-30-minute limit, and every one of them earned it.