Xterra Gozo Trails attract strong crowd
Ryan Farrugia and Dzintra Grech first Maltese male and female athletes to cross the 50km finish line
Xterra Malta hosted the much an- ticipated Xterra Gozo Trails over the weekend and welcomed over 350 athletes across three distances – 50km, 21km and the introductory 11km.
The Gozo Ultra 50k Trail run, which circles the perimeter of Gozo, took athletes up to an elevation of 1500m. With a cut-off time of 10 hours, it allowed beginners to take part and those wishing to enjoy the trail, rather than race it, to do so. The 21km trail covered the last half of the course whilst the 11km trail run started at the end of the route around a course which lead back to the Race Head Quarters in Ghajnsielem.
This year’s edition attracted athletes from nearly 30 countries and reaching far and wide across the globe with strong participation from most European countries as well as North and South America, Southern Africa, and the Philipines. A substantial amount of Maltese runners took part, which augurs well for the future of this sport.
Amongst the athletes taking part in the Ultra distance was French pro athlete Matthieu Blanchard who emerged as the winner of this distance, completing the run in 4 hours 15 minutes 37 seconds, three minutes behind him was Jamie Stephenson, whilst Maltese Ultra Runner Ryan Farrugia rounded off the podium. Farrugia finished the gruelling course in 4:21:29, making him the first Maltese to finish this course.
Dzintra Grech had an excellent race in the female category, winning the 50k ultra in 5 hours 25 mins, 34 seconds. Tiziana Bonnici (6:12:13) and Catherine Chetcuti (6:17:32) finished the race in second and third place respectively.
In the 21km race, seasoned athlete Kevin Zammit – who needs no introductions in the local athletics scene, won the race in a time of 1:38:08. He was followed by Ariel Cruz (1:42:20) and Zak Farrugia (1:42:21) who was only one second behind Cruz on crossing the finish line. Rosalie Borg Cauchi, who has been producing some strong performances since emerging on the sporting scene, took top billing, finishing in a time of 1:52.55. Clara Attard Formosa (2:04:35) and Mikaela Borg (2:09:25) joined her on the podium.
The 11km, which was the one with most participants, saw Imed Ben Moussa cross the finish line first in 48 minutes, 27 seconds. He was followed by Kyle Darmanin (49:35) and Dalziel Bugeja (52:52). Xterra Malta Ambassador Tara Abdilla (55:06) was the first to finish the distance, followed by Ana Catarina Gomes (1:00:41) and Colette Micallef (1:06:22)
“Participation at this event has shown the increase in popularity of trail running. Malta and Gozo, although small, have a lot to offer in this regard – this has been proven by the number of international athletes taking part and who had very positive comments about the race in general” explained Nathan Farrugia, Race Director, Xterra Malta. “The shorter distances have proven to be great for beginners wanting to experience this kind of sport as well as to test their limits”
The 50k Ultra Distance has 2 ITRA points and is an official UTMB qualifier race.
Both the 50K and 21K events are QUALIFIERs for the Xterra Trail Running World Championships.
The organisers would like to thank Visit Malta, Intersport Malta, Garmin Malta, and Cisk Excel for supporting the event. Further thanks goes to Le Grenier à Pain and Guzeppe for hospitality & nutrition support, ERRC for safety, Ghajnsielem Local Council, ERA, Avene and all the volunteers and marshals who gave up their weekend to help make the event a success.