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Rory Bosio defends title in prestigious ultramarathon

Sylas Wright
swright@sierrasun.com
Rory Bosio, shown in a past Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run, defended her title in the 104-mile Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc in Chamonix, France, this past weekend.
File photo |

Rory Bosio stormed onto the ultrarunning scene five years ago and never let off the throttle.

The 30-year-old North Tahoe High grad — who has recorded a number of top finishes locally in the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run — defended her title in the 104-mile Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc in Chamonix, France, on Saturday.

After a slow start in rainy conditions, Bosio took over the lead near the halfway point and increased her margin all the way to the finish line, where she posted a time of 23 hours, 23 minutes, 20 seconds. That was fast enough for 14th place overall in a field of nearly 2,500 runners.



“On the first part of the route I was tense. In the rain I didn’t feel good,” said Bosio, who last year broke the previous women’s record by more than two hours, finishing in 22:37:26. “I was very stressed in the muddy sections. I was afraid of falling, slipping.”

Nuria Picas of Spain finished runner-up to Bosio for the second straight year, recording a time of 24:54:26, while Nathalie Mauclair of France was the third woman finisher in 25:47:35.



François d’Haene of France took the overall win in 20:11:44.

Considered the world’s most prestigious trail run, the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc’s high-elevation course climbs 13 mountain passes and roughly 31,000 vertical feet, passing through three countries along the way — France, Italy and Switzerland. Of the 2,434 people who started the run, only 982 reached the finish line within the cutoff.

The Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc is put on by The North Face, Bosio’s sponsor. The event features a total of five races, with 7,500 participants in all.


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