Winners announced in first-ever 100-mile race in Asturias, Spain

Three of the five races of Asturias´ first ever ¨100-mile where the bear walks¨ race were celebrated on Friday and Saturday. The first one to debut was the mother distance of 172 kilometers with 20,000 meters of elevation.

The fastest male finisher was local runner Pablo Ramos, arriving at the finish at 27 hours and 33 minutes. Around midnight, the first female finisher, Carolina Palicio, crossed the line at 31 hours and 26 minutes. Both runners wrote their names in gold letters on the event´s list of winners and received a warm welcome from the fans and neighbors congregating in the town hall square of Cangas del Narcea.

That finished off the intense Saturday schedule that began at dawn in San Antolín de Ibias with the 117-kilometer race and continued at 11:00 am with the 65-kilometer race. Two ultramarathon races in the event program were big news that day with their roster of elite athletes. Pablo Villa achieved the first triumph of the season thanks to the strength he showed in leading the 65-kilometer race from start to finish. His finishing time of 6 hours and 3 minutes allowed him to beat his main rival, Augustín Luján (6 hours, 38 minutes). In third place overall, Azara García was the fastest female finisher with a time of 6 hours and 40 minutes.

Sunday finished off the race program with two short races

A touching scene played out at the finish-line of the 117-kilometer race. After running practically the entire race together for more than 12 hours, Daniel Pérez and Emilio Afonso decided to cross the finish line together and share the victory that they both deserved. It was 16 hours and 45 minutes of mountain crossing. Luis Casero was third place at 17 hours and 25 minutes and in fourth was the fastest female racer, Leire Martínez at 18 hours and 3 minutes. The second-fastest female was Eva María Rico at 19 hours and 36 minutes and the third was Raquel Villalba at 22 hours and 37 minutes.

That completed a weekend of pure athletic passion in a perfect place for trail running with beautiful landscapes that offer as much to runners as they do to their companions.