Tom Evans and Ruth Croft, stronger than the rain, snow and cold at the UTMB

It took military rigor and indifference to evil to emerge victorious from the daunting conditions of the 2025 edition of the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB). As he crossed the finish line first on Saturday, August 30, after 19 hours, 18 minutes, and 58 seconds of effort, British runner Tom Evans made this point clear. The former captain in Her Majesty's Army, who retired from the military to devote himself to ultra-trail running in 2018, saluted, wearing a British flag.

At 33, he has won a second "Monument" in the discipline, after the Western States in California in 2023. "As a good Englishman, I like to talk about the weather, but we had rain, snow and really trying conditions," said the winner, thus summing up the "toughest race" of his life.

Ruth Croft has never served in the army, but the 36-year-old New Zealander is no stranger to the trails surrounding Chamonix (Haute-Savoie). Second in 2024 and winner of several UTMB side races (CCC, in 2015, and OCC, in 2018 and 2019), she won the ultra-trail's premier event on Saturday, putting an end to the reign of American Courtney Dauwalter – a three-time winner and previously undefeated in this race. However, the woman who initially took up trail running, not out of competitive spirit, but as a "way to discover places while traveling" , was not feeling very good during the night. "Winter and snow are really not for me, so I had to really make sure I 'survive' until morning."

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