Elton Marathon Elton Ultra-Trail determined the winners. A marathon of desert steppes was held on the salt lake Elton in the Volgograd region. Full name: Gazizov Sergey Marsovich

Last weekend, the first hundred-mile trail in Russia started Elton Volgabus Ultra Trail®. The hottest and saltiest trail in the country, according to the organizers.

True, a week before the start there were heavy rains in the region and the organizers were seriously afraid of the race being cancelled, but a few days before the start the sun came out and the start, to the general joy of the participants, took place.

Fifth Elton Ultra Trail® More than 300 runners from 55 cities and regions of Russia, as well as Belarus, Kazakhstan, Finland, Mexico, Israel, Ukraine, Estonia and Belgium took part. The race is a stage of the Russian Trail Running Cup.

Launch video provided by one of ours readers.

ULTIMATE 100 MILES

In the first hundred Russian miles, events unfolded like a fascinating saga. A group of leaders, represented by Anton Golovina And Maxima Voronkova. During the first half of the distance they tried to chase them Dmitry Tsyganov, Ilya Erofeev,Konstantin Vasiliev And Alexander Chervyakov.

The leaders covered the first lap of 82 kilometers at fantastic speed. Maxim Voronkov showed a result of 6 hours 20 minutes, and Anton Golovin completed the half in 6 hours 33 minutes. Next, with a large lag behind the leaders, were Ilya Erofeev 7:12, Konstantin Vasiliev - 7:19 and Alexander Chervyakov 7:22.

For women, Ekaterina Andreytseva was the first to complete the halfway point in 7 hours and 57 minutes. Following her are Alena Shevchuk 9:22 and Yulia Lapkina - 9:27.

Then the race scenario developed dramatically. Immediately after the first lap, Anton Golovin withdrew from the race. Dmitry Tsyganov also left the race. In total, 12 people out of 85 who started dropped out after the first lap.

Video commentary Anton Golovina.

A comment Dmitry Tsyganov:

“I thought for a long time about tactics, whether to run carefully at my own pace or go with the leader on my tail. In the end, I decided to run with the leader, since the places were unfamiliar, it was night, it was unclear what would happen to the markings and the route. And Anton Golovin has already fled Elton, I think we won’t be lost together. But Golovin just incomprehensibly increased the pace from the start at a crazy pace! Some pieces of 4 minutes per kilometer jumped out! In general, I flew 50 kilometers, and then there was a sharp blow to my legs. And, in general, it was possible to run, you could even run, but you didn’t want to crawl and suffer. And in such cases there is a risk of injury. Therefore, I decided not to risk it. But overall, I liked everything. The track is interesting, the markings are super (there were green lights all along the track).. Golovin was also punished for such a speed.”

Maxim Voronkov was the first to reach the 129 kilometer mark at 10:51. Following with an hour lag are Konstantin Vasiliev 11:44 and Ilya Erofeev 12:03. They then finished in that order.

Of course, I had to pay for the crazy pace in the first half of the race in the second half. If Maxim flew the first part of the distance in 6 hours 20 minutes, showing an average pace of 4`40 per kilometer, then he spent 8 hours 10 minutes on the second half, and the pace dropped to 6 minutes per kilometer. However, his average pace over a distance of 164 kilometers was 5`20 per kilometer! Excellent result!

Result Maxima Voronkova - 14 hours 30 minutes 11 seconds and first place on the first Russian hundred-mile trail!

Finished second Konstantin Vasiliev and third Ilya Erofeev.

Maxim Voronkov(pictured above), winner of the first Russian 100-mile trail among men:

“When I chose Elton, I had a great desire to win. I thought that the strong would not come. But closer to the start, when the “jackpot” was announced (the winner received all 135,000 rubles of the prize fund), famous names began to emerge, which added some nervousness.

I had a plan for the race. I only shared it with my girlfriend. The plan was to get on Anton Golovin's nerves. Run after him or with him all the time. Well, how will it work out? Do not impose a pace, but run at his pace, thereby exerting psychological pressure. In the video that Anton published, he says that I increased the pace, but this is not true.

I started running from the very last row, slowly getting ahead and only towards the end of the asphalt section I caught up with the leading group. Anton ran first, followed immediately by Dima Tsyganov, and I stood behind them. Then he stood next to Anton. Dmitry then began to fall behind, and we still ran as a pair with Anton. There was a moment when I even waited for Anton, slowing down while he stopped. In the Red Village, Anton had a drop off, I didn’t wait for him, but ran on. The initial pace began to drop at the 60-70th kilometer. I even wanted to get off halfway, but my girlfriend with the PP kicked me out and said, “Let’s run!”

The next drop in pace was after the 120th kilometer. From this mark I began to take a step. And this last “marathon” was the most difficult test! I force myself to “run” and walk as little as possible.

During the preparation period for the race, the average weekly volume (over 24 weeks) was around 85 kilometers. The peak week was with a volume of 110 kilometers. There were also control 50 kilometers at a pace of 4`15. Volumes are bad for me. For me it is better to underrun than to overrun. The preparatory plan was completed by about 85 percent. Everything can be viewed on Strava in the public domain.”

The women won by a large margin over their pursuers. Ekaterina Andreitseva . The second one reached the finish line Alena Shevchuk and third Maria Baranova.

Ekaterina Andreitseva(pictured above), winner of the first Russian 100-mile trail among women:

“Initially, I understood that the race would be difficult not only physically, but also psychologically, so I was preparing myself for a long period of work. It’s not difficult to force yourself to go around, the main thing is just not to think about it. Focus on work issues: what to take from the bookmark, what to drink and eat. And once you go to the second round, there will be no turning back. With every step the finish is getting closer! The main thing is to move your legs and as quickly as possible. The kilometers passed unnoticed while I knew that my husband Ian was ahead. I even sometimes saw him in the distance. Unfortunately, he felt unwell and decided to retire from the race. After that, the distance stretched to infinity for me!

My strength was running out, all my muscles ached and I could no longer run. I had to alternate between running and walking. Over time, the length of the running segments decreased and the walking distance increased. And the gait was like that of a wounded grasshopper! It was scary to even think about what was done in the sneakers. But this is ultra! It’s hard and painful for everyone! You just have to accept it as a fact and come to terms with it.

The organization of the start was simply excellent! The markings are clear and precise, and those green beacons in the night are fantastic! The volunteers are great. They tried and helped a lot. They kept us at a distance. Great guys!

The food is quite varied. True, at the end of the distance, I no longer wanted anything, but that’s normal. The only thing missing was dinner after the race. It would be great with dinner. I think that the organizers managed to assemble an excellent team and do a great job together! I wish them many new interesting ideas and further development! »

Only five women competed in the 100-mile race and all successfully reached the finish line within the allotted time limit. Finished fourth Irina Lisichkina and fifth Yulia Lapkina. The Fab Five are pictured below.

Bravo girls! Bravo beauty!

In total, out of 85 who started, 58 people managed to finish successfully. The percentage of those who left the race and did not meet the time limit was 23 percent, which is generally very good for the first Russian hundred miler.

It is worth noting the oldest participant in the race, 60 years old Ivana Lorgova from the Chelyabinsk region, who successfully finished 22nd overall in just over 20 hours, beating the youngest participant in the race, a 24-year-old, by almost four hours Andrey Denisenko from Moscow.

MASTER 38 KM

The Master of Sports in Athletics won the Master distance Maxim Karamyshev from the city of Ramenskoye.

The women finished first Elena Lebedeva from Saratov, she also entered the top ten in the overall standings at this distance.

The race was supported by more than 150 volunteers from 10 Russian regions. During the race, 12 tons of technical and drinking water were consumed.

The race organizers did everything possible to do Elton Volgabus Ultra Trail® not only comfortable and convenient for participants, but also interesting for fans. Electronic timing in real time, a lot of photo and video materials from the race on social networks made it possible to empathize with the race participants in real time.

Elton Volgabus Ultra Trail®confirmed the reputation of the reference trail in Russia!

The conqueror of the Desert Steppe Marathon, the titled Anton Golovin, set a course record, covering 100 miles 1 hour 42 minutes faster than his closest pursuer.

Magical and stern, wise and eternal, gray-haired and fair, “flat like a table and hot like an oven” - exciting the minds of many, Elton encourages people to think creatively, the atmosphere of the race and the color of places inspires discovery - of oneself and the whole world. “Elton is a great dialogue between an ultrafar racer and himself,” this is how project director Vyacheslav Glukhov described the spirit of the race.

On May 26, 2018, in the Volgograd region, it took place for the 6th time ultramarathonElton Volgabus Ultra Trail- the first hundred-mile trail in Russia and the only one in the semi-desert zone with the maximum difficulty coefficient in the international classification of trail running. This year there are three distances to start (164 km, 82 km, 42 km) ultramarathon on Elton 460 runners came from all over Russia, as well as from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ireland, Belarus, Ukraine and Poland. Of course, there were more people willing, but it was necessary to take into account the restrictions of the reserve. Together with fans, artists and volunteers, there were about two thousand people on the site.

The first to start, on May 26 at 20.00, were 100 participants in the 100-mile race and more than 150 athletes who decided to conquer the 84-kilometer distance.

The overall winner of the Elton Volgabus Ultra Trail 100 Miles - 2018 was Anton Golovin, winner of the 2015 Elton Volgabus Ultra-Trail (100 km), three-time winner of the Golden Ring Ultra Trail (100 km), winner of Transural and Markoth. The athlete set a new track record, running 164 km in 13 hours 12 minutes 02 seconds.

Results of “Ultimate 100 miles” - 164 km (men):

1. Golovin Anton (Sverdlovsk region) 13:12:02
2. Erofeev Ilya (Samara) 14:54:05
3. Almaz Evgeniy (Krasnodar) 16:05:26

Among women, the winner in the 100-mile distance was Irina Masanova, who finished with a result of 16:36:38. “And to the question of how I feel after 100 miles. Great! Like a bruja who managed to come to an agreement with Elton. I know what his voice is like, we talked along the way, on the second lap there was a lot of time for this,” Irina shared her impressions. In 2017, she gained the status of Russian champion in daily running.

Results of “Ultimate 100 miles” - 164 km (women):

1. Masanova Irina (Nizhny Novgorod region) 16:36:38
2. Sapelnikova Irina (Yaroslavl) 22:41:07
3. Grishina Yulia 23:12:40

Yuri Tarasov became the winner of the night race, his time was 05:55:44. Dmitry Bregeda finished second, just 2.5 minutes behind the leader.

NightRace results - 82 km (men):

1. Tarasov Yuri (Novosibirsk) 05:55:44
2. Bregeda Dmitry (Saratov) 05:58:11
3. Stonozhenko Artem (Moscow region) 06:34:28

NightRace results - 82 km (women):

1. Elena Petrova (Lebedeva) (Saratov) 7:11:23
2. Elena Nechaeva (Odintsovo) 7:13:29
3. Alena Dyatlova (St. Petersburg) 7:36:21

Evgeniy Pishchalov finished first at the Master 42 km distance, his time was 02:38:20. The gap between Evgeniy and his closest pursuer, Anton Bykov, is more than 20 minutes. A confident victory among women was won by Sofia Emelianenko, who covered the distance in 03:22:47. Evgenia Rumyantseva, the silver medalist of the race, finished almost 23 minutes later.

For the first time this year, the Eagle Feather fan race was held over an ultra-short distance of 2 kilometers, which, as the organizers announced, “participants could even walk, with an ice cream in one hand and a phone to take a selfie at the start and finish - to another."

“Elton in the form in which he appeared to followers of trail running in previous years will no longer exist,” announced ultramarathon director Vyacheslav Glukhov. The organizers plan to leave one distance (200–250 km), which can be overcome personally or in a relay race. In addition, options are being discussed to expand the geography of desert races (Astrakhan region, Dagestan, Chechnya, Kazakhstan), as well as organizing an entire tourist festival with a space for radical self-expression, similar to the eight-day Burning Man in the USA.

Official website of Elton Volgabus Ultra Trail: www.elton-ultra-trail.com

Vyacheslav Glukhov is the organizer and ideological inspirer of the desert steppe marathon, taking place around the unique Lake Elton. Together with a friendly team of like-minded people, he made this start one of the landmark events in Russian trail running, a competition with a special, unique atmosphere. The fifth Elton Ultra-trail reaches a new level – participants will have a distance of 100 miles!
We asked Vyacheslav to tell us more about the new distance and Elton Ultra-trail 2017 in general.

You have been systematically moving towards your goal and in 2017 we will reach a distance of 100 miles on the ELTON VOLGABUS ULTRA-TRAIL! Tell us a little more about this distance.

On September 3, registration was opened for the fifth anniversary Elton Ultra-trail, this is its international registered certified name, the Russian version is “Desert Steppe Marathon”. Changes in distances were announced. The main distance is one hundred miles. We removed the distances of 104 km and 56 km. The purpose of this is: firstly, to exclude “running adventurers”, since covering distances within the framework of these competitions may be associated with a risk to life, and secondly, the fact that the competitions take place on the territory of a natural park. For example, unauthorized presence of a car on the territory of the park is punishable by a fine of 2,000 rubles; movement within the territory of the reserve must be coordinated with its administration. I don’t want to turn these competitions into a mass pseudo-trail, of which many now take place near large cities and centers of mass tourism.

Yes, this start cannot be called entertaining!

Our main idea is to get away from the city noise, cars, jogging around the city, to get away from the reality that presses. For example, I am ready to live on Elton.

Here the last gas station is 150 km away, and it may not work, one cafe, one store, one ATM, unencumbered people minding their own business. That's the beauty of Elton. Elton's goal is to get away from urbanization and become closer to wild nature.

There are many trails, their number is growing, this year there have been more competitions in Altai, in the south - Abrau-Dyurso, and a lot of others, in the Leningrad region the trail is developing very massively: Finland, Norway provide a good example.

But in such conditions, desert, semi-desert, they don’t exist. This is a distinctive feature, we want to develop it. Minimum urbanization.

As far as I understand, this is the first official 100-miler in Russia. Right?

Yes, this is the first official 100-miler in Russia. We certified this distance, received 4 points, although we don’t strive to register with associations, we count primarily on Russians, although it’s nice when foreigners come, but don’t deceive yourself, we live in Russia, so we count on Russian athletes.

Participants will run 2 laps, we have partially changed the distance. Previously, after 60 km the road went to a grader, for 40 km the picture was monotonous, it happened that people began to see hallucinations. Now they have changed this section, paved it closer to the lake, there are better views, the trail is good for running, you can meander.

You complete the first lap, check in, most likely there will be electronic timing, and go on to the second lap.

This year we made incentive medals for those who did not complete 2 laps or for those who did not meet the 24-hour target time.

We rebranded the logo this year: the skull of the imperial eagle, also known as the imperial eagle, is Elton’s symbol. The largest bird on Elton.

This is the reward that awaits the absolute winner of the ultramarathon

Elton is a global transit for migratory birds; here they refuel with salt. There are thousands of them there when they fly south.

Those who run at night may encounter another bird - the steppe eagle owl.

There are wolves there too, but small, steppe ones, there are raccoon dogs, horses, and foxes. There are also snakes, very few poisonous ones, but you still need to watch where to step.

Are you not looking for mass participation, and the limit of participants is selected quite quickly without any additional advertising?

Yes, this creates some elitism and a healthy excitement in participating in these particular competitions.

During the distance, participants will be able to use the help of a support team. Are there any nuances? Will the support team need to register somehow before the start? Are there any restrictions on the number of assistants, etc.?

Yes, we introduced car escort crews for the first time, everyone can submit an application during registration, declare an escort crew, which, however, will not accompany the entire distance, we cannot drive a lot and often so as not to destroy the animals of the reserve.

We will permanently install points that are already marked on the tracker, attached to the position.

We will issue our own stickers with the marathon runner’s number on the car, and the participants themselves can brand the car in support of their friend.

The crew will also be provided with reflective vests, food, since this is practically a mobile food station, fruit, water, isotonic drinks, cola, and raisins.

Are there any restrictions on the number of assistants in the car?

There are no more than two people in the car, as there must be room in case of evacuation. We will be packing the car with food, so there must be room in it.

We will have water for refreshment in two places:

The first is Khutor Krasnaya Derevnya, at 50 km of the first lap. We will put up large tents there, where a marathon runner, an ultra-marathon runner who sleeps in 8 hours, can sleep, change shoes, change clothes, wash, there is a well, we will organize a massage, good food, pilaf, pies, broth, etc.

The second base camp is the starting town, where, within the village of Elton, the participant can rest after completing the first lap, guests can support and accompany the marathon runners, but after the 2nd kilometer the accompaniment will be suppressed and punished. All identified unauthorized escorts, bicycle escorts, escorts in cars, the participant will be subject to a DNF.

There will be cycling volunteers on difficult sections, but there won’t be many of them, in this Elton’s point you run alone, overcoming yourself.

This year we will install a bathtub with ice cubes in the starting town. There will be some more tricks at the start, the start will be at night. We will try to make a beautiful light, maybe there will be fires, but this is in the planning stage.

We will include a headlamp plus a flashing flashlight as mandatory equipment; we will require it to be placed behind you so that you can navigate, so that those walking behind can see you. I recommend running ultratrails and ultramarathons in pairs.

A cream with protection over 50 creates a crust and the body does not breathe, we recommend taking up to 40.

As for vehicle crews, we require a first aid kit, and we will provide some medications.

At 100 miles you have eligibility criteria for the distance. Are there any cases of applications from those who do not meet these criteria? Have you already eliminated someone?

Admission criteria are specified in the regulations. This is the presence of ITRA qualifying points, 7 points, i.e. one 100 mile race, or 2 50 km races.

We ask some additional questions, although we already know many of them.

Are the competitors in the 100 mile mostly those who have run your events in previous years?

Almost everyone who has already run 100 km, who has retired from the race, is going to conquer Elton in 2017, to knock on his salty beard, as they say.

Elton doesn’t let go, 70% are people who have already participated.

We screened out, 7-8 people did not meet the requirements stated in the regulations. Many people ask to be put in line, they say that they will get points.

In addition to the hundred-mile course, will there still be another satellite distance?

Due to popular demand, we left the second distance, making a compromise between light and master - 38 km. Many people asked to make the distance 42 km, but I think that if you want to run 42 km, then this is a classic city marathon.

We adapt to nature, as nature decreed that this stream flows exactly here, we cannot create a different distance. Not a bad number - 38, a decent distance.

Who do you think is a potential participant for 38 km? Is the distance suitable for those who want to try trail running for the first time, or is this a serious test not for beginners?

Marathon runner, trail runner who tried his hand at the city, maybe ran the Golden Ring, aspiring marathon runner, I would say.

A decent distance, we are moving away from skyrunning here, a classic trail, very comfortable for beginners, no need to climb or jump, several small 100-meter climbs. This is an exceptional place to fall in love with the trail.

Also, these competitions are suitable for those who want to test themselves in hot weather. Elton is a registered hot spot. At the first Elton we had 51 degrees, at previous competitions - 43.

We had participants, famous marathon runners, who retired from the race due to heatstroke.

Elton is a mystical place, it attracts.

Your application opened on September 3. How does it proceed? What is the forecast regarding slot exhaustion?

Registration is going well, as planned, more than 30% of applications have already been selected. One of our slogans: “we want to know everyone by sight.” We want this to be a friendly team. This is another reason why we don't do mass trails.

The forecast for the exhaustion of slots is, I think, December, January.

There are applications from foreign participants, but there are not many of them.

Is Elton promoting internationally?

We are making progress, but we focus mainly on Russian athletes. There will be publications in international journals and articles.

We will give discounts at Expo in Sochi, there will be meetings in mid-December in Moscow, in January before the Road of Life in St. Petersburg.

Tell us a little about the sponsors and partners of the race?

One of our partners is Asics. Participants will have a T-shirt in their starter pack and finishers' T-shirts.

Also among the partners is a local brewing company, but many contracts have not yet been signed.

Is it difficult to resolve the issue with the management of the natural park?

Everything is fine with them, with the Committee of Natural Resources and with the administration.

Of course, we also have problems. For example, logistics, with electricity.

We had to solve the issue of water, there is almost no fresh water, even all the rivers flowing into the lake are salty. Last year, 12 tons of water were spent, 2 tons of drinking water and 10 tons of technical water. We developed a well and installed pumps.

In general, Elton has a special atmosphere. Another advantage here is that people live here in one place. People sit on the sand, ukuleles, mats, we make a big fire pit, an open-air cinema, amateur performances. We are waiting for the artists. All this will be announced.

I would like to tell you about the team. The team is me, Katerina Ushakova, a person who devotes herself entirely to this event. Maxim Maklakov, responsible for the media part, for the starting town. Alexey Berdyugin is an experienced marathon runner who has been with us from the very beginning, Elton’s soul, and is responsible for marking. Nadezhda Derevshchikova joined this year; she will be the eldest at the 100-mile distance. We will try to organize something like a call center this year. We are trying to come to an agreement so that we can track the participants at a distance via satellites. Maria Orekhina is in charge of a group of volunteers. This is our main team.

Are you planning to organize other races?

There are ideas for other regions. There is a desire to develop the Karakum Desert, but no agreement has been reached with Turkmenistan yet. I would like to hold competitions in the desert, but this is the territory of another state; in Russia there is no such landscape.

We thank Vyacheslav for the conversation and wish him further success in organizing this unique start!

You still have the opportunity to become a participant in the first official ultramarathon in Russia over a distance of 100 miles! Registration - !