Ben Duffus & Bridget Lunn Claim 2026 UTA22 Titles

Day two of the event began under foggy skies, with runners in the UTAMiler beginning their 100-mile journey through the Blue Mountains at 5:00am, with those in the UTA22 getting underway from 6:40am.

Despite some muddy sections, Duffus flew across the 22km course to cross the finish line first in a time of 1:38:45 – four minutes slower than the time he set when he last won this race in 2019.

Nathan Pearce finished second in 1:41:56, more than three minutes behind Duffus after the pair pushed each other hard in the early stages of the race. Kurtis Scott rounded out the men’s podium in 1:45:38.

“It was a lot wetter than previous years, so probably a little bit slower than last year even,” said Duffus. “It meant that we were probably losing a little bit of time on some of the descents. I mean, we're going fast but keeping it comfortably hard, in control, and then you save a few extra matches for the climbs.”

Duffus and Pearce worked hard together throughout the early kilometres to create a gap to some of the younger runners, who Duffus acknowledges could have caused them some damage on the uphill if allowed to get away.

“We've got a really good crew of young runners coming through and they're all very strong on the uphills, but not quite as experienced on the descents – they don't quite have the durability of some of the more experienced runners. So, we just made sure the pace was hot on the long downhill at the start and then tried to put a gap on them when we started climbing,” he said.

UTA holds a special place in Duffus’ heart. Today’s race was his 11th time at UTA, picking up four second place finishes along the way – including the previous two years in the UTA22.

“I don't think winning ever gets old,” said Duffus. “This event in general really won a place in my heart when I started running. My first 100km was here where I DNF'd, and that was going down into Jamison Valley. I was completely out of it, ended up wrapped up in the space blanket, and had to get picked up by a four-wheel drive. And I think that really lit the fire and was what got me into trail running as an over enthusiastic 19-year-old. I think that really cemented it for me and I just love the Blue Mountains as well, it's such a beautiful area.”

In the women’s race, Canberra-based Bridget Lunn claimed victory on her UTA debut, breaking the tape in 2:01:10. China’s Quong Luo was second, more than three minutes behind the winner, with Liliana Braun third in 2:05:13.

“I thought UTA would be a fun race. I'm living in Canberra, so it's not that far away and I love the Blue Mountains. It definitely lived up to expectations, it was really fun. I love the atmosphere here,” said Lunn.

“I'm trying to do some of the more competitive races. I consider myself more of the 20km runner in the trail. I’m just trying to do what I can in that distance and make a bit of a name for myself.”

Like Duffus, Lunn’s strategy was race hard in the early stages during the long descent to create a gap to some of the better climbers. Despite blisters threatening to slow her down, Lunn’s plan paid off.

“My strategy was to kind of send it as fast as I could on the downhill and try and get ahead of all the other girls who are better climbers than me,” she said. “That kind of worked, but I did get massive blisters on my feet, so a bit of regrets. But yeah, that part went really well, and then the climbs went about as good as they normally do. I haven't run the course before, and I didn't realise on the single track how runnable that would be, so I actually really enjoyed some of that last section before the stairs.”

Thousands of runners took to the trails on Friday morning for both the UTA22 and UTAMiler. Runners in the 22km will continue to cross the finish line throughout the afternoon, while first finisher in the 100-mile race is expected to arrive around midnight. Miler runners will continue to stream across the finish line throughout the next two nights, with the total allowable time 44 hours 30 minutes.

More racing continues in the Blue Mountains on Saturday, with the UTA100 and UTA50 races starting from 5:00am. Both races will be broadcast live and free to viewers around the world via live.utmb.world and the UTMB World Series YouTube, as well as additional regional broadcasters.

UTA22 Results – Men

1. Benjamin Duffus 01:38:45
2. Nathan Pearce 01:41:56
3. Kurtis Scott 01:45:38
4. Damine Troquenet 01:49:17
5. Patrick Clark 01:51:21

UTA22 Results – Women

1. Bridget Lunn 02:01:10
2. Qiong Luo 02:04:23
3. Liliana Braun 02:05:13
4. Jessica Jason 02:07:03
5. Emma Grey 02:12:49