Icelandic Runner Wins First Golden Trail World Series Race Without Kenyan in Top Five

At the finish line of the Muju Trail race in South Korea, Iceland’s Andrea Kolbeinsdóttir crossed the clock first, marking a rare break in Kenyan dominance at the Golden Trail World Series.

Race outcome shatters Kenyan streak

The 28-kilometre event, featuring 2,400 metres of positive elevation, concluded on Saturday in Muju, a mountain resort known for its steep, technical terrain. Kolbeinsdóttir, who had not placed among the series’ top twenty before the race, won the event outright. Her victory was the first in the 2024 season where no Kenyan athlete finished in the top five.

Elhussein Elazzaoui of Morocco retained his third-place ranking in the overall series, edging out Kenya’s Patrick Kipngeno, who finished fourth. Kipngeno was the highest-placed Kenyan, but he fell short of the podium for the first time this year.

Implications for the Golden Trail circuit

The Golden Trail World Series, launched in 2018 to promote trail running globally, has seen Kenyan runners dominate the podium in recent seasons, especially after a shift in 2024 toward athletes with higher power outputs. Organisers noted that the demanding altitude gain and rugged surface at Muju acted as an “antidote” to that dominance, forcing competitors to rely on technical skill as much as raw power.

Series officials said the result underscores the need to diversify race profiles to maintain competitive balance. They added that the outcome may encourage more athletes from non-traditional trail-running nations to target technical courses.

Why it matters: The upset highlights how course design can influence race results, offering a pathway for runners outside Kenya’s stronghold to succeed. For Middle Eastern and Egyptian athletes, many of whom train on varied terrain, the result suggests that focusing on technical proficiency could open new opportunities in the expanding global trail‑running circuit.