Golden Trail World Series heads to South Korea with both titles undecided
Forty-six points cover the top three men before the Grand Final at Muju on 24 and 25 October, where up to 300 are on offer. Madalina Florea leads the women despite missing the Asian races through illness.
The Golden Trail World Series, the international circuit of short mountain races, ends in South Korea on 24 and 25 October with neither the men’s nor the women’s title settled.
The Grand Final, at Muju Trail, is a single race worth up to 300 points, plus bonus points for the fastest times on timed segments. The women race on 24 October and the men on 25 October, according to the series organisers.
The men: three within 46 points
Kenya’s Philemon Kiriago leads on 870 points after seven races. His compatriot Patrick Kipngeno is second on 830, and Morocco’s Elhousine Elazzaoui, who led before the two Asian rounds, is third on 824.
Elazzaoui is chasing a third consecutive overall title. He won Zegama-Aizkorri in Spain, Ledro Sky Trentino in Italy and the Pitz Alpine Glacier Trail in Austria in 2026, but did not finish Sierre-Zinal and missed the race in Japan. Only each athlete’s four best results count before the final, the organisers said, which is why he is still in contention.
Kipngeno arrives in form. He won Myoko Trail in Japan in September in 2:07:12 and the Jinshanling Great Wall Trail Race in China a week later in 2:12:30. According to the series, that made him six from six in Golden Trail races in Asia across three seasons. Kiriago, who won Sierre-Zinal in August, finished second to Kipngeno in both Asian races and stayed ahead overall, helped, the organisers said, by bonus points from the timed segments.
“I wasn’t under any pressure. I had my strategy and knew I didn’t want to run at that pace. I ran my own race,” Kipngeno said after winning in Japan, according to the series organisers.
The women: a leader who missed the Asian rounds
Romania’s Madalina Florea, the 2025 champion, leads the women’s standings on 872 points. She has won three series races in 2026, most recently Sierre-Zinal in Switzerland on 8 August, but missed both Asian races through illness, the organisers said.
Kenya’s Caroline Kimutai is second, 66 points behind, after finishing third on the Great Wall. Her compatriot Ruth Gitonga is third on 766 after taking her first series win in China in 2:39:47.
Germany’s Hanna Groeber won in Japan for her first series victory, then led much of the race in China before a heavy fall. She finished second with what the organisers described as a small fracture around her wrist.
The team title is already decided: Salomon secured it in China.
A hard final course
The Muju course covers 25.6 km with 2,294 metres of climbing, which the organisers describe as one of the toughest in the history of the series. It follows ridgelines and steep, rocky trails through coniferous forest and passes Buddhist temples.
The final is open to the top 30 men and women in the standings, plus winners of the national Golden Trail series and championships in China, Australia, France, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Czech Republic and Mexico. It is the first time the series has held its final in South Korea.
