France’s Claire Bannwarth takes second overall at Gran Canaria 360, only weeks after Big’s Backyard

Claire Bannwarth is an unstoppable force. On Friday, the 34-year-old French athlete was the first woman (and second overall athlete) at the uniquely challenging Gran Canaria 360 race, a 260-kilometre race in the Canary Islands on an unmarked, technical course that climbs and descends 13,000 metres of elevation. Athletes use only maps to navigate and carry large packs of mandatory gear. Bannwarth, who has now won this race four times, finished in a remarkable time of 58 hours, 23 minutes, 43 seconds–more than 32 hours ahead of the next woman, Slovakian runner Soňa Kopčoková, who finished in 91 hours, two minutes, and 17 seconds. The third-place woman, Hungarian runner Szilvia Lubics, crossed the line in 96 hours, 44 minutes, and 40 seconds.

What an incredible year for Claire!

Hope she gets some recognition in the @runfreetrail Trail Runner of the Year award rankings! https://t.co/LB4KRTZOZG

— Liam (@aidstationfireb) November 17, 2023

Bannwarth seems to thrive at these long, gruelling races that many experienced ultrarunners balk at: in 2023 alone, she became the first woman ever to win the Tahoe 200 (360 km) race outright, and weeks later she completed a self-supported FKT on the 500-mile (805 km) Colorado Trail, running west to east, in nine days, 2 hours and 50 minutes. She described her FKT as “the most challenging adventure I took part in my life, but also one of the most beautiful and amazing.”

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Less than a month before Bannwarth toed the line at Gran Canaria 360, she was running loops (yards) in Tennessee at Big’s Backyard Ultra, as one of only four women competitors. Bannwarth was the last woman standing, after completing 60 yards and 250 miles (402 kilometres, over 60 hours). She was the fourth woman at this year’s Hardrock 100, and in mid-October (a week before Big’s) she was the first woman in the Kodiak Ultra Marathons by UTMB 100-miler. Bannwarth even kicked her 2023 season off with a remarkable win, taking first woman in the Montane Spine Race (300 km+) in the U.K.

In a pre-Hardrock 100 interview with iRunFar, Bannwarth said that while she had been a runner her entire life, she only began trail racing five years ago. She rapidly progressed in race distance, and says “I think I am better at them [the longer distance races] because I am not fast; I can go slow for days.” She explains that she finds the longer races more enjoyable, with less focus on saving seconds by eating quickly or not resting.

Bannwarth works a full-time job at an insurance company and says she trains roughly the same amount of time per week. “I sleep less than I run or work, but it’s worth it.”

In the Gran Canaria 360 men’s race, Romanian runner Claudiu Ionel Beletoiu was first in 56h 23m 49s, followed by Spain’s Jose Bordón Sardiña in 61h 3m 53s, and Italy’s Luca Papi in 66h 14m 59s.

For full results of the 2023 Gran Canaria 360, head here.