M65-69 at UTMB Ultra Trail: Moffett Masters the Mountains

• Michael Moffett, 66, wins M65-69 in 10:11:55 — a 16:25/mi average across 60 km and 3,500 m of climbing from Orsières to Chamonix.
• Jean Eric Lanoir, 67, takes 2nd in 10:53:31 — posting the 173rd-fastest men's split on the Champex-Lac segment, 41 minutes and 36 seconds behind Moffett.
• Alain Dubost, 68, rounds out the podium in 11:56:30 — nearly a full hour behind Lanoir, but comfortably clear of 4th.
• A tense battle for 9th–12th: Neil McDonald (10th, 14:10:48), Phil Lamb (9th, 14:20:53), Philippe Jacquet (11th, 14:29:35), and Roger Clemencon (12th, 14:34:34) were separated by just 23 minutes and 46 seconds across four places.

Michael Moffett ran a controlled, relentless race across the Swiss-French Alps. Starting in the men's field around 438th, he drifted back slightly through the middle checkpoints — sitting 477th at one point — before launching a sustained charge that carried him all the way to 342nd among all men by the finish. That recovery arc, from mid-pack drift to a strong close, was the defining shape of his race. His 271st-fastest men's split on the Argentière-to-Finish stretch was the engine of it: a finishing kick, at 66 years old, on one of trail running's most storied courses.

Jean Eric Lanoir, 67, told a different story. He ran conservatively early — sitting 761st among men — then steadily dismantled the field. His strongest single segment came at Champex-Lac, where he posted the 173rd-fastest men's split on that stretch, a genuine surge that pulled him from 574th to eventually 437th at the finish. He couldn't close the gap to Moffett, but 10:53:31 for 2nd in M65-69 on this course is a performance that speaks for itself. Alain Dubost, 68, was methodical throughout, never threatening the top two but finishing 3rd in 11:56:30 — a full hour behind Lanoir but a clear 32 minutes ahead of 4th-place Jorge Alejandro Sevilla (12:28:43).

The back half of the field produced its own drama. Between 9th and 12th place, four men — Phil Lamb, Neil McDonald, Philippe Jacquet, and Roger Clemencon — finished within 24 minutes of each other, with McDonald (14:10:48) actually finishing ahead of Lamb (14:20:53) despite placing 10th to Lamb's 9th, a reminder of how close the timing was across those spots. At the very edge of the 14-hour-30-minute cutoff, Philippe Deneffe (14th, 14:54:23), Hans Martin Graf (15th, 14:55:10), Göran Casserlöv (16th, 15:08:56 — note: Richard Todhunter, 16th, 15:07:54, edged him), and Ivan Jouy (17th, 15:18:42) all pushed through to the finish in Chamonix. All 17 starters in M65-69 crossed the line.