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Elazzaoui Claims Historic Third Golden Trail World Series Crown After Thrilling Muju Grand Finale
Elhousine Elazzaoui (NNormal) delivered a historic performance at the Muju Trail Grand Finale to claim his third Golden Trail World Series (GTWS) title. The Moroccan claimed his fourth victory of the season on one of the most technical and demanding courses contested to date, covering 28.65 kilometres with 2,313 metres of elevation gain. With this latest crown, Elazzaoui becomes the most successful athlete in the history of the series, capping another outstanding performance in a competition with which he has forged a special bond.
Patrick Kipngeno (Run2gether On Trail) finished second both in the race and in the overall standings, while Timothy Kibett (Salomon) completed the podium. It was a very different day for Philemon Kiriago (Run2Gether On Trail). The overall leader heading into the Grand Finale endured a difficult race and could only finish 11th, a result that ended his hopes of holding onto the top spot and saw him drop to third in the final overall standings.
ELAZZAOUI TURNS THE GRAND FINALE ON ITS HEAD
The men’s Grand Finale, the final race of the season, got underway in the rain. Although demanding, the opening kilometres offered the most runnable terrain of the day, with a wide track leading the runners towards Seolcheonbong before the course entered its more technical sections. The tension was high from the start, with Philemon Kiriago, Patrick Kipngeno and Elhousine Elazzaouiarriving in Muju with the Golden Trail World Series title on the line and separated by just 46 points.
Overall leader Kiriago took the initiative in the opening metres of the climb, although his solo move was short-lived. A small leading group soon formed, with all three title contenders still in contention. Kipngeno, however, did not appear comfortable and briefly stopped, the first sign that the decisive battle was not starting as he had hoped.
As the gradient increased, the group began to thin out. Brayan Rodríguez and Taylor Stack (Brooks) moved to the front, with Kiriago, Alain Santamaría (X-Bionic Integrity) and the Salomon trio of Joey Hadorn, Ezekiel Rutto and Samwel Kiprotich just a few seconds behind. But the race was far from settling down. On the section between Seolcheonbong and Hyangjeokbong, at around 1,600 metres above sea level and the highest point of the course, another move split the race apart.
This time, it was Elazzaoui who attacked. Knowing that only victory would keep his hopes of a third overall title alive, the Moroccan adopted a far more aggressive strategy than usual and launched a decisive move to go clear at the front.
By the time he reached Hyangjeokbong, at around kilometre 6.5, Elazzaoui had already built a lead of approximately one minute over a chasing group featuring Stack, Rodríguez, Kibett, Hadorn, Santamaría and Michael Selelo Saoli (Run2Gether On Trail). Further back, Kiriago and Kipngeno were already more than a minute and a half behind the leader. Kipngeno’s struggles continued, while Kiriago’s grip on the overall lead was beginning to loosen.
Next came terrain tailor-made for Elazzaoui: a vertiginous descent towards Baengnyeonsa Temple, through steps, rocks and leaves soaked by the rain. While the Moroccan appeared to glide effortlessly through the technical terrain, his rivals fought to maintain their pace on a descent that demanded precision, confidence and control.
The downhill segment, 2.5 kilometres at -28%, went to Santamaría, who clocked 11:54. Elazzaoui finished fifth and added two valuable points to his overall tally, a seemingly small bonus that could prove crucial in a title fight balanced on a knife-edge.
The segments had been one of the key factors in keeping the overall standings wide open all the way to Muju. Without the bonus points accumulated on the climbs, descents and sprints throughout the season, Elazzaoui would have arrived at the Grand Finale as the overall leader. Instead, Kiriago’s 106 additional points compared with the Moroccan’s 58 meant the Run2Gether On Trail athlete started the final race with the advantage.
By kilometre nine, the situation had changed dramatically. Kiriago was running in 10th position, four minutes off the lead, and his hopes of defending the top spot were beginning to fade. Elazzaoui, meanwhile, continued to push at the front, chasing the victory he needed to keep his dream of a third Golden Trail World Series crown alive.
On the second climb towards Hyangjeokbong, the positions behind the leader shifted again. Elazzaoui remained firmly in control, while Santamaría and Stack led the chase. Stack responded to move back into second place, as Hadorn caught Santamaría and joined the battle for the podium. By the time they crested the summit again, Elazzaoui had extended his advantage to more than five minutes over his closest pursuers and more than 12 minutes over Kiriago, who had dropped to 15th.
As in the women’s race, the demanding climbs and highly technical descents produced constant changes in position. On the second descent towards the temple, Santamaría once again demonstrated his technical ability, opening a small gap over Stack and Hadorn.
The sprint segment was also contested on this section, covering 1.1 kilometres at an average gradient of -7.7%. Jan Fiala was fastest in 3:08, followed by Kiriago. Despite his difficulties adapting to the course, the Kenyan showed that he still had plenty of speed in his legs. His second place in the segment earned him eight additional points and slightly reduced the deficit to Elazzaoui in the battle for the overall title.
Once the sprint was over, the race exploded again, this time in the fight for the podium. Fatigue was beginning to take its toll when a new protagonist emerged: Patrick Kipngeno. At the foot of the final climb, around kilometre 21, the Kenyan was approximately two minutes behind Stack, Santamaría and Hadorn. Barely two kilometres later, as he crested the final summit, he had surged all the way into second place.
And he was not the only one making a late charge. Timothy Kibett also passed Stack and Santamaría before setting his sights on Hadorn, turning the closing kilometres into an all-out battle for the podium.
With one final descent and barely five kilometres remaining, everything was still to play for behind Elazzaoui, who had controlled the race since the first climb.
The Moroccan never faltered. He crossed the finish line in 2:49:14 to complete one of the finest performances of his career, delivering when the stakes could hardly have been higher. Kipngeno arrived just 43 seconds later, completing a spectacular comeback and capping an increasingly strong season with two victories and another podium across the final Asian trilogy. Kibett completed the podium, finishing a minute and a half behind the winner.
“TO BE OR NOT TO BE”: ELAZZAOUI MAKES GTWS HISTORY
Elazzaoui faced a daunting challenge in his bid to defend his GTWS crown heading into South Korea. Despite an outstanding season, with victories at Zegama-Aizkorri (Spain), Ledro Sky Trentino (Italy) and Salomon Pitz Alpine Glacier Trail (Austria), the Moroccan arrived at the Grand Finale third in the overall standings, trailing Kiriago after the latter had built up a significant advantage through bonus points earned in the segments.
At Muju Trail, however, Elazzaoui took matters into his own hands. Knowing that only victory would keep his title hopes alive, he adopted an all-or-nothing approach. “Today I gave it everything. I knew I was taking risks, but I told myself, ‘If something happens, it happens.’ I even wrote ‘To be or not to be’ on my hands to remind myself that today was all or nothing,” he explained after crossing the finish line.
The gamble could hardly have paid off better. His outstanding performance earned him a fourth victory of the season and a third consecutive Golden Trail World Series title, making him the most successful athlete in the history of the series. It was an achievement that even Elazzaoui himself was struggling to take in: “Winning three Golden Trail World Series titles is a record. For me, it’s really historic. I’m so happy, it’s difficult to find the words.”
The Moroccan is already looking ahead. Although he is considering a move towards longer distances, he has not ruled out returning to add even more silverware to his collection: “I want to come back next year because it will be the [10th] anniversary of the Golden Trail World Series, and that will be very important to me. We’ll see if I still have the chance to fight for another great result.”
MUJU DELIVERS A FITTING FINALE TO A THRILLING SEASON
The Grand Finale, which awarded 300 points compared with 200 at a regular race and saw every segment count towards the overall standings, completely reshuffled the final podium. With victory and 306 points collected in Muju, Elazzaoui jumped from third to first to claim the overall title with 1,130 points, just two ahead of Kipngeno (1,128), who retained the second place. For Kiriago, the Grand Finale brought a dramatic change in fortunes: the overall leader heading into the race dropped to third overall with 1,075 points.
In the inaugural year of the team ranking, Salomon ended the season on top, demonstrating remarkable consistency throughout the year and also winning the team battle at Muju Trail. Timothy Kibett’s third place and Joey Hadorn’s fourth in the men’s race, combined with Andrea Kolbeinsdóttir’s victory and Barbora Bukovjan’s fifth place in the women’s race, provided the perfect finishing touch to their season.
The 2026 Golden Trail World Series therefore draws to a close after one of the most fiercely contested seasons in its history, marked by surprises, emerging stars and a calendar that combined exciting new races and fresh challenges with some of the great monuments of trail running.
A title fight full of twists and turns remained wide open until the final race, ultimately crowning two established champions inElhousine Elazzaoui and Madalina Florea (Scott) who once again proved why they belong at the very top of the sport.
With the 2026 season now complete, attention already turns to 2027, with the calendar set to be unveiled soon.
