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Sierre-Zinal has a tradition of competitive racing like few others, and this year’s 53rd edition has a deep list of top women’s runners.
The women’s race starts at 10:30 a.m. Central European Summer Time (CEST) on Saturday, August 8, 2026, and that’s 30 minutes before the men’s start. In 2025, the women’s winner was almost 27 minutes slower than the men’s winner, and so with similar times, the women’s winner should be the first to finish.
The race is part of both the Mountain Running World Cup and the Golden Trail World Series (GTWS).
The 2025 Sierre-Zinal women’s podium (left to right): 4. Oria Liaci, 2. Katie Schide, Joyline Chepngeno (disqualified due to post-race doping sanction), 1. Caroline Kimutai, and 3. Maude Mathys. Photo: WMRA/Marco Gulberti
The race’s course gives it the nickname of “The Race of the Five 4,000s” for the five 4,000-meter Swiss peaks visible from the trail. It all happens on a 31-kilometer (19.3 miles) point-to-point route between the villages of Sierre and Zinal through the Valais Alps. The course is mostly uphill, gaining 2,200 meters and losing 1,100 meters, or 7,200 feet up and 3,600 feet down. There’s a very downhill finish with 750 meters lost in the race’s last 7k of distance.
Race winners will earn 2,000 Swiss Francs, or roughly $2,475. Prize money will be paid 10 deep, and there are time bonuses too that guarantee the winner at least 3,000 Swiss Francs ($3,713). A new women’s course record is worth an additional 7,000 Swiss Francs ($8,668). Maude Mathys set the current course record of 2:49:20 in 2019, and Mathys’s 2:52:32 in 2022 is the closest anyone has come to that since. (The race’s 2020 and 2021 editions were on shorter courses.)
iRunFar is so excited to be at the race for the first time ever, and will report firsthand on all the action as it unfolds. The race will be shown live on several international channels and platforms, including Eurosport, TNT Sports, Max/HBO Max, discovery+, SSR, and Canal 9, with a replay on YouTube.
Read on to learn about the top women racing, and you can check out how everything unfolded last year in our 2025 Sierre-Zinal results article. You can also take a look at our 2026 Sierre-Zinal men’s preview. We’ll be updating this article through race day with any last-minute changes. You can also check out the full 2026 entrants list.
Thanks to the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) for supporting iRunFar’s 2026 Sierre-Zinal coverage.
Returning Top 10 WomenSeven of last year’s top 10 women are expected to return. Only 2025 second-place Katie Schide (U.S.), seventh-place Susanna Saapunki (Sweden), and 10th-place Naomi Lang (U.K.) will not be back on the start line.
Caroline Kimutai – 1st, 2:55:31
Kenyan runner Caroline Kimutai won Sierre-Zinal in 2025 in her first go at the race, and in her first year of trail racing. That win was the high end of an up-and-down year, though. This year has been the same with some inconsistency. Kimutai broke into the GTWS in 2025 with a win at the Great Wall race in China, and then was just seventh at the Pitz Alpine Glacier Trail race in Austria. A week after that, she won at Sierre-Zinal. In 2026, Kimutai beat Mădălina Florea at the Ledro Sky Trentino race, but then badly faded at the Quebec Mega Trail 30k, finishing third. To repeat at Sierre-Zinal, Kimutai will need to again gain some separation on the uphill section and try to hold that lead as faster downhillers come late. (Joyline Chepngeno was the first to finish at Sierre-Zinal in 2025 but failed doping control, and Kimutai became the race winner.)
Caroline Kimutai of Kenya was awarded the win at the 2025 Sierre Zinal after Joyline Chepngeno was disqualified. Photo: WMRA/Marco Gulberti
Maude Mathys – 3rd, 2:58:56
Maude Mathys from Switzerland is a four-time winner at Sierre-Zinal and is the race’s course record holder. She ran 2:49:20 at the 2019 edition of the race and won every year from 2019 to 2022. Her history with the race goes back to 2009, when she was 12th. Last year, Mathys finished third in 2:58:56. In early July 2026, she won the Trail Verbier St. Bernard Marathon and was third and first at the two Mountain Running World Cup races in China in April 2026. (In 2015, Maude Mathys received a warning without suspension from the Disciplinary Chamber for Doping Cases of Swiss Olympic for two positive tests for clomifene (previously clomiphene) after it was determined that she was mistakenly taking the drug without first obtaining a World Anti-Doping Agency Therapeutic Use Exemption.)
Maude Mathys, the 2026 Trail Verbier St. Bernard Marathon women’s winner. Photo: Trail Verbier St. Bernard
Oria Liaci – 4th, 3:00:20
Switzerland’s Oria Liaci just missed a sub-3-hour mark at last year’s race when placing fourth. She was eighth in 2024 in 3:10 and 14th in 2023 in 3:13. Liaci also placed third at the 2025 WMRC Up and Down race and won the 2026 Marathon du Mont Blanc 23k in June. She’s also excelled on the roads in early 2026 with 32:13 and 1:10:31 10k and half-marathon personal bests.
Oria Liaci descends to third place at the 2025 WMRC Up and Down race. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
Laura Hottenrott – 5th, 3:00:30
Laura Hottenrott of Germany is also a dual threat with trail and road success. She placed ninth at the 2025 WMRC Uphill race and second at the 2026 European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships Uphill. She also competed in the marathon at the 2024 Olympics.
Miao Yao – 6th, 3:01:35
China’s Miao Yao typically races longer than this distance but still scored a top-10 finish last year, and she was fourth in 2023, too. She’s had a great 2026 so far, finishing second at the Gorge Waterfalls 50k, winning the Ultra-Trail Australia 50k, and winning the Val d’Aran 110k race, too.
Miao Yao, the 2026 Ultra-Trail Australia 50k women’s winner. Photo: Natalie Wong
Anna Gibson – 8th, 3:05:25
After competing at the 2026 Olympics in ski mountaineering, Anna Gibson from the U.S. has had a slow start to the running season. She won the Broken Arrow Ascent in June but was just sixth two days later in the Broken Arrow 23k. She was eighth and sixth at Sierre-Zinal in 2025 and 2024. Gibson will race the Leadville 100 Mountain Bike race one week after Sierre-Zinal.
Anna Gibson climbing her way to the 2026 Broken Arrow Ascent win. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
Joyce Njeru – 9th, 3:06:03
Kenya’s Joyce Njeru was second to Gibson at June’s Broken Arrow Ascent and was third at the Broken Arrow 23k. She’s been on the podium at several Mountain Running World Cup races this year, too, and was third at the Ledro Sky Trentino race behind Kimutai and Florea.
Joyce Njeru finished third at the 2026 Broken Arrow 23k. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
More Top ContendersRomania’s Mădălina Florea has starred in the GTWS for the last couple of years, but hasn’t yet won Sierre-Zinal. It’s not for lack of trying, though. Florea was 12th at Sierre-Zinal in 2025, third in 2024, and seventh in 2023. So far in 2026, she was second to Kimutai at the Ledro Sky Trentino race, won the Broken Arrow 23k, won the Quebec Mega Trail 30k race ahead of third-place Kimutai, and won again at Pitz Alpine Glacier Trail. At both Broken Arrow and Quebec, Florea didn’t go straight to the front but was careful not to cede too much time on the uphill, and then aced the downhill. At Pitz Alpine Glacier Trail, Florea showed she can win in different ways and led at the top of the climb.
Mădălina Florea, the 2026 Broken Arrow 23k champion. Photo: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
Sara Alonso from Spain has been among the world’s best trail runners for the last couple of years. She was eighth and 11th at Sierre-Zinal in 2022 and 2021 and should improve on those finishes. This year, she was third at this year’s Zegama Marathon and won the Val d’Aran 55k and a pair of Skyrunner World Series races.
Sara Alonso took third at the 2026 Zegama Marathon. Photo: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
Judith Wyder is the host country’s top women’s entrant. She’s raced Sierre-Zinal three times, dropping in 2024, and finishing 10th and second in 2021 and 2019. Wyder was just sixth at this year’s Zegama Marathon, after finishing second in 2025, but she did win the European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships 52k in June 2026.
Judith Wyder finished second at the 2025 OCC. Photo: UTMB
Ruth Gitonga
Ruth Gitonga is among a long list of contenders from Kenya. At the two most recent Mountain Running World Cup races in France, at the Vauban Mountain Trail races, Gitonga was second in the Vertical race and won the Up and Down race. She won the series opener São Brás Cross race in Portugal, and the Transvulcania Half Marathon, too. Only one week before Sierre-Zinal, she was second but over four minutes behind Florea at Pitz Alpine Glacier Trail.
Ruth Gitonga on her way to winning the 2026 Transvulcania Half Marathon, where she set a course record. Photo: WMRA/Marco Gulberti
Tabor Hemming
American Tabor Hemming was 10th at Sierre-Zinal in 2022, and she might be as close to that fitness as she’s been since then. Hemming was fourth as part of a photo finish with third-place Njeru at this year’s Broken Arrow 23k. Two days earlier, she climbed up to third at the Broken Arrow Ascent, behind Gibson and Njeru.
Tabor Hemming on her way to finishing third at the 2026 Broken Arrow Ascent. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
Nienke Brinkman
Nienke Brinkman from The Netherlands was sixth at Sierre-Zinal in 2023 and second in 2021. She has been largely away from racing since 2023, but a long return from injury saw her win this year’s Zegama Vertical Kilometer race, place 10th at the European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships Uphill race, and finish fifth at the Broken Arrow 23k.
Nienke Brinkman, the 2026 Zegama Vertical Kilometer women’s winner. Photo: José Antonio Bellido Puebla
Philaries Kisang is another Kenyan contender, but isn’t racing as well as years earlier. Kisang was fourth, third, and second at Sierre-Zinal in 2024, 2023, and 2022, but finished 14th last year. She’s raced twice in 2026 but dropped at the Transvulcania Vertical Kilometer and was only fourth at the Innsbruck Alpine Trailrun Festival Vertical race.
Philaries Kisang, the 2025 Vertical Nasego women’s winner. Photo: WMRA/Marco Gulberti
Morven Goodrum
The U.K.’s Morven Goodrum was a breakout star at this year’s European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships. She won the Uphill race there, beating fellow Sierre-Zinal entrants Hottenrott, Brinkman, Gröber, and others.
This will be the first Sierre-Zinal start for Canada’s Jade Belzberg. She’s raced five times this year so far, placing second at the Chuckanut 50k, eighth at the Gorge Waterfalls 30k, and seventh and 12th at the Broken Arrow Ascent and 23k, but dropping from the Black Canyon 100k.
Jade Belzberg during the 2025 Broken Arrow Ascent, where she took third. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
Caitlin Fielder
New Zealand runner Caitlin Fielder was fourth at the Western States 100 in June, and so Sierre-Zinal is a big step down in distance. She was 10th at Sierre-Zinal in 2024.
Caitlin Fielder finishes second at the 2026 Tarawera 102k. Photo: Tarawera by UTMB
Valentine Rutto
Kenya’s Valentine Rutto was 11th at Sierre-Zinal last year as part of a big Mountain Running World Cup campaign. In 2026, she was 18th at the Zegama Marathon, ninth at the Broken Arrow 23k, and second at Thyon-Dixence.
Valentine Jepkoech Rutto, the 2025 Chongli Mountain and Trail Running Festival Up and Down women’s winner. Photo: WMRA/Marco Gulberti
Theres Leboeuf
Theres Leboeuf from Switzerland has raced Sierre-Zinal eight times and always been just outside the top 10. She was 14th in 2024, 16th in 2023 and 2022, 13th in 2021, 12th in 2019, 14th in 2018, 11th in 2017, and 15th in 2016. Top 2026 performances include an 11th-place finish at the Zegama Marathon and a fifth-place run at the European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships 52k. She was 10th at Pitz Alpine Glacier Trail one week before Sierre-Zinal.
Élisa Morin
Canada’s Elisa Morin has not raced Sierre-Zinal before, but she was 10th at the 2025 WMRC Up and Down race, and 22nd and 16th at the 2026 Broken Arrow Ascent and 23k.
Élisa Morin, the 2025 Quebec Mega Trail 50k women’s winner. Photo: Quebec Mega Trail/Olivier Ménard
Kirsty Skye Dickson
Kirsty Skye Dickson from the U.K. has raced several Mountain Running World Cup races this year. She was just third at the Vauban Vertical race and earlier was fifth at Grossglockner Mountain Run, and third and second at the Transvulcania Half Marathon and Vertical Kilometer.
Kirsty Skye Dickson on her way to second at the 2026 Transvulcania Vertical Kilometer. Photo: WMRA/Marco Gulberti
Hanna Gröber
German runner Hanna Gröber was second at this year’s Innsbruck Alpine Trailrun Festival Vertical race, behind Gitonga but ahead of Hottenrott and Kisang. She won the 2026 European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships Up and Down race and was seventh in the Uphill race there, too. One week before Sierre-Zinal, she was 11th at Pitz Alpine Glacier Trail.
Fabiola Conti from Italy was third at last year’s Trail World Championships Long Trail. She dropped at both the European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships 52k and the Marathon du Mont Blanc in June 2026, but came back to win the Monte Rosa Walserwaeg marathon in July.
Fabiola Conti finished third at the 2025 Trail World Championships Long Trail. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
American Sophia Laukli won Sierre-Zinal in 2023 and came back to finish seventh in 2024. She was ninth at the 2025 Marathon du Mont Blanc, didn’t finish OCC later that year, and seemingly hasn’t raced on trails since.
Sophia Laukli, the 2023 Sierre-Zinal women’s winner. Photo: WMRA/Marco Gulberti
Gerda Steyn
South Africa’s Gerda Steyn has won the Two Oceans Marathon road race seven times and the Comrades Marathon five times. She’s twice raced in the Olympic Marathon. And she’s an absolute trail novice. Her participation is exciting, but a top 10 finish would be a long shot.
Gerda Steyn on her way to winning the 2025 Comrades Marathon. Photo: Nedbank Running Club/Tobias Ginsberg
Still More Fast Women to Watch Céline Aebi (Switzerland) – 6th 2026 European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships Up and Down; 26th 2025 Sierre-Zinal Vivien Bonzi (Italy) – 20th 2026 European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships Uphill Sarah Carter (U.S.) – 2nd 2026 Broken Arrow 46k; 20th 2025 Sierre-Zinal Júlia Font (Spain) – 2nd 2026 Transvulcania Marathon; 13th 2025 Sierre-Zinal Alice Gaggi (Italy) – 8th 2026 Beijing Changping Uphill & Beijing Changping Up and Down Núria Gil (Spain) – 15th & 7th 2023 and 2022 Sierre-Zinal Naiara Irigoyen (Spain) – 4th 2026 Val d’Aran 55k Camilla Magliano (Italy) – 4th 2026 Beijing Changping Uphill & Beijing Changping Up and Down; 8th & 11th 2026 Transvulcania Half Marathon & VK Marie Nivet (France) – 10th 2026 Broken Arrow 23k; 9th 2026 European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships Up and Down Tshuma Nobukhosi (Zimbabwe) – 2nd 2026 Comrades Marathon; 3rd 2026 Two Oceans Marathon Tayler Peavey (U.S.) – 4th 2026 U.S. Mountain Running Championships; 2nd 2026 Gorge Waterfalls 30k Sydney Petersen (U.S.) – 29th 2026 Zegama Marathon; 4th 2026 Desert RATS 50k Jedidah Sang (Kenya) – 1st 2026 Thyon-Dixence, 1:09:00 2026 Madrid Half Marathon Silvia Schwaiger (Slovakia) – 3rd 2026 Lavaredo 50k; 13th 2025 Zegama Marathon Takako Takamura (Japan) – 16th 2024 Sierre-Zinal Elle Twentyman (U.K.) – 5th & 10th 2026 Vauban Up and Down & Vauban Vertical, 4th 2026 São Brás Cross
Júlia Font, the 2024 Gorbeia Suzien Skyrace women’s winner. Photo: Skyrunner World Series
Call for CommentsIs this the year that Mădălina Florea gets her first Sierre-Zinal win, or is it the third year in a row that a Kenyan woman wins?