[Photo credit: Trofeo Nasego]

From Peter Shelley…

Ed Hobbs and Ellen Crombie made the most of their selection to race for England at the Trofeo Nasego World Cup which took place over the weekend in Casto, northern Italy.

They were among eight England athletes to compete in two events alongside the best mountain runners in the world.

Saturday saw the ‘Vertical’ race, an uphill only route of 4.2km with 1,000m of ascent, half of which occurs in the final km. Ed’s race time of 35:54 put him in an outstanding 7th place of 208, the leading U23 athlete and first of the England contingent.

Ellen Crombie finished 16th female in 45:27. The men’s race was won by Patrick Kipngeno of Kenya in 33:31, the women’s by world champion Nina Engelhard of Germany in 39:29.

Ed and Ellen recovered well overnight to tackle the longer up and down race, the Trofeo Nasego, on Sunday. Running in high temperatures, they paced themselves to great effect over 21km and 1,300m of ascent to reach the Nasego refuge on Corna di Savallo before undertaking a fast descent.

Ed finished 14th in 1:40:53 and Ellen 15th woman in 2:01:50, another brilliant set of results. Congratulations Ed and Ellen! The men’s race was won by Philemon Ombogo Kiriago of Kenya in 1:30:08, with his compatriot Ruth Mwihaki Gitonga pipping Engelhard for the women.

Ed was interviewed afterwards following his first World Cup top 10, take a look below but make it full screen first if you’re not on a mobile device.

And Ellen said on her Instagram account: “First VK on the Saturday and longest ever run on the Sunday. Plus 8 bowls of pasta, 30+ degrees and a very scenic ice bath. A good time!

“Very grateful for this opportunity to be part of the team and am already looking forward to next season 😊 “