#TeamMontane’s Jon Shield has emerged victorious in the inaugural BTU Mountain Ultra in Kyrgyzstan.
The Mountain Ultra is the fourth and final race within the BTU Global Race Series. It is a 200km race over 5 days in the Tian Shan Mountains, Kyrgyzstan. The Tian Shan range is vast, stretching over 2,500km from Uzbekistan in the west to China in the east. “The Mountain’s of Heaven” as they are known locally, boast mountain summits of 7,500m, more than 30 peaks greater than 6,000m and are home to the largest glaciers outside the Arctic poles.
As a self-sufficient race, runners are responsible for carrying all the kit they need to get through each stage, including all food, safety equipment, medical supplies and a minimum of 2 litres of water. With a total ascent of over 10,500 metres and an altitude of 4000m the Mountain Ultra will push runners to their limits. The stages are 32km, 33km, 28km, 55km and 55km.
Shield finished with a time of 34 hours and 13 minutes, after winning all five stages of the 200km race.
Speaking on his win, Shield said: “I had a blast in a place with unrivalled beauty and brutality rolled into one. 100% the Beyond the Ultimate Mountain Ultra is going to be a firm favourite in the Global Race Series, probably the hardest and the best for me.”
The BTU Global Race Series is made up of four races set in the most remote and hostile environments on earth. The four races are the Ice Ultra set in the Arctic Circle, the Jungle Ultra set in the Amazon Rainforest, the Desert Ultra set in the Namib Desert and the Mountain Ultra set in the Tian Shan Mountains of Kyrgyzstan.
Shield has now won three out of the four events in the Global Race Series and is looking to complete the set with the Desert Ultra in Namibia this November.
Learn more about the Global Race Series on the website.
Header image Credit: @beyondtheultimate/MikkelBeisner
