Dmitry Mityaev, Russia’s top trail runner, smashes Mount Elbrus FKT and sets sights on long dominant career
- At 1.83m and 82kg, Dmitry Mityaev is not your typical ultra runner, but it does not stop him crushing the 140km Elbrus record
- The runner’s long-term training plan could see him climb the ranks of trail running and sit with the best in the world for decades
When Dmitry Mityaev blew past the finish line of the 111km The Mountain Race in Russia earlier this month and set the course record, it was not enough. He kept his head down and continued to push for another 29km, setting the fastest known time (FKT) for running around Mount Elbrus, Europe’s highest peak.
“I just wanted to set both records. That’s basically the only trail you can run any way, and because it’s part of the race you can set two records so you might as well,” he said.
He ran 13 hours and 19 minutes for The Mountain Race, over two hours faster than the previous record, and 16:07:20 for the whole route.
Blasting through finish lines and going on to bigger and better things is almost a metaphor for Mityaev and his career as he progresses year on year, climbing up the podiums.
In 2018 and 2019, he came third and second respectively at the TDS, one of the races at the Ultra Trial du Mont Blanc (UTMB) week. Mityaev wants to be competing with the best until he is in his mid-40s and plans one day to win the famous 170km UTMB itself.
