Tom Evans - Trail Runner Profile
Tom Evans is a British ultrarunner and former army officer who won the 2025 UTMB in 19:18:58, the 2023 Western States 100 in 14:40:22 and the CCC in 2018. His UTMB win, on a storm-shortened course, made him the first British man to take the title since Jez Bragg in 2010.
Tom Evans quick facts
- Age: 34 (born 3 February 1992)
- Nationality: United Kingdom
- From: Sussex, England
- UTMB Index: 952 (as of 6 October 2026, UTMB profile)
- ITRA score: 937 (as of 27 August 2026, ITRA profile)
- Key results: UTMB: Winner 2025; Western States: Winner 2023, 14:40:22; British first: First British men's UTMB winner since 2010
UTMB Index and ITRA scores change after every race. The dates are when each number was read from the official profile.
Country: United Kingdom · Team: ASICS · Specialities: 100 miles, 50–100km
Right now: Defending UTMB champion, but withdrawn from the 2026 race.
Key facts
- UTMB: Winner 2025
- Western States: Winner 2023, 14:40:22
- British first: First British men's UTMB winner since 2010
From Marathon des Sables to the top of the sport
Evans came to trail running late and from an unusual direction, finishing third at the 251km Marathon des Sables in 2017 with almost no ultra background. A CCC win followed in 2018, then the Tarawera 102km in 2020, then the biggest American race in the sport: Western States in 2023, won in 14:40:22, at the time the fourth-fastest men's performance in race history.
Chamonix, at the fourth attempt
UTMB was the race that would not come. Evans did not finish in either 2023 or 2024. In 2025 he returned to a course shortened by two kilometres after organisers removed the Pyramides Calcaires section in driving rain and snow, and won in 19:18:58. The time is faster than the standing course record but was not ratified because of the course change.
Where he is right now
He has withdrawn from the 2026 UTMB and will not defend his title in Chamonix.
How Tom runs
Evans is a runner's runner in the traditional sense: an athlete with genuine road speed, with personal bests of 13:40 for 5000m and 63:14 for the half marathon and a Great Britain place at the 2020 World Half Marathon Championships, who applies that speed and a structured approach to mountain ultras. He trains with clear targets and races to a plan, which is less common at the front of trail running than it is in road racing.
In races he tends to sit in or just behind the lead group through the early hours, then make one decisive move rather than waiting for a sprint finish. At the 2025 UTMB he passed the early leader between Refuge Bertone and Arnouvaz and surged on the climb to the Grand Col Ferret, around 100km in, opening a gap of more than nine minutes that only grew to the finish.
He is also unusually good at adapting to conditions. His UTMB win came in the coldest, wettest edition the race has seen, on a course shortened by snow, and his ability to manage clothing, pacing and fuelling when the weather turns is as much a part of his style as his speed.
Where Tom is strongest
Fast 100km and 100-mile courses where road speed still counts, such as Western States and Tarawera, and hard mountain 100-milers in difficult weather. His CCC win in 2018 and his UTMB title in 2025 show he can win on technical Alpine terrain as well.
Like most athletes with a road background, he is relatively less dominant on the very steep, very technical courses where skyrunning specialists make their gains, which is why his biggest wins have come on courses with long runnable sections.
The edge. Adaptability in bad conditions. His UTMB win came in the wettest, coldest edition the race has seen.
What you can learn from Tom
1. Structure works in trail running too
Evans brings a road runner's structure to the trails: clear training phases, specific sessions and measurable progress. If your trail training is mostly whatever you feel like on the day, try organising it into blocks with a goal for each, such as a base phase, a climbing phase and a race-specific phase, with one or two key sessions a week you do not skip.
2. Prepare your kit and decisions for bad weather
His UTMB win was decided as much by how he handled the cold and rain as by fitness. Before any mountain race, train in your full waterproof kit, practise changing layers quickly while moving, and decide in advance at what point you will put on extra clothing. Most bad-weather problems start with a decision made too late.
3. Repeated DNFs do not predict the outcome
He did not finish UTMB in 2023 or 2024, then won it in 2025. A DNF at your goal race is a reason to analyse what happened, not proof you cannot do it. Look honestly at the cause, change your preparation to address it, and go back.
4. Back your road speed with strength work
Road speed transfers to trail racing only if your legs can survive the descents of a mountain 100-miler. For an everyday runner, two short sessions a week of squats, lunges, step-downs and calf work will make your quads and calves far more resilient on long downhills.
Selected results
| Year | Race | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | UTMB | 1st (19:18:58 on a storm-shortened course) |
| 2023 | Western States 100 | 1st (14:40:22) |
| 2018 | CCC | 1st |
| 2020 | Tarawera Ultramarathon 102km | 1st |
| 2017 | Marathon des Sables | 3rd |
A selection, not a complete race history.
Official profiles
Compare yourself with Tom
- ITRA index calculator: estimate the km-effort and an indicative performance band for your own race result (not an official ITRA Performance Index).
- Trail pace calculator: turn your road pace into a trail pace and finish time for a given elevation profile.
Frequently asked questions
Did Tom Evans break the UTMB course record in 2025?
No. His 19:18:58 is faster than the standing record, but the 2025 course was shortened by roughly two kilometres because of severe weather, so the time was not ratified as a course record.
What are Tom Evans's biggest wins?
UTMB 2025, Western States 100 in 2023 (14:40:22), the CCC in 2018 and the Tarawera 102km in 2020.
Is Tom Evans defending his UTMB title in 2026?
No, he has withdrawn from the 2026 race.
Runners with a similar profile
- Jim Walmsley (United States): The first American man to win UTMB, and the athlete who redefined how fast a 100-miler can be run from the front.
- Ben Dhiman (United States): DNF'd UTMB twice, was runner-up once, then won it on his fourth attempt in the fastest time the race has ever seen.
- Miguel Arsénio (Portugal): A self-coached Portuguese runner who studies sports science, won the first World Trail Majors title and took second at the 2026 CCC.
- Vincent Bouillard (France): Won UTMB as an unsponsored shoe engineer in 2024, then broke the Western States course record and became the first man under 14 hours.
Sources and verification
Checked against the following sources on 2026-08-27:
- Marathon Handbook: Tom Evans wins the 2025 UTMB
- Marathon Handbook: Evans withdraws from the 2026 UTMB
- ITRA runner profile
- Wikipedia: Tom Evans (runner)
- iRunFar: 2025 UTMB results
- UTMB Index profile (official)
Canonical page: https://trailia.run/best-trail-runners/tom-evans
Published by Trailia (https://trailia.run), a personalised trail running coaching platform. This profile is a factual reference, not a ranking.