Terra de Gigantes 2026 Delivers the Fastest Race in Event History

Despite a return to some of the harshest conditions in the event’s history, Terra de Gigantes 2026 delivered the fastest performances ever recorded on the course. Snow, winter winds, and brutal terrain failed to slow the champions who rewrote the record books from Portugal’s highest peaks to the Atlantic coast.

The race began in biting cold, with snowfall blanketing frozen ground and heavy clouds swallowing the mountain summits – a reminder that last year’s sunny gunstart was the exception, not the rule. 

Within the opening miles, the field plunged downhill in full blizzard conditions as Britain’s Robbie Britton asserted himself early, establishing a pace matched stride for stride by compatriot Dave Phillips. Britton, the UK’s 24-hour run record holder, arrived with elite credentials and recent international podium finishes, while Phillips came into the race in formidable form following a silver medal at the Gran Canaria 360 Challenge and victory at the Essex Way Ultra 82 Miles.

In one of the largest women’s fields Terra de Gigantes has seen, Rebecca Hormann began to separate herself almost immediately. Armed with a formidable résumé of five wins across 2024 and 2025 – including dominant 100-mile victories – the Swiss contender’s pedigree showed as she not only took control of the women’s race, but surged firmly into the overall top three.

Dawn on Day 2 revealed a striking development: despite frost-laced conditions, both the men’s and women’s leaders were already further along the course than at the same point in 2025. The question was no longer about speed, but sustainability.

With Torre and Açor behind them, only one giant remained: Alto de Trevim. Rising to 1,200 metres above sea level, Trevim offers sweeping views on a clear day: the Serra da Estrela where the race began, and far in the distance, the Atlantic Ocean and the finish at Nazaré. 

Through two full sunsets the competitors pressed on, finding brief refuge in small towns before re-emerging onto exposed climbs and damp roads, where winter winds tore relentlessly across the high ground. At the front, the leading trio pushed beyond exhaustion to produce something truly special.

That moment came in the wee hours of the morning, with nine-metre waves crashing just beyond the finish arch at Nazaré. As high winds swirled through the Praça Sousa Oliveira, Phillips took the tape and stopped the clock in 40:51:33. He had surged past Britton in the final 50 kilometres to claim victory – and obliterate the course record by nearly seven hours.

Britton paid the price for the ferocious tempo he had set, but regrouped to secure second place in 45:31:12. Hormann followed in 46:13:46, claiming the women’s title and an extraordinary third overall, smashing the previous women’s course record by more than nine hours.

All three had surpassed the 47:45:46 winning mark set by defending champion Dani Corvo, who was unable to continue after approximately 20 hours in this year’s race.

Carlos Abreu rounded out the men’s podium in 49:51:57, also earning a hometown triumph as the first Portuguese finisher. Among the women, Ireland’s Una Miles claimed silver in 56:59:41, while Italy’s Francesca Ferraro secured bronze in  71:45:26, arriving under the 74-hour cutoff.

With winning times incrementally falling from 49:33 in 2023 to 47:45 in 2025, 2026 marked a seismic leap forward. Records weren’t just broken; they were rewritten.

Terra de Gigantes once again delivered a finish for the ages, launching the 2026 One Hundred World Championship season and awarding the first championship points of the year as part of the Alliance Series.