Running for victory

The Portuguese athlete Ester Alves approaches the MIUT's most iconic check point, located in Madeira's highest peak, yesterday morning. The Doctorate Student, presently the national championess, was the first female crossing the finish line in Machico and, therefore, remains the fastest female trail runner in Portugal, having finished this year's edition of the Madeira Island Ultra Trail in 18 hours and 42 minutes.

With a length of 115 kilometres and altitude variations along the track summing up nearly fourteen kilometres in total, the reign route of the competition was a strenuous one, judging by the accounts of many participants.

Reaching, with this years edition, the higher goal of inserting the MIUT into the world championship, the organization made sure that this ambitious achievement was supported by a world-class race, with a degree of difficulty that surprised many seasoned athletes. In the end of it, only the fittest would survive.

Picture taken with Nikon D610 and Nikon Nikkor DX AF-S 55-200mm f/4-5.6 G ED. Post-processing in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.