Is Evan Allen the Next Best Trail and Ultra Runner to Come from the United Kingdom?

In the rugged heart of the Alps, where the air thins and the trails steepen, one British runner is quietly carving a path toward the pinnacle of ultra-running: Evan Allen. His recent performance at the 2025 Trail Verbier X-Traversée — one of the UTMB World Series’ most technical and grueling races — may be the loudest indicator yet that the UK has a rising star in its ultra-running ranks.

A Breakout Performance in Switzerland

On July 6th, 2025, Evan Allen lined up with some of the world’s toughest endurance athletes to tackle the 76.5 km Trail Verbier X-Traversée, a mountain ultra featuring a punishing 5,276 meters of elevation gain. The course isn’t just physically demanding — it’s a mental gauntlet, winding through alpine terrain, high passes, and steep, technical descents. But Allen didn’t just survive it. He thrived, finishing in 10 hours, 8 minutes, and 47 seconds, earning him 9th place overall.

That placement is impressive on its own, but context makes it exceptional. Allen was less than an hour behind the winner — in a race of this difficulty, that's a slim margin. He also ranked 9th among all male runners and 8th in his category, showing consistent strength across all dimensions of the field, at a young age this is not something to be over looked.

Efficiency and Discipline

One stat that leaps off the page is his total rest time: just 3 minutes and 50 seconds. In a race where many competitors take extended breaks to recover, Allen pushed forward with remarkable efficiency. This suggests a combination of elite-level conditioning, careful pacing, and mental toughness — qualities often seen in veterans of the sport. For a runner still early in his elite career, this signals extraordinary potential.

That discipline translated into an average speed of 7.5 km/h across brutal terrain — a pace that would be considered impressive on flatter trails, let alone with over 5,000 meters of climbing.

When Evan Allen crossed the finish line of the 2025 Trail Verbier X-Traversée in 10:08:47—securing 9th place overallin one of Europe’s most grueling mountain races—it wasn’t just a display of elite endurance and pacing. It was also a masterclass in gear strategy, and at the center of that edge was his choice of poles: the Mountain King SkyRunner Ultra RaceDay NEO.

Over the course of 76.5 km and 5,276 meters of brutal vertical gain, Evan relied on the Ultra RaceDay NEOs not just as support, but as an extension of his running form an asset that helped him maintain rhythm, reduce muscular fatigue, and surge through punishing climbs where others faltered.

Efficiency on the Climbs = Time in the Bank

In races like Verbier, where most of the elevation gain is packed into a series of savage climbs, poles are a difference-maker—not just in physical aid, but in rhythm and energy conservation. Evan’s use of the NEO poles allowed for efficient double-pole plant technique on extended gradients. This helped him:

  • Maintain posture and reduce back strain

  • Shift effort from quads to upper body on long climbs

  • Control pace and foot placement on technical scree and off-camber paths

The result? Allen averaged 7.5 km/h—a remarkable pace over high alpine terrain—and managed a rest time of just 3 minutes and 50 seconds. This was less a race of pause-and-recover, and more one of forward motion—and the poles enabled that relentless progression.

What Sets Him Apart

Evan Allen’s performance can be dissected into three pillars that make a strong case for his future dominance:

  1. Adaptability to Terrain: The Swiss Alps aren't forgiving. With steep ascents, thin air, and quad-shredding descents, they demand versatility and technical skill. Allen’s 7.5 km/h average pace is evidence of his ability to handle elevation and terrain variation smoothly.

  2. Mental Resilience: The minimal rest time and steady ranking indicate a mental fortitude uncommon even among seasoned runners. Racing for 10+ hours in alpine conditions with hardly a pause shows a rare psychological edge.

  3. Strategic Racing: Allen was never “chasing” the race. He stayed within a consistent time range of the leaders and avoided blowing up — a critical skill in ultras where early pacing errors often spell disaster.

Can He Go All the Way?

So, is Evan Allen the next big name in British ultra-running?

If his performance at Verbier is any indication, the answer may be yes. But becoming a world-class ultra-runner isn’t just about one great result — it’s about momentum, consistency, and resilience across a spectrum of distances and terrains. His challenge now is to replicate this success on even grander stages, such as CCC, UTMB, or perhaps the legendary Western States 100.

Trail and ultra-running reward the long game. It's about not just surviving, but mastering the mountains over and over again. Evan Allen’s race at Verbier was more than just a personal milestone — it was a statement. With grit, precision, and a striking ability to suffer smartly, he’s shown that he doesn’t just belong in the conversation — he could soon be leading it.

The UK may have just found its next mountain running star.