City of George the winner at MUT 2025

GEORGE NEWS - As the sun set on the 2025 George Mountain Ultra Trail (MUT) by UTMB on Sunday 25 May, the overwhelming feeling amongst those who were in any way involved with the four-day celebration of trail running was that the city of George was the winner.

Spectacular weather, albeit unseasonably hot, the breathtaking vistas of the Outeniqua mountains, and the enthusiasm of the locals were all praised by visitors from upcountry and around the world.

Once the dust settles on the grounds of the Outeniqua rugby stadium, the record book will reflect a commanding victory in the MUT Miler by Italian Andrea Biffi.

South Africa's Admire Muzopambwa had held on up the first big climb towards Cradock Peak, but from there, Biffi extended his lead with ease, leaving Muzopambwa to finish a strong second. Pierre Jordaan rounded out the podium with a third place.

In the ladies' category, Nicolette Griffioen was sensational — 4th overall, 1st woman, but more impressively, she won the Ultra Trail Drakensberg just a month ago. Her performance in the Outeniquas smashed the existing course record.

The 100 km event saw another Italian win, with Daniel Jung, and the ladies' category was won by American athlete Emily Djock.

It was a sensational weekend in the MUT 60 km category for the popular Reilly trail running family from Cape Town dominating. Kane Reilly was first over the line for the men, with his sister Samantha Reilly shaving nearly 45 minutes off the old record to win the ladies’ race.

The popular MUT marathon distance is always a highlight event, and the popular Robbie Rorich was greeted with a thunderous welcome by a huge Saturday crowd. That set the scene for the first George winner, with Rebecca Kohne being welcomed to the win by her hometown support.

The final day of the weekend, saw huge fields in both the MUT Challenge and the MUT Lite, with strong berg winds and high temperatures doing nothing to dampen the enthusiasm.

Winners of the 25 km Challenge were Jacques du Plessis and Mila Geldenhuys in the men’s and ladies’ categories, respectively. The 11 km MUT Lite saw Sindrino Matthews take a fast win for the men, with another local, Bailee Nell, the first lady over the finish line.