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Kilian Jornet

Track record, records and news of the ultra-terrestrial

Ultra-terrestrial raised at 2,000 m altitude

Kilian Jornet was born on October 27, 1987 in Sabadell, but grew up at 2,000 m, at the Cap del Rec refuge in the Spanish Pyrenees, which his father runs ⛰️. At 13, he sometimes ran to his middle school: 21 km there, 21 km back 🎒. Nicknamed the ultra-terrestrial, this Spanish runner shines in trail running as well as in ski mountaineering.

The Kid from Cap del Rec

In the Jornet family 🐐, skipping school means heading out with crampons on your feet. At 6, Kilian Jornet ticked off his first 4,000er, the Breithorn, above Zermatt. The race bibs arrived at 13, first on skis: ski mountaineering forged his engine ⛷️, with individual World Cups won in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Trail running then burst onto the scene. In 2008, barely 20 years old, the Catalan won the UTMB around Mont Blanc ⏱️ , then repeated the feat in 2009. In 2011, he had a dream summer: victory at the Western States in California, then a third title in Chamonix.

Kilian Jornet, the Off-Piste Ultra-Terrestrial

Winning races isn't enough for him. With the "Summits of my life" project, he takes on legendary peaks with a stopwatch in hand ⏱️. In May 2017, he reached the summit of Everest twice in five days, without supplemental oxygen. Since then, he has been linking mountains the way others connect the dots in a holiday activity book. In 2023, he strung together 177 Pyrenean summits above 3,000 m in 8 days. In 2024, Alpine Connections took him across the 82 summits above 4,000 m in the Alps in 19 days 🏔️ , with 75,300 m of elevation gain devoured and the previous record smashed.

The American chapter pushes the limits even further. From September 3 to October 4, 2025, "States of Elevation" linked the 72 fourteeners of the contiguous United States, those peaks above 4,267 m, using only human power on foot and by bike 🚴. The tally: 5,145 km, four-fifths of it in the saddle, 123,045 m of elevation gain and a final ascent of Mount Rainier. At the same time, his foundation mobilizes volunteers to restore the trails he passed through.

An Extraordinary Track Record!

On marked trails 🗺️, his trophy cabinet overflows. In 2022, he took a fourth UTMB title in 19h49'30", the first runner to complete the loop in under 20h. The same season, he set the Kilian Jornet record at Zegama-Aizkorri at 3h36'40", a leg-breaking Basque marathon of 42 km and 2,700 m of elevation gain, carried by a unique fervor. At Sierre-Zinal, the race of the five 4,000ers of the Valais, he also holds the record. Both events are on the calendar of the Golden Trail World Series. On the ultra side, the Hardrock 100 crowned him five times, and Western States 2025 saw him back on the podium, 3rd in 14h19'22". The year 2026 was supposed to mark a great return to the classics. His left knee, already fractured at the kneecap in 2006, decided otherwise 🦵. At Zegama, he finished 43rd, then an MRI revealed lesions to the meniscus and cartilage and bone edema.