Maite Maiora Elizondo

About

Maite Maiora Elizondo is a Spanish skyrunner and mountain trail runner born June 20, 1980, in the Basque Country, who grew up immersed in mountain life — climbing, skiing, snowboarding, and alpinism — before taking up competitive running at 26. She progressed from vertical kilometre races and mountain half marathons to the elite skyrunning circuit with remarkable speed, becoming one of the defining athletes in the sport's history. She is a two-time Skyrunning World Champion: gold in SkyMarathon at the 2016 Skyrunning World Championships in the Vall de Boí (Spain), adding the 2016 Combined World title alongside Stian Angermund, and then gold in SkyUltra at the 2021 Skyrunning World Championships. In 2017 she claimed the overall Skyrunner World Series title and won the Zegama-Aizkorri Marathon — one of the sport's most prestigious mountain races in the Basque Country — in a course record of 4 hours 34 minutes 27 seconds, a mark she held for five years. She also placed bronze at the 2015 IAU Trail World Championships in Annecy and has podiumed at both the CCC by UTMB and UTMB Mont-Blanc. A Vibram-supported athlete, she continues to compete internationally in her mid-forties, finishing 13th female at UTMB Mont-Blanc in 2025.

Notable Wins

• — 2016 Skyrunning World Championships SkyMarathon gold
• — 2016 Combined Skyrunning World Championship
• — 2021 Skyrunning World Championships SkyUltra gold
• — 2017 Skyrunner World Series overall
• — 2015 IAU Trail World Championships bronze
• — Zegama-Aizkorri 2017 (CR 4:34:27)
• — CCC by UTMB podium
• — UTMB Mont-Blanc podium

Race History