Robert Hajnal

About

Robert Hajnal is Romania's most accomplished professional ultrarunner, a former elite mountain trooper from Transylvania who transitioned from military service to trail running in 2012 and won his first ultramarathon — the Ciucaș X3 (105km, 5,500m+ gain) — on his debut in 2013. He founded the TrailRunning Academy in 2016 and turned fully professional in 2018, the same year he delivered his most iconic result: second place at UTMB Mont-Blanc (170km, 10,000m+), finishing 40 minutes behind three-time champion Xavier Thevenard in one of trail running's most prestigious races. In 2021 he won the Olympus Mythical Trail in Greece, and in 2022 he won the Istria 100 by UTMB (168km) in 18:26:47 — over an hour clear of the Italian second-place finisher — and placed in the top five at The North Face Transgrancanaria. A current Altra Running Europe and Chevron/Texaco Lubricants ambassador, Hajnal coaches athletes through the TrailRunning Academy from his base in Brașov and has recorded a personal best of 205km covered in 24 hours on trail.

Notable Wins

• — UTMB Mont-Blanc 2018 2nd (behind Xavier Thevenard)
• — Istria 100 by UTMB 2022 winner (168km
• — 18:26:47)
• — Olympus Mythical Trail 2021 winner
• — Ciucaș X3 105km 2013 winner
• — Transgrancanaria top 5 2022

Race History