Zegama – a contest of champions
The full press release of this years’ second round of the Skyrunner® series has arrived ahead of Sundays’ Maratòn Alpina Zegama-Aizkorri in the Basque country. In addition to the preview this appeared on MST this week key competitors and course details are listed…
The second race in the prestigious Skyrunner® World Series is hosted on May 24th by one of the sport’s favourite venues, the Maratòn Alpina Zegama-Aizkorri in Spain’s Basque Country, a contest where champions rise and fall.
This immensely popular race with both runners and spectators boasts 453 athletes on Sunday’s start line, including an array of world champions including Spain’s Kilian Jornet and Agustí Roc, and Mexico’s Ricardo Mejia. Joining the line-up are Britain’s top female endurance and ultra runner, Lizzy Hawker and Italy’s national skyrunning champions, Emanuela Brizio and Paolo Larger.
The women’s field is open to speculation with the participation of Lizzy Hawker in her first skyrunning event up against experienced runners like Stefanie Jiminez, from Andorra and Emanuela Brizio who currently heads the ranking.
Standing Skyrunning world champion, Kilian Jornet, after a winter of successful ski-mountaineering competition, is back in the Series to defend his title. Mejia, who heads the ranking after the first race in Costa Rica, seems to have recovered his 2007 form, while Roc (three times world champion) is always hot on Jornet’s heels. Italians Fulvio Dapit, among the world’s top runners, and Larger, challenge Spaniards, Raul Garcia, Tofol Castanyer and Jessed Hernandez. British runners Rob Hope and Ricky Lightfoot (Saab Salomon Team) will test their skyrunning skills in this very competitive international field.
The gruelling course over four of Euskadi’s highest peaks is very demanding due to the numerous ascents and descents amounting to a total 2,736 metres over the full marathon distance. The course record stands at 3h54’18”.
The race represents a high note for both participants and public in the quiet Aratz-Aizkorri Natural Park where each year thousands of spectators line the course to applaud and encourage the world’s top skyrunners to victory.
Under the auspices of the new International Skyrunning Federation, the 2009 Skyrunner® World Series, partnered by Vibram®, world leader in technical footwear soles, promises another season of racing thrills and breathtaking locations across the world’s mountain ranges.
The SKYRUNNER® WORLD SERIES is a circuit of races open to individual skyrunners and sponsored teams based on the sum of the best three World Series’ results and one World Series Trial. (Double points are awarded at the final to the top 15 ranked men and top 8 women)
Final Prizes: € 10.000 (3000-1500-500 M/F). See www.skyrunning.com for further information
