I am super stoked to share this video of Western States 2013. My amazing Parent in-laws filmed and edited, spending many hours! Bob spent all day filming at Western before and after. Debbie spent countless nights editing and putting this together. I’m blessed to have such a loving and caring family who enjoys the sport just as much as I do. Thank you both for all you do, I’m beyond grateful!
I hope you all enjoy the video!
cheers!
YouTube HERE
Timothy Olson website HERE
The North Face HERE
Venue
Camprogrosso Recoaro Terme, Vicenza, Italy
‘Gino Solda’ Recreation Centre tel: +3904575030 www.rifugiocampogrosso.com
Following on from the Dolomites SkyRace® on the 21st, five days’ activities and fun-packed action are being organised for runners who want to stay over for the Trans d’Havet. In addition to two days reconnaissance of sections of the Trans d’Havet course on July 23rd and 24th, an introduction to Skyrunning has been arranged with Salomon athlete, Philipp Reiter, ISF President Marino Giacometti, Sky Doc, Doctor Roi and Talk Ultra host, Ian Corless.
SCHEDULE
14:45 to 1500 arrival
15:00 Welcome and introduction
15:10 Philipp Reiter interviewed by Ian Corless
16;00 Q&A opportunities with audience
16:30 Marino Giacometti and Sky Doc
17:15 Final Q&A
17:30 Close
NB: the event will be hosted in English with translation available
Topics to be discussed
The definition of Skyrunning, environment and history
Physiological parameters, training and recovery
Medical test in collaboration with University of Padova
Skyrunning to Ultra – technique and equipment
Notes:
Philipp Reiter is an incredible talent, Philipp has recently won the Zugspitze 100km race, placed 3rd at Ice Trail Tarentaise and he has adorned podiums all over the world. Coming from a Ski Mountaineering background, Philipp is one of the new stars of Skyrunning.
Marino Giacometti President of the ISF, an Italian mountaineer who, with a handful of fellow climbers, pioneered records and races on Mont Blanc and Monte Rosa in the Italian Alps in the early ‘90’s. In 1993, with the support of the multinational Fila as sponsor, Skyrunning took off across the world’s mountain ranges with a circuit of awe inspiring races stretching from the Himalayas to the Rockies, from Mount Kenya to the Mexican volcanoes. After all, Giacometti’s term skyrunning*, as the name suggests, is where earth and sky meet.
Dr Roi (Sky Doc) graduated in Medicine from the University of Milan, where he specialised (residency) in Sports Medicine. He is a founder of the International Skyrunning Federation (IFS) and well known as “Skydoctor”. He published scientific papers on sports medicine and particularly on physiological aspects of running at altitude and endurance events also for transplanted patients. He was temporary professor of Biomechanics at the Faculty of Motor Sciences of Milan and presently is temporary professor of Functional Recovery at the University of Verona. He is currently the director of the Education and Research Department of the Isokinetic Medical Group in Bologna (Italy), mainly involved in functional recovery of injured professional and amateur athletes.
Ian Corless is an ex cyclist, triathlete and now runner. He is the host and creative director of an ultra running podcast, Talk Ultra. He also runs a very successful website, iancorless.com that provides up to the minute news and imagery from the ultra and Skyrunning world. Ian works closely with Skyrunning and is a media partner for all events.
Skyrunning HERE
Trans d’Havet HERE
If you wondered what it was like at the Ice Trail Tarentaise, this short video will give you a no fills insight to the Aiguille Pers summit.
CE TRAIL Tarentaise – Val d’Isère 2013 – Aiguille Pers
BAB (Bout à Bout)
filmé par: Ludovic Rolandone
postproduction Alex Covaci
Une Production Radio-TV Val d’Isère
©Tous droits réservés
YouTube HERE
The ice at Ice Trail Tarentaise hasn’t even melted and just 48 hours later we ae looking ahead to the third edition of the European Skyrunning Championships which start this coming Friday, the 19th. with the Vertical Kilometer®. The series of events will have seven world champions representing sixteen nations.
Please Note:
A course recce for Trans D’Havet will take place on Tuesday July 23rd and Wednesday July 24th. You can download a PDF document with information HERE
On July 25th at 1500 we will have an introduction to Skyrunning with Salomon athlete, Philipp Reiter. This will involve a ‘live’ interview followed with Q&A and then ISF President, Marino Giacometti and Dr Roi (Sky Doc) will provide a small talk and answer questions. Information available HERE
Schedule:
The Dolomites will again host two of the events in the three-year history of the Championships. The record on the unforgiving Vertical Kilometer® course just 2,1 km long, stands at 33’16” by world record holder Italian Urban Zemmer and Antonella Confortola in 39’13” back in 2008 when the course was inaugurated.
The classic Dolomites SkyRace® favoured by the world’s top runners offers a new challenge after record-breaking performances here this year by Kilian Jornet in 2h01’52”, and the three top women, Sweden’s Emelie Forsberg, American Kasie Enman and Spaniard Mireia Mirò – all under record time. Forsberg’s record stands at 2h26’00”. The challenging and often technical course represents one of the toughest proving grounds for the relatively short distance: 22 km but with 1,750m climb to the summit of the Piz Boè which, at 3,152m altitude, towers above the start and finish of the race in Canazei.
The much anticipated Ultra is embodied by the Trans d’Havet, a point to point 80 km long with 5,500m vertical climb traversing the Piccole Dolomiti in the Veneto Region. The route, technical in stretches, includes 6 km of tunnels dating back to the First World War, created by General D’Havet, to whose name the race is dedicated. At the launch this year, the men’s winning time was 10h58’44”, no doubt destined to fall with the top European runners participating here in 2013.
Participants
Kilian Jornet and Emelie Forsberg will test their powers of recovery and just five days after impressive victories in what many are now considering an iconic Skyrunning race, the Ice Trail Tarentaise, they will toe the line for all three events in the European Championships.
It is going to be difficult to bet against them, certainly Kilian has the ability, powers of recovery and experience to top the podium in all three events. However, Luis Alberto Hernando has pushed Kilian close in three events already in 2013 and he will most certainly be keen to move one place on the podium higher.
Nuria Picas missed Ice Trail Tarentaise so that she could save all her energy for the ultra race, she desires the Euoropean Championship crown and keeping in mind Emelie Forsberg’s recent calendar and the fact that she will have participated in the VK and Sky race the weekend before, one has to say that Nuria may well be the favourite for the Trans d’Havet race.
Michel Lanne joint winner of the Mont Blanc Mrathon Ultra race will almost certainly be a hot favourite at Trans d’Havet along with an in-form Philipp Rieter who took third place at Ice Trail Tarentaise.
The Sky distance race will be extremely competitive, Nicola Golinelli (4th Mont-Blanc Marathon) Florian Reichert (9th at Mont Blanc), Tadei Pivk (3rd at Zegama), Matheo Jaquemoud, Augusto Roc (three time world champion), Didier Zago and Dimitris Theodrakakos will go head-to-head for the title.
However, so will Kilian Jornet. On this course, I don’t see Kilian loosing, however today, 17th July, we have had confirmation that Kilian’s favourite sparring partner, Marco De Gasperi will toe the line. Not only is this great news for the race but it is great news for us. No doubt after the head-to-head battle at Mont Blanc we will see a repeat performance on the slopes os Canazei.
The ladies Sky race will be equally competitive with Emelie Forsberg, Celine Lafaye (2nd Mont Blanc), Maite Mayora Elizondo and Silvia Serafini as strong favourites. However, nobody will have an easy run with strong competiton coming from Zhanna Voueva, Laura Orgue, Stephanie Jiminez, Ragna Debats to name but a few.
Maite Mayora Elizondo at Haria Extreme
The Vertical at Canazei is regarded as one of the toughest. It is incredibly steep, to put this in perspective, even Kilian Jornet used ‘poles’ in 2012. Without doubt Kilian is a strong favourite but the men’s field has real quality and ‘VK’ specialists; Urban Zemmer will lead the charge for the title, closely followed by Marco Facchinelli, Tadei Pivk, Didier Zago, and Augusti Roc.
Antonella Confortola will be the hot favourite for the ladies. Emelie Fosberg will push hard but she is still learning in the VK as is Zhana Vokueva. Tessa Hill from the UK is slowly becoming a VK specialist and she stated at Mont Blanc that she was already seeing a progression from her 2012 form. The ever present Corinne Favre is always a contender, as is Laura Orgue. Sivia Serafini, Celine Lafaye, Maite Mayora Elizondo and Ragna Debats will double up with the Sky race and have every possibility to make the podium in both races.
Antonella Confortola
To date, the sixteen countries entered are: Andorra, Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Great Britain, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden.
The winning formula? Easy: the European Skyrunning Championships are open with individual titles at stake in each discipline. Ranking is based on the sum of the highest points scored in two out of three events. The national title is based on the score of the first three men and one woman in all three events.
Links:
Skyrunning HERE
Coverage and imagery will be provided by iancorless.com via Facebook Talk Ultra and Twitter
Kilian Jornet and Emelie Forsberg excel at the ISF Skyrunning Ice Trail Tarentaise. With over 60 km’s above 2000m altitude and with a highest point of 3653m at ‘Grande Motte’ this is a race not to be taken lightly. Memories of the Tour de France flood into my mind when I discuss this region, however, other than the highest paved mountain pass at the ‘Col de L’Iseran’ at 2770m, no bicycles will be seen.
The Tarentaise valley and the Ice Trail Tarentaise in many respects personify what Kilian Jornet has been pursuing for years, the term ‘Alpinism’ is often perceived as climbing but it is so much more. Traversing glaciers, ascending and descending summits such as ‘Aiguille Pers’ at 3386 m, participants in the 2013 Ice Trail Tarentaise will no doubt had a full appreciation of what Kilian and others like him strive for when they coin the term, Skyrunning. You see, Skyrunning is Alpinism but without the clutter, it’s about being light and moving fast.
Val D’Isère, 0400 on Sunday 14th July, 600+ runners departed for one of the most challenging races they would ever experience. With a total distance of 65km’s, 5000m+ positive gain and over 60% of the course in snow, the race would ultimately be the most challenging Skyrunning race ever encountered by all the participants.
The 2012 race winner, Francois D’Haene dictated the early pace with Rickey Gates and Kilian Jornet. At Tignes after following a river trail and an early climb the field was already spreading out. Emelie Forsberg had opened a gap on the female competition and was already pulling away.
Darkness was now being replaced by the arrival of a new day and blue skies, temperatures started to rise but temperatures did drop to as low as -3deg on the first big challenge of the day, the Grande Motte at 3653m, this would see participants climb 1800m in under10km. The ascent included traversing a glacier (YakTrax compulsory) and then a 70deg climb that included sections of Via Ferrata. At the summit, km17, Kilian, Francois and Rickey continued to establish a lead over a chasing Fulvio Dapit and Philipp Reiter.
Christel Dewalle and Ronda dels Cims winner, Francesca Canepa pursued Emelie Forsberg but the pattern was set for the whole race. Emelie was in her element, and although she said post race that it was the hardest race she had ever done, she also admitted that she loved every step of it, ‘this is pure Skyrunning, it is what I love about this sport, the ability to combine mountains, snow, running and ice to combine together in one of the most challenging sports’.
The descent from Col Fours at 2976m to Pont Neige at 2530m now had Francois D’Haene and Kilian Jornet establishing a lead over the rest of the field that would not be relinquished. A small section of road and a right turn at Cascade ultimately proved to be one of the hardest sections of the course. Climbing from 2700m to the Col Pers at 3009m and then Pointe Pers 3386m resulted in many runners failing to meet cut-off times or drop with fatigue at Cascade. Marcus Warner from Ultra168 said, ‘that broke peoples spirits, I have buried the feeling it created; I had to look inside and decide if I wanted to put myself through it. However, I found that inner strength and moved on. The terrain was hard pack snow on the north side to waist deep soft snow. It sucked life from within me, the final 300m was a treadmill of slate and scree, I felt I was going nowhere’.
At the iconic Col de L’Iseran, the highest road in Europe the final challenge awaited, the 300m ascent to the Tunnel Lessieres at km56. It was in the final stages of this climb on the tough and technical rock section that Kilian moved ahead of Francois and pulled away to take another incredible win. Emelie Forsberg looked relaxed and comfortable, her lead was convincing and a victory was guaranteed. Christel and Francesca continued to hold second and third place and this format would not change to the finish line.
The 2013 ISF Skyrunning Ice Trail Tarentaise will be remembered in years to come as an iconic day in Skyrunning history. Along with Zegama-Aizkorri, Trofeo Kima and Canazei in the Dolomites, the ‘ITT’ will become a flagship event. It will test elites and non-elite runners to the limit and as many said post race, ‘km for km, that is the hardest race I have ever done’
Men:
Ladies:
Links:
FULL RESULTS HERE
Skyrunning HERE
Ice Trail Tarentaise HERE
ce
Emelie Forsberg has already had an incredible start to 2013. She was crowned winner of Transvulcania La Palma, she won Zegama-Aizkorri, placed second at Mont Blanc Marathon and only days ago set a ladies record for running Chamonix-Mont Blanc-Chamonix in 8hrs 10min.
On Sunday, July 14th, Emelie toes the line at the incredibly tough, Ice Trail Tarentaise. Now an ISF Skyrunning event and part of the Skyrunner world series she talks about her excitement to race on this course.
YouTube HERE
Links:
Emelie Forsberg HERE
Salomon Running HERE
Ice Trail Tarentaise HERE
Skyrunning HERE
Now part of the Skyrunner World Series, the Ice Trail Tarentaise will see a return of the 2012 winner, Francois D’Haene compete against Kilian Jornet, Philipp Reiter, Rickey Gates, Nico Valsesia, Jordi Bes Ginesta, Nicolas Pianet and Vincent Delaberre. For the ladies, the reigning champion, Anne Valero will not defend her title but don’t worry; the ladies field is extremely competitive. Emelie Forsberg, Anna Frost, Francesca Canepa and Shona Stephenson will do battle on the glaciers and peaks of the ‘Tarentaise’; only one will be crowned the ice queen.
Joe Grant, Cavalls del Vent 2012 copyright iancorless.com
So many races, so little time. No sooner am I back from three weeks travelling around the Canaries, Spain, Italy and France covering races and I am back in France for Ice Trail Tarentaise and then the Skyrunning European Championships in Canazei, the Dolomites. Don’t get me wrong; I absolutely love what I do. But it can be difficult to keep up… of course Western States occurred while I was travelling, I did manage to preview that and now as I am sitting in Italy to head to Val D’Isère, Hardrock 100 is due to start. So, here is a preview.
Just a week ago the race looked as though it may have problems due to wildfires. However, the fires subsided and the race is on. In comparison to previous years, the route appears to have less snow, so a faster time may well be a possibility. Although the race has a quality field, it ultimately looks like a two horse race in both the men’s and ladies races.
Joe Grant is returning after second place last year and sacrificed participation in Ronda dels Cims to make sure he is in the best possible shape to win. He had an awful run at Transvulcania in May after picking up a bug that would appear to have leaped around many of the elite runners staying at the same hotel. A bug that took Anton Krupicka out of the race. Joe dedicated late 2012 and early 2013 to the Iditarod Trail Invitational, a super long race in freezing temperatures pulling a sled. He should be well recovered now and I am sure the benefits of that race will come to the fore at Hardrock 100.
Sebastien Chaigneau, TNFUTMB 2012 copyright iancorless.com
Last minute entrant, Sebastian Chaigneau has wanted to run this race for some time and he finally gets his chance. Always a tough competitor, this long, hard and gnarly course will work to his strengths and I think you will see Joe and Seb battle at the front of the race. Joe has two advantages; he has done the race before and he will also be more adapted to the altitude. It will be a compelling race to watch.
Speedgoat is returning, like Joe he knows this course like the back of his hand. He had a few problems early this year with a niggling calf but despite all logic, he turned up at Western States just a few weeks ago and still pulled off tenth place. Possibly the most experienced 100 miler on the planet, you can never rule Karl Meltzer out!
Jared Campbell at Ronda dels Cims copyright iancorless.com
Jared Campbell needs no introduction; he loves races that are tough gnarly and a challenge. He recently raced the super tough 177km Ronda dels Cims and finished 7th. When I interviewed him the day after the race he looked fresh and trouble free. Ronda took him nearly 34 hours and that has to leave some fatigue in the body, however, I think we will see him improve on his 13th overall at Hardrock 100 in 2012.
Scott Jamie is an experienced Hardrocker (does that term exist). Anyway, he has finished in the top ten five times with a best overall placing of second. He appears to be in good shape with a recent win at Antelope Island Buffalo run.
Other male contenders:
LADIES
Diana Finkel was out front last year and dominating the race. Karl Meltzer sums it up when he says, ‘Diana is the best in the business on these long tough courses, and she can hike really quick’. However, she dropped at just over 80 miles last year due to ongoing health issues that she needs to monitor. It was very much a safety precaution and the correct call. Diana will be gunning for the top of the podium and if her health remains positive, I think we will see her in the no1 slot in the ladies race… don’t rule her out for the ‘overall’ too!
Last years winner, Darcy Africa returns and will be looking for a repeat performance. When Diana dropped in 2012 she was 1 hour behind, so, Darcy will need to up her game a little if she wants to remain in contention in 2013. It’s going to be an exciting battle.
Other female contenders:
RACE WEBSITE HERE
IAN CORLESS 