Tom Owens is back…

Posted on December 8, 2013 by talkultra

Salomon International athlete, Tom Owens is back… this weekend Tom raced in Tenerife at the K42 Canaries Anaga Marathon and took out the win!

Tom Owens Trofeo Kima 2012 ©iancorless.com

Tom had an incredible season in 2012 racing and placing at a very high level in the Skyrunning World Series. He was one of the few runners to give Kilian Jornet a race. You can read my interview with him HERE.

Tom and his followers had looked forward to 2013. We all expected an improvement and a move up a notch to another level. However, disaster struck and Tom has been out of racing for much of ’13’ and several months ago had an operation.

In his recovery Tom took to cycling but stuck to his ‘off-road’ roots and participated in cyclocross racing to maintain his fitness.

Tom Owens Trofeo Kima 2012 ©iancorless.com

Tom’s participation in the K42 Anaga Marathon on the lagoon side of the island may very well be a relatively low-key return to racing, however, a victory is a victory and it’s a great sign that Tom will be back in 2014. To gain victory, he did have to beat some strong competition from Raul Camara (NB), Pablo Villa (Scott), Yeray Duran and Raul Burgos.

By 33km, Tom had a commanding lead and victory was almost guaranteed from second placed runner and 2012 victor, Raul Camara.

Tom Owens in 4:11:26
Raul Camara 4:15:58
David Joseph Lutzardo 4:23:34

In the ladies race, Buff athlete Emma Rocca was victorious in 4:55:07

Race website: http://www.k42anagamarathon.com

K42 series : http://www.k42series.com

MARMOT24™ – A NEW 24-HOUR MOUNTAIN MARATHON

Posted on November 21, 2013 by talkultra

The World’s first 24-hour mountain marathon, the inaugural Marmot24, will be held on the weekend 2nd and 3rd August 2014.

This exciting new event combines the very best elements of the predominantly British mountain marathon phenomenon with aspects of the more international, 24-hour rogaining events. With mountain running and navigation at the heart of the event competitors will have 24, 12 or 6-hours to visit as many checkpoints as possible on a score format course. With the 24-hour race starting at noon Saturday, the 12-hour race starting at midnight Saturday and the 6-hour race starting at 0600 on the Sunday morning, everyone will finish at 12 noon on the Sunday in an exciting and dramatic finale to a memorable weekend of racing.

©JonBrooke

Seven times OMM Elite winner, Steve Birkinshaw was quick to state that, “A non-stop 24-hour mountain marathon has been missing from the UK calendar, the Marmot24™ fill this gap. It sounds like a great event that I am really looking forward to competing in.”

©RobHowar

Race Director, Shane Ohly explained his thoughts about the new race, “I’ve actually been injured since August and this has given me some extra time – when I would normally be running – to think about concepts for events and as Steve Birkinshaw said, a 24-hour mountain marathon really was the missing piece in the current range of mountain marathon events in the UK. So, by this time next year, there will be high quality mountain marathon events each month from the Highlander in April through to the OMM in October. There will also be a great variety of events with the 3-day format Great Lakeland 3Day™, score format races like the RAB Mountain Marathon and even an overnight winter event with Marmot Dark Mountains each January.

Marmot24 will have a central event centre within the event area where all teams will start and finish. The location of the controls is such that competitors can choose to pass through the event centre during the race, with the two-person teams making the choice whether to rest, or eat, whilst the four-person teams can tag-in their team mates; swapping tired runners for fresh runners. The event centre will be a hub of activity with a large marquee, race control, retail shop, catering and camping for competitors and supporters. Supporters are actively encouraged and they can provide help for the competitors at the event centre.

©JonBrooke

With events like the Dragon’s Back Race™, the Great Lakeland 3Day™ and Marmot Dark Mountains™, Shane Ohly and his team from Ourea Event have been steadily building a reputation for delivering high quality mountain running events in recent years. This years 2013 OMM Elite winner, Nick Barrable, was happy to lend his endorsement, “Experienced race organiser Shane Ohly, always puts on a good show and I am sure that much fun will be had.”

Marmot UK Sales Director, Hugh Harris said, “After the great response to Marmot Dark Mountains™ (MDM), we wanted to extend Marmot’s support of mountain based events. MDM is brilliant, but it’s deliberately extreme and targeted at experienced, and seemingly masochistic participants! After working very successfully with Shane Ohly and his company Ourea, on MDM, we asked him to create a brand new summer event for us that would be open to a much broader range of participants. The result is Marmot24, and we’re really excited to be launching it this week.”

Key Event Information

Website: www.Marmot24.com

Date: 2nd & 3rd August 2014

Venue: Northern England

Entry: from £55

Courses: 24-hour, 12-hour and 6-hour

Epic Marathon Camps – Morocco

Posted on October 28, 2013 by talkultra

Another year will soon be over, it will be January and you will be feeling the effects of all those extra calories and you will realize that you are way behind with your training… yes, Spring is just around the corner and irrespective of your 2014 events distance, your are going to need to kick start your training and get in shape! What better way to get the ball rolling or should I say, the legs running than a week in Morocco.

Epic Marathon Camps are ideal for runners of all ability and provide the opportunity to train and learn with like-minded individuals in a fantastic location, close to Marrakesh, Morocco.

The foothills of the Atlas Mountains will become your playground. Alice Morrison and Charlie Shepherd will be your hosts for the week along with coaches, Holly Rush and Karl Zeiner.

Combining excellent facilities with superb views and a high level of comfort. The hotel for the week has two swimming pools, a spa, and numerous different areas in which to exercise or relax. The venue’s style and philosophy fits perfectly; to offer a traditional Moroccan experience in comfort and style and with access to some superb scenery that is perfectly suited to physical training.

‘It’s quite simple, both Charlie and myself have entered the Marathon des Sables for 2014. Charlie has great experience of Morocco and has already coordinated multiple camps in the area, it seemed logical that we should extend our portfolio to a run specific camp,’ explained Alice.

Holly Rush is a TeamGB athlete and in 2013 placed 7^th lady at the highly competitive Comrades Ultra Marathon in South Africa. In addition to this, Holly won a Bronze medal at the World Mountain Marathon Championships.

Karl Zeiner recently placed 16^th overall at the ‘Ring of Fire’ in the UK and brings an extensive knowledge of marathon and ultra marathon training to the camp.

I asked Holly about her expectations of the camp and what participants can expect…

‘We are specifically targeting runners who want to get away from the January blues at home and get stuck into some focused, specific endurance training with like minded people in beautiful surroundings.’ Holly said with a look of eagerness on her face, ‘The January camps will be a great way to kick start the New Year with a possible eye on a spring marathon or ultra.’

Morocco is the ideal place to enjoy some winter sun without a long haul flight and yet once you arrive it will feel like you could be in another world. Participants will have the opportunity to train on a variety of surfaces, road, trail, sand and of course hills so every run can be different.

The camp can be as involved as each individual person requires. The team will offer plenty of easy running, all guided of course so that it’s possible to investigate the surroundings. Specific session will be mixed in to the week, threshold, marathon race pace, reps and hill repeats will keep everyone literally on there toes.

A unique selling point of EMC (Epic Marathon Camps) will be the magnificent location, high-end accommodation and facilities and of course the knowledgeable staff with quality training.

‘The camp will provide the perfect running experience allowing each and every person with one-to-one sessions with Holly and Karl.’ Explained Charlie. ‘It doesn’t stop there… days are based around running, core building, stretching and in the evenings lectures will be available about specific subjects to help progress each participants individual progression in the sport they love. Tired and aching bodies will be eased with in-house massage as required.’

Running is not only about miles, it is also about the food we eat and how we can enhance food choices so that we become efficient in every aspect of the sport. To that end, a nutritionist will be available for the whole week (a keen runner and cyclist herself) inspirational, balanced and incredible cuisine will be provided. You know you are on to a winner when the chef says, ‘I would never sacrifice taste for calories’.

Places are limited for the January training camps, January 11^th to 18^th/ January 19^th to 26^th.

The price for the all-inclusive week (transfers to-and-from the airport in Morocco, food, soft drinks, laundry and all services from the coaches) will be £1,495 for seven days (excl flights)

Please use the enquiry form below to receive a special £50 discount from the Epic Marathon Camps team.

LINKS

Training Camp Dates HERE
You can view the website HERE
Follow on Twitter @EpicMCamps
And ‘Like’ on Facebook ‘Epic Marathon Camps’

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

*This is an advetorial post on behalf of Epic Marathon Camps

Pikes Peak Marathon 2013 – Race Preview

Posted on August 17, 2013 by talkultra

Though heavy rains and flooding have caused havoc in Manitou Springs, the famous Skyrunner World Series Pikes Peak Marathon will go ahead as planned with the Ascent starting at 7 a.m. on Saturday and the Marathon at 7 a.m. Sunday.

“Our primary event locations, Memorial Park and Soda Springs Park were flooded and are unusable this year,” said race director Ron Ilgen. “We’ve decided to go with the smallest event footprint we can in order to reduce impact to the city.” Taken from HERE

The Course

The race begins in front of the City Hall in Manitou Springs, 6 miles west of Colorado Springs, Colorado. The majority of both races are run on Barr Trail in Pike National Forest. Barr Trail is a US Forest Service trail that is on the east face of Pikes Peak and Rocky Mountain. The course has an elevation gain of (start to summit) is 7,815′ (2,382 meters). The start is at 6,300′ (1,920m) and the summit is 14,115′ (4,302m).

The course for the 26.21 mile Pikes Peak Marathon^® covers the same route as the 13.32 mile Pikes Peak Ascent^® race but returns down the trail from the summit and finishes at Ruxton and Manitou Avenues in Manitou Springs

The Race

MEN

Alex Nichols in the Alps ©iancorless.com

2012 winner Kilian Jornet (3:40:26) will not return to Pikes Peak in 2013 and therefore this leaves the door open for Alex Nichols, (inov-8)2^nd in 2012, to move up the podium to the top slot and potentially improve on his time of 3:47:22. He is a local lad, knows the course like the back of his hand and he is without doubt the hot favorite. Last years third place, Max King will also not race and therefore the main protagonist for Alex will be Cameron Clayton. Cameron raced last weekend at Dakota Jones’s Telluride mountain ascent and won and although he will race in Swiitzerland next weekend at the Skyrunning, Matterhorn Ultraks, I am sure he will bring his ‘A’ game to Pikes Peak.

Cameron Clayton at Transvulcani La Palma ©iancorless.com

Although I have not had 100% confirmation, Fulvio Dapit may well toe the line, if he does, Fulvio without a doubt will push Cameron and Alex all the way to the line and has all the potential to top the podium. In addition, Jokin Lizeaga Mitxelena is very strong and he too will race at the Matterhorn Ultraks.

The rest of the men’s field does have depth and we can see many of the following runners looking for top ten placings: Gary Gellen, inov-8, Narc Caros, FEEC, Mikael Pasero, New Balance, Dai Matsumoto, Hagolfs *injued, Toru Miyahara, La Sportiva, Eric Diaz Martin, FEEC, Josep Vines Soler, FEEC and Oscar Casil Mir, FAM.

LADIES

Emelie Forsberg (4:28:07) 2012 ladies winner will also not return and in addition, last years second, Kasie Enman or third, Mireia Miro Varela will not return, so, who is the hot tip?

Step in Stevie Kremer. Stevie has been on fire for the last twelve months, she has been racing regularly and making consistent podium places. Just last weekend she placed second at the iconic Sierre-Zinal. For me, Stevie is the outright favorite, however, she hasn’t had much time at altitude lately and that may play against her.

Stevie Kremer at Zegama-Aizkorri ©iancorless.com

On the face of it, the ladies field looks wide open, but expect pressure to be applied from, Laia Anfreu Trias, FEEC, Leila Degrave and Ragna Debats.

LINKS:

Skyrunning HERE

Pikes Peak Facebook HERE

In Progress Results HERE

Eirik Haugsnes joins inov-8

Posted on August 10, 2013 by talkultra

Prior to the Skyrunner World Series event in Chamonix, France, six weeks ago, Eirik Haugsnes was a relative unknown in the sport of athletic superhumans.

Two outstanding performances under the shadow of Mont Blanc, however, changed all that.

First the 32-year-old Norwegian, who lives in one of Europe’s most northerly outposts, far from the skyrunning hub, claimed the scalps of many top mountain runners when placing third in the brutal Mont Blanc Vertical Km race.

Less than 48 hours later Eirik was at it again, this time finishing fifth in the elite-stacked Mont Blanc Marathon, which sees athletes tackle over 2,500m of grueling mountain ascent.

Having never previously raced in the Alps or over the marathon distance, suddenly he found himself as one of the hottest properties in skyrunning.

It’s therefore no surprise to learn of inov-8’s delight at recruiting Eirik to their talented international team, beating off interest from rival brands in doing so.

“The weekend in Chamonix was an incredible one for me,” says Eirik, who wore inov-8’s X-Talon 190 shoes in the vertical km and Trailroc 245 footwear for the marathon.

“I’ve done a lot of uphill-only races in Norway over steep and technical terrain and knew the Mont Blanc Vertical Km would suit me.

“As a relative unknown I was given an early individual start time, while the guys expected to clock the fastest times set off later.

“I just went for it. I pushed hard right from the beginning and maintained that intensity all the way up the climb.

“To get the third fastest time (35:02) and be within 30 seconds of the winner (Saul Antonio Padua Rodriguez) was really pleasing.

“I wasn’t supposed to be doing the Mont Blanc Marathon two days later, but on the back of my result in the vertical km race I was offered a place.

“Again, I gave it absolutely everything in the race and maintained a really good pace. The last 10km, however, were really tough. My body was in pain but I pushed through it.

“It was my first race over the marathon distance so to clock 3:47:59 and finish fifth over such a tough course was great.

“I also did it without any support. I had no team on the course to help me and drank only what was at the aid stations.

“I noticed inov-8 had a big team in Chamonix and was really impressed to see five of their runners place in the top-10 men and women for the marathon.

“I have always loved the brand, its philosophy and their big ambitions, so to now join the inov-8 team is really exciting for me.”

Living in Finnsnes, Troms, Eirik was brought up on a diet of cross-country skiing and was one of the best juniors in Norway, recording many podium places in national competitions.

In 2002, he achieved a then-world record for the fastest time skiing unsupported across Greenland, enduring terrifying whiteouts on route – something he says has aided his mental toughness for mountain running.

Eirik began running just five years ago and has since become one of the best mountain exponents in Norway, where many races are uphill-only, featuring ascent of between 500m and 1,800m.

This year, prior to his Chamonix double-header, he finished fifth in two very different races – first the Empire State Building Run-up in New York, which he completed in 11 minutes and four seconds, and then the 83km Transgrancanaria ultra-marathon on the Spanish Island of Gran Canaria, for which he clocked 8:55:24.

“The Empire State Building Run-Up involves scaling 86 floors and 1,576 steps as quickly as possible,” he said.

“In the town where I live the tallest building I could find has five floors. I did a lot of repetitions of those five floors in training!

“Before Transgrancanaria the only off-road races I had done were uphill races in Norway, so it was a totally new experience for me to be competing both up and down big mountains.

“I also went there having only trained in the snow, which every year covers our town between November and May – I think I live closer to the North Pole than the Canary Islands!

“I was therefore happy to finish fifth on the hard-packed trails, especially as for the last 30km I was totally wasted and running on empty.”

The Matterhorn Ultraks is part of the Skyrunner World Series and will see athletes battle it out over a stunning course that includes 3,600m of ascent.

And as for being the new kid on the skyrunning block, he adds: “I rise to it. I think it gives me an advantage. There are no big expectations on my shoulders, except those I put on myself.

“I will continue to run for adventure and to challenge my limits.”

LINK:

inov-8 HERE

Mont Blanc Marathon summary

Posted on June 30, 2013 by talkultra

The Skyrunning Mont Blanc Marathon, part of the Skyrunner® World Series weekend has really been a truly incredible experience. Mont Blanc, location of the 2014 Skyrunning World Champuionships, the 2013 event was so much more than a test run for next year!

The VK on Friday was an exhibition of exploding lungs and legs full of lactic acid as 400 runners climbed 1000 vertical meters over a 3.8km course – follow HERE

Today however, Sunday, was the classic marathon with a stellar field toeing the line to tackle a tough but fast course over the Mont Blanc mountain range. Wet and misty weather from Saturday cleared to one of the most glorious days in the mountains I have had the pleasure to witness.

Course records fall at the 2013 Mont Blanc Marathon

If you have never seen the Mont Blanc mountain range, a photo may give an impression but the awe inspiring majesty of these enormous beasts is a sight to behold and remember. They are truly incredible.

At 0700 two thousand runners departed from the square in Chamonix. The early pace was relentless over the first 10km’s due to relatively flat and very runnable terrain.

A lead group of men sped past at Argentiere pushing the pace hard. As expected, the main protagonists of the day were present; Kilian Jornet, Marco De Gasperi, Luis Alberto Hernando, Florian Reichert, Nicola Golinelli, Didier Zago, Alex Nichols, Tofol Castanyer and Salomon Team Manager, Greg Vollet amongst other.

First lady was Stevie Kremer. Pushing the pace hard very early on she shouted as she passed, “they are not far behind”. As it happened, at this early stage in the race she already had a ninety second lead over Emelie Forsberg.

On the trails the terrain changed and started to undulate. Kilian Jornet, Marco De Gasperi along with Luis Alberto Hernando and Nicola Golinelli started to pull away from the rest of the filed. Stevie Kremer extended her lead from ninety second to three minutes and this pattern continued.

At the Col de Posettes the race was blown apart with Kilian Jornet and Marco De Gasperi pushing each other stride-for-stride. Four minutes later Luis Alberto Hernando arrived. Nicola Golinelli was pursued by team mate Didier Zago and then we had Alex Nicholls and Florian Reichert. The pace was relentless.

Alex Nicholls and Florian Reichert

Stevie Kremer flew down the descent and I waited… three, four, five, eight, ten and then Emelie came in sight… she was ten minutes and thirty seconds behind Stevie. Quite incredible! Emelie did say post race that she was having stomach issues, “I take nothing away from Stevie’s incredible performance, but today I just couldn’t push, I had no additional energy”.

Stevie Kremer on the Col de Posettes

From Tre les Champ at 1363m and approximately 32km into the course, the final 10km was all uphill! A relentless climb was broken with some relief just after Flegere before the final push to the summit finish at Plangraz, 2016m.

First around the bend was Kilian Jornet. Waving to the crowds he approached the line, turned, gave his usual one arm wave and then bent double as he tried to recover from the effort, 3h30’41 a new course record!

Marco De Gasperi was second just over a minute later. the two sparring partners had pushed each other to the line and in the process had once again provided an incredible racing spectacle that we can only look upon in disbelief.

Luis Alberto Hernando completed the podium. Post race he expressed his thoughts, “I have been training for longer races and I found the early relentless pace difficult to keep up with. However, from half way I improved and felt good. Maybe I am a little tired?”.

Stevie Kremer absolutely dominated the ladies race and blew the old course record off the scale by some twenty five minutes, her time of 4h03’16 placed her within the top 20! As she approached the line she could finally relax and that incredible smile appeared on her face. It was a stunning performance and one that many of us will never forget.

Emelie Forsberg arrived twenty two minutes later, despite her issues during the race she smiled and waved to the crowds. Emelie in her meteoric rise in the sport has become a firm crowd favorite and the cheers from all who watched acknowledged this.

Celine Lafaye completed the podium closely followed by Silvia Serafini. The Mont Blanc Marathon really was a showcase event. The anticipation for the 2014 World Skyrunning Championships will now start in earnest, with the inclusion of an 80km event, the race weekend will provide participants the option to race over the three classic Skyrunning disciplines:

VK
Sky
Ultra

Notable mentions must go to the incredible performances from the inov-8 International Skyrunning Team and Arc’teryx, both placed runners in the top ten.

Attention now turns to the Skyrunning Ice Trail Tarantaise and the European Championships in July – Information HERE

Links:

Skyrunning HERE
Marathon Mont Blanc HERE

IMAGES FROM THE RACE AVAILABLE HERE

Results

1° Kilian Jornet 3h30’41 NEW COURSE RECORD
2° Marco De Gasperi 3h31’42 –
3° Luis-Alberto Hernando-Alzaga 3h36’14

1° Stevie Kremer 4h03’16 NEW COURSE RECORD
2° Emelie Forsberg 4h25’10
3° Céline Lafaye 4h35

It’s VK day for Aussie inov-8 runners

Posted on June 28, 2013 by talkultra

Brendan Davies and Shona Stephenson have both had incredible starts to the 2013 season. Members of the newly formed inov-8 International Skyrunning Team they are now in Europe to test themselves against some of the best runners in the world.

The Skyrunning VK is something both will never have experienced before. Standing in Chamonix and looking up they see 1000 vertical meters ahead of them. At 3.8km’s long how hard can it be…?

The answer is easy. HARD!

Lungs will burn and legs will ache as each participant pushes to the limit. Who will cover the distance and conquer the elevation in the fastest time?

Just two days later, Brendan & Shona will line up for the Mont Blanc Marathon, a classic Sky race with an extremely competitive field. Racing the best in the world, these Aussie runners will face up against Kilian Jornet, Luis Alberto Hernando, Marco De Gasperi, Emelie Forsberg, Stevie Kremer, Anna Frost, Silvia Serafini and so on… as Brendan says, “It’s a dream come true to be in Europe racing on such incredible terrain against the best in the world, it’s a very exciting experience and one I am relishing”.

Southern hemisphere running is going through a boom period at the moment, Brendan and Shona are at the forefront of the sport. The vision of the inov-8 International Skyrunning Team is not only enabling the sport to progress within the UK but also on a much wider scale. Lauri Van Houten, Skyrunning Vice President, more than anybody is aware of the growth and expansion. 2012 was a breakthrough year for the International Skyrunning Federation. The Skyrunner World Series attracted the best International runners from trail and ultra. The consensus from all participants is that what Skyrunning offers is mind blowing,

Links:

inov-8 HERE

Brendan Davies HERE

Shona Stephenson HERE

Skyrunning HERE

Team Arc’teryx at Chamonix

Posted on June 28, 2013 by talkultra

Team Arc’teryx line up in Chamonix with a quality field to race the Skyrunning VK and Marathon part of the Skyrunning World Series. Team members, Tessa Hill, Didier Zago, Nicola Golinelli, Didier Zago and Florian Reichert are excited once again to be testing themselves against very competitive fields.

Tessa Hill placed 2nd at Ribagosa VK and has high hopes for Chamonix. She realises it won’t be an easy race, “It’s all about monitoring your effort, push too hard, just by a fraction and you pay for it” Tessa says, “I am looking for a good consistent race and plan to run as much as I can”.

Florian Reichert had his first introduction to Skyrunning at Zegama-Aizkorri and performed exceptionally well, “I was in the top ten and was able to use my speed on the flat and climbing sections, however, I need to improve my descending”. Of course, Florian wont have a problem descending on the VK course! On Sunday he will race the marathon and this will suit him. He will have the potential to use his speed and run his own race.

Nicola Golinelli is an experienced Skyrunner and often excels at the VK and ‘Sky’ distances. For sure, this weekend will suit his abilities and skills. When asked about recover he said, “the key when racing a VK and then a marathon just a day later is all about recovery. The VK may only be short but it is extremely hard on the body. I will hydrate and rest and hopefully come Sunday I will feel fresh”.

Didier Zago is also an experienced Skyrunner and he will use all his past experiences to great effect over the VK and Marathon. Like Nicola, he also says that recovery is key, “many will say that the VK is only 2.8km long and so therefore it is easy… it is not, you go up for 1000 vertical meters, this hurts the lungs and the legs”.

It is possible to follow all races live over race weekend here: http://mbm.livetrail.net

Links:

Arc’teryx HERE

Skyrunning HERE

Mont Blanc Marathon Preview

Posted on June 25, 2013 by talkultra

The Race:

The Mont Blanc Marathon needs no introduction! Starting from the center of Chamonix (1035m) the race route over the classic marathon distance has has a positive vertical gain of 2511 meters and an elevation loss of 1490meters.   The route climbs steadily towards the upper valley, progressively passing through the hamlets of “les Bois” and Lavancher to reach Argentière at 1250m. Following a trail towards Le Planet the route traverses to the Balcon Nord before heading down towards Montroc. On leaving Montroc village runners take the trail towards Tré le Champ and go towards Col des Montets.

Crossing the “Col des Montets” at 1461m in the heart of the Aiguilles Rouges Nature Reserve runners take the old stage-coach route along the “chemin des Diligences”, the old stage-coach route to arrive at the hamlet of Buet before reaching Vallorcine at 1260 m.

Climbing to the Col des Possettes at 1997m via a trail leaving from the Plan de l’envers progression is made onwards to the highest point of the course at the Aiguilles des Possettes (2201m). The climb and exhaustion is worth it… each participant is rewarded by a breathtaking panorama of the Mont Blanc range.

Facing the ‘Aiguille Verte’ and the Mont Blanc range, the route Following the ridgeline of the ‘aiguillette’ and facing the ‘Aiguille Verte’ it is now time to descend in the direction of Tré le Champ.

A pretty trail toward le Tour, runners cross through a village, and then the Tour glacier. Taking a north-facing trail towards Montroc, cross through hamlets of the Frasserands and Tré le Champ. Now at the heart of the Aiguilles Rouges massif, opposite the Mont-Blanc range, the route climbs up towards la Flégère (1875 m). Cross the magnificent Charlanon Comb (1812m) and then the gradient increases until just before the arrival at Planpraz at 2050 m giving one of the most beautiful views of the Mont-Blanc.

The race is done!

Results 2012:

Ladies:

2012: Maude Mathys (SUI) 4h28’17’’

Mens:

2012: Kilian Jornet (ESP) 3h38’24’’

Key players in the 2013 race

Without doubt the 2013 Mont Blanc Marathon has quality and depth in abundance in both the ladies and men’s fields. The second race in the Skyrunning World Series, we now have a clear indication of who is in form and who is coming in to form. Stand out names are Kilian Jornet and Emelie Forsberg. After topping the podium at Transvulcania La Palma and Zegama-Aizkorri, will the Salomon duo remain on the top step when the race is completed on Sunday?

Men:

Kilian Jornet – Salomon Santiveri, without doubt is the out-and-out favorite for the race. Last years winner is in form and firing on all cylinders, it is his home playground and he knows the route like the back of his hand. Post his win at Zegama-Aizkorri were he had a head-to-head battle with Luis Alberto Hernando, Kilian he has done some shorter races and he has won all of them.

Luis Alberto Hernando – Adidas is without doubt a great addition to the race. His second place at Transvulcania La Palma, followed up with a second place (just 12 seconds) behind Kilian Jornet at Zegama-Aizkorri fmeans that we have a battle on our hands! A couple of weekends ago he ran Haria Extreme and produced a strong and convincing performace. Without doubt a potential winner for the race.

Tofol Castanyer – Salomon Santiveri, was forced to miss Zegama-Aizkorri due to injury so his form may not be 100%, however, he loves the mountains and he knows how to race.

Marco De Gasperi – Scott, despite dropping at half way at Zegama was showing some fine form. He was head-to-head with Kilian and pushing him. He has had some injury issues (hence the drop at Zegama) but he seems to be well on his way to a full recovery and is coming back strong. Kilian and Marco have 100% respect for each other and love to push each other to the line… we may very well see a repeat battle of the Luis Alberto Hernando and Kilian battle at Zegama, re run over the course in Mont Blanc.

Florian Reichert – Arc’teryx/ Inov-8, is new to Skyrunning but he has speed! Despite the odds, he pulled out a great first race at Zegama-Aizkorri and not only survived but also performed exceptionally well. With his duck over he will come to Mont Blanc with renewed confidence. Without doubt he will have worked on improving his technical running ability and descending. If he can add his natural speed to improved technique, he may well be one to watch!

Nicola Golinelli – Arc’teryx, always performs well in the mountains and Skyrunning events. He is the 2010 combined events champion. He will bring mountain skill and speed to the Mont Blanc course.

Ben Bardsley – Inov-8, had a troubled race at Zegama-Aizkorri with a calf strain. At this moment in time we are unsure of his rehabilitation but his skills on the fells and regular trips and training in Chamonix will mean that if fit, he will be one-to-watch.

Brendan Davies – Inov-8, has had an incredible 2013 with top placing’s at the super competitive Tarawera Ultra in New Zealand, a top five at UTMF 100 in Japan and then a win and new CR at TNF100 in Australia. He is fired up and his running is re-invigorated with sponsorship from the Inov-8 International Team. Fast over the marathon and 100km distance, hos only downfall at Mont Blanc may well be his ability over tough and technical terrain. He has all the ability to be top three and without doubt, he will not be aiming for anything else.

Alex Nichols – Inov-8, scored a top 5 at the Sky Games in 2012, his first outing in a Skyrunning event. He said, “It was a learning curve’. He recently came over to Zegama-Aizkorri to race but pulled a muscle early in the race forcing him to drop. With Pike Peak on his doorstep in the US he has plenty of opportunity to practice ascending and descending, combined with natural speed he will be a force at the front of the race.

Scott Dunlap – Inov-8, has already had a busy start to 2013, he PR’d at Boston Marathon with 2:44:35 and most recently he has run Silver State 50m in sub 10 hours. Scott has the potential for a good race but I don’t see him in contention at the front of the race.

Nicolas Pianet – New Balance, winner of the race in 2010 and 2011 and fourth last year will have some stiff competition this year and will need to provide everything within himself to fight such tough competition.

Marc Pinsach – FEEC, just recently was joint first place at the 35kmVolta Cerdanya Ultrafons with no other than kilian Jornet. Marc, like Kilian, is a ski mountaineer and they have often competed together at the world and European championships. Ranked 8^th in the World in 2010 in the ‘team’ race, 4^th in the ‘world relay’ in 2011 and in 2012 he was 5^th in the ‘European championship team’ event; all with Kilian as his partner. He has incredible ability and a true ‘Alpinist’ approach.

The depth and quality of the Mont Blanc Marathon field means that it is just not possible to review everyone, however, here is a list of other main contenders who may well shine in the Alps.

Male contenders:

Fabio Bazzana – Crazy Idea, Sota Ogawa – Salomon, Fabio Tonolo – Salomon Agisko, Giulio Ornati – Salomon Agisko, Daniele Cappelletti – Valetudo Skyrunning, Gyorgy Szabolics Istavans – Valetudo Skyrunning, Ryan Bak – Scott, Didier Zago – Arc’teryx, Marc Caros – FEEC, Just Sociats Asensio – FEEC, Jose Lozano Garcia – FEEC, Jordi Bes Ginesta – FEEC, Joan Valls Gomez – FEEC, Oscar Csal Mir – FEEC, Roberto Sancho Martinez – Diedre-Matxacuca, Daniel Cazalla Lorite – Diedre-Matxacuca, Paloma Lobera Grau – Diedre-Matxacuca, Daniel Cazalla Lorite – Diedre-Matxacuca, Francesc Marti Bertomeu – Diedre-Matxacuca, Josep Cuadrat Besa – Diedre-Matxacuca, Eugenia Moro Bertomeu – Diedre-Matxacuca, Josep Cuadrat Besa – Diedre-Matxacuca, Artem Rostovtsev – Russian Skyrunning.

Ladies:

Emelie Forsberg – Salomon, come to Mont Blanc as the outright favorite. In just one year Emelie has become a star of mountain running. Her 2012 season progressed and progressed and culminated with a stunning win at San Francisco 50. She started her 2013 season with win at Transgrancanaria running the marathon. A dominant performance at Transvulcania La Palma saw her not only stand victorious on top of the podium but she only missed Anna Frosts CR by minutes. Just a few weeks ago she again showed her form with a win at Zegama-Aizkorri. She will take some beating at Mont Blanc! However, she will not have an easy race. The ladies race is stacked.

Stevie Kremer – Salomon Agisko, had her first outing in a Skyrunning event Zegama-Aizkorri and learnt many things… probably the most important thing is that she can believe in herself and that she really does have the ability to perform at the highest level against the best in the world. She took the race to the ladies at Zegama and I am 100% sure that we will see a repeat performance in the Alps. Definite podium place and without doubt she has all the ability required to stand on top of it.

Silvia Serafini – Salomon Agisko, another star in the making! Silvia comes from a road background but she has adapted to the trails and mountain running exceptionally well. Like her teammate Stevie Kremer, she has every possibility to be on the podium. At Zegama-Aizkorri was having an incredible race running in the top four, unfortunately she twisted an ankle in the latter stages and although she finished she had dropped several places (6^th) and was in pain. Providing she has no knock on effects Silvia will perform at the highest level and without doubt has the potential to be on the podium or top five.

Oihana Kortazar – Salomon Santiveri, 2012 winner of Zegama-Aizkorri excels in the high mountains, particularly when the course is tough and technical. Her recent form is in question as she dropped at Zegama, however, you can never rule her out. She will want to prove something at Mont Blanc and put the record straight.

Shona Stephenson – Inov-8, is travelling from Australia as part of the Inov-8 International Skyrunning Team. She has had quite an incredible start to 2013 with impressive runs and results over a variety of distances and terrain. Shona was second at UTMF 100 in Japan, third at TNF100 in Australia and now Europe and the high mountains. Without doubt she has ability but this Mont Blanc course may well be a little too short and technical for her. I can’t help but think she will need some time in Europe not only to adapt to the pace but the terrain for Skyrunning mountain events.

Other lady contenders:

Stephanie Jiminez – Salomon Agisko, Natalie White – Inov-8, Sarah Ridgeway – Inov-8, Anna Lupton – Inov-8, and Tanya Pacheco.

One thing is for sure; Chamonix and Mont Blanc will see an incredible weekend of racing from June 28^th to July 1st. Many participants in the marathon will also toe the line for the ‘VK’ on Friday. A lung-busting ascent from the center of Chamonix straight up to a measured 1000 m height gain over a course 3.5km long. Great to watch, painful to participate in.

Weekend Schedule:

Friday, June 28, 2013

– Mont Blanc Vertical KM, 400 places, starting from 4:00pm in the center of Chamonix.

Saturday, June 29, 2013

– Mont Blanc Cross, 1500 places, starting at 8:30am on the landing paragliders.

– Mont Blanc 10km, 800 places, starting at 9:00am on the landing paragliders.

– Mont Blanc Mini Cross, from 800m to 3km starting from 11:00am on the landing paragliders.

Sunday, June 30, 2013

– Mont Blanc Marathon, 2000 places, starting at 7:00am in the center of Chamonix.

Stats:

Limited to 2,000 competitors
Distance: 42.195 km / 26.2 miles
Elevation gain: 2,511m Elevation loss: 1,490m
Start: 1,035m. Finish 2,016m
Max altitude: 2,201m (Aiguilles des Possettes)
6 aid stations
9h time limit

Content from Skyrunning.com re VK and Mont Blanc 80k:

The Mont-Blanc Marathon which sold out the 2,000 places many months ago, will be preceded by the KM Vertical on June 28^th where 400 runners will line up for a lung-busting 1,000 metres skywards over the short 3.5 km course. Heading the start-list are Vertical world champions Urban Zemmer (La Sportiva) and Laura Orgué (Salomon).

Urban will be challenged not only by Kilian, last year’s winner in 36’07”, but current Vertical ranking leader, Marco Facchinelli (La Sportiva) and team mates Marco Moletto and Nadir Maguet; but also Nicola Golinelli and Florian Reichert, (Arc’teryx); Ben Bardsley, Brendan Davies, Robbie Simpson (inov-8); Matheo Jacquemoud (Crazy Idea); Oscar Casal and Joan Valls (FAM); Jose Lozano (FEEC) and Artem Rostovtsev (Russian Skyrunning) in the men’s field.

Vertical specialist Laura Orgué (Salomon) will face tough competition from team mates Emelie Forsberg, Oihana Kortazar and Anna Frost as well as last year’s race winner Antonella Confortola; Shona Stephenson, Tessa Hill (Arc’teryx); Silvia Leal and Alba Xandri (FEEC).

Among the events over the weekend organised by the Club des Sports Chamonix, is the new Mont-Blanc 80K on June 28, the first time a race has been held on this course, although shortened due to snow on the course. The race will represent a “test run” for the 2014 Skyrunning World Championships where the three events will be featured.

LINKS:

Skyrunning – HERE

Mont Blanc Marathon HERE

Zegama-Aizkorri 2013 video

Posted on June 11, 2013 by talkultra

A beautiful race that sums up all that is great about mountain running, the 13th Zegama-Aizkorri Marathon, in which Emelie Forsberg and Kilian Jornet topped the podium.

Trail and mountain running beauty at its best! This is what Skyrunning is all about…