Gathered for Kilian’s Classik in the Pyrenees, the team takes time out together on Kilian’s home turf. They run and they have fun! What if that’s their secret…?
Once again another great Salomon Running video filmed by The African Attachment.
If you ever wonder why you run or wonder why you perform well, surely the secret must be because you love what you do. This movie for me sums up that enjoyment, the pleasure of running and enjoying the trails with like minded people.
July 8, 2012
Skyrunners worldwide celebrated their own games today with the final events of the 2012 SkyGames®. Six skyrunning disciplines stretching over two weekends had 1,300 participants and twenty nations competing for the forty medals and 14 world titles at stake.
Host country Spain dominated throughout with a formidable contingent including no less than three skyrunning world champions in their ranks. Luis Alberto Hernando and Nuria Picas were crowned 2012 SkyGames® World Champions in the combined category. The title was based on the highest points scored in the SkySpeed® (100m ascent), the Vertical Kilometer® (1,000m ascent) and the SkyMarathon®.
Both champions clinched the title by winning the compulsory SkyMarathon® outright today – a tough, 42 km race with a punishing 3,000m vertical climb.
The final medal count had Spain soaring ahead with 7 gold medals, 6 silver and 4 bronze, followed by France, Italy, Japan, Andorra and Venezuela.
The ranking points, based on the best results of three men and one woman per nation, read as follows: Spain, Italy, France, Holland, Greece, Andorra, USA, Great Britain, Poland and Switzerland.
New entries we’ll no doubt be seeing more of were Alex Nichols (USA) who, in his first SkyMarathon®, placed an excellent 6th, and Japan’s Dai Matsumoto(6th in the 2006 Andorra SkyGames®) placed 2nd in today’s SkyRace®. Look out for him in the World Series’ races coming up soon.
The six SkyGames® disciplines: SkySpeed, 100 metres vertical climb with a 45% incline; Vertical Kilometer, the universally popular formula, here a mere 3.5 km with a 30% incline; SkyBike – a duathlon combining mtb and skyrunning to 2,000m altitude; SkyRaid – a multi-discipline team relay; the 21 km SkyRace with 1,350m vertical climb, reserved for runners aged 16-21. The events concluded with an epic SkyMarathon reaching 3,100m altitude – valid for the combined points title.
Medal count
After months of preparation, an invasion of thousands, and the spectacular week-long celebrations, the people of the small towns scattered around Ribagorza Románica will return to their quiet ways, welcoming tourists to the Romanic Churches for which they are famed and, possibly, feel just a little nostalgia for the stirring sports events that have touched citizens and participants alike.
The event was sanctioned by FEDME, the Spanish Federation for Mountain Sports.
Follow the events on twitter and Facebook. Official website: www.ocisport.net for details.
I have just returned from a three day media event in the Pyrenees arranged by Arc’teryx and in conjunction with Skyrunning.
Arc’teryx are synonymous for providing superior clothing, backpacks and accessories for mountain sports. In 2013 they are launching a new clothing range called Endorphin. This new range of clothing has been created for male and female runners.
Endorphin will push limits on weight, comfort and protection. Faster and lighter they are designed to maximise athletic performance in varied conditions. Controlling moisture, providing protection from the wind, repelling rain and providing warmth, Endorphin will provide all runners with a selection of products that will not only enhance running experience but will also be a pleasure to wear.
Over the coming months I will testing many products within the range before the release in 2013.
In the Pyrenees I was able to do an initial test on the Skrunning VerticalK course and on a 3.5 hour mountain run in 30 deg temperatures. Attending the camp we had journalists from Sweden, Germany, USA, Spain and Italy and we had the pleasure of being joined by Arc’teryx sponsored athletes Adam Campbell (Canada) Nicola Gollinelli (Italy) Didier Zago (France) Tessa Hill (UK) and Murray Strain (UK). You can read my initial thoughts HERE
Last weekend I was standing around in the pouring 45F rain in the town square of Zegama in the Basque Country of northern Spain. Montana mountain runner Mike Wolfe had just crossed the finish threshold of the Zegama-Aizkorri SkyMarathon in 14th place as the top American and was still visibly amped up about the weather, the course, his race.
“I was passing people like crazy on the climbs, and I consider myself comfortable on technical trails, but these guys just go nuts on the downhills. I’ve never seen people run downhill like that before!”
Hearing that from such an accomplished mountain athlete as Mike helped me realize the true gap that currently exists between long distance mountain races in the U.S. versus those in Europe.
Read the great post in full by Anton Krupicka HERE
Great footage and story telling of one tough marathon at Zegama in the Pyrenees.
IAN CORLESS 