SKYRUNNING 2014 Calendar Announced – SWS14 #SWS14

Posted on November 28, 2013 by talkultra

Kilian Jornet Trofeo Kima 2012 ©iancorless.com

The ISF is pleased to announce the 2014 Skyrunner® World Series. Fifteen quality races, three disciplines, the same winning formula. The 2014 Series will offer participants benefits amounting to 1,000 race slots, 230 free entries, 125 accommodation slots and 50 travel slots.

Five Sky, five Ultra and five Vertical races are distributed across six nations in three continents.

The Sky Series comprises some of the best races in the history of the sport and welcomes back Zegama, Dolomites SkyRace, Course de Sierre-Zinal celebrating its 41^st year, Zermatt’s Matterhorn Ultraks launched this year and Limone Extreme tying up the Series.

Opening the season in May will be the almost legendary Transvulcania Ultramarathon. In its third successful year on the Skyrunner® World Series, the event will be enhanced with a spectacular “sea to sky” Vertical Kilometer®, where contestants climb up the same rugged, steep descent of the long distance race.

The Ultra Series heads over to France for a repeat of the 65 km Ice-Trail Tarentaise over the snow-covered peaks above Val d’Isère. A Vertical Kilometer® will also take place here. From 1996 five editions were held on the imposing Face de Bellevarde, where the first world record was set.

Utah’s Speedgoat 50K returns on the Ultra Series followed by the biennial Kima Trophy. Probably the most emblematic skyrunning event, it will celebrate its 20^th anniversary with skyrunning legends Bruno Brunod and Fabio Meraldi.

Concluding the Ultra Series in September, we welcome new entry, The Rut 50K, in Montana’s appropriately named Big Sky resort. Organised by two American Ultra running icons, Mike Foote and Mike Wolfe, it’s set to make its mark on the international scene. Here, America’s first World Series’ Vertical Kilometer® will also take place in the rugged Montana mountains.

The Italian Dolomites, home of the 2013 European Championships, are again back on the calendar with a SkyRace® and Vertical Kilometer® double.

Italy’s incredibly spectacular and gruelling Limone Extreme SkyRace® and Vertical Kilometer® will again host the World Series final in October on Lake Garda.

462 kilometres across the three disciplines are set off by no less than 36,150 metres vertical climb with inclines between 16% and 50%.

The reward for this gruelling programme? Benefits amounting to US $ 200,000. $ 120,000 cash prizes, $ 25,000 World Series final prizes and $ 55,000 worth of benefits.

The rewards don’t finish here however. There’s more in store with the new Skyrunner® card. Details will be revealed in January 2014.

2014 Skyrunner® World Series

Team partners are a growing success story with two partnership formulas to choose from. At least ten principal outdoor brands are involved. See here for further information for team entries in the World Series.

SKY
1. SPAIN: Maratòn Alpina Zegama-Aizkorri – 42 km – Zegama – May 25
2. ITALY: Dolomites SkyRace® – 22 km – Canazei – July 20
3. SWITZERLAND: Course de Sierre-Zinal – 31 km – Valais – August 10
4. SWITZERLAND: Matterhorn Ultraks – 46 km -Zermatt – August 23
5. ITALY: Limone Extreme SkyRace® – 23 km – Limone sul Garda – October 12

ULTRA

1. SPAIN: Transvulcania Ultramarathon – 83 km, La Palma – May 10
2. FRANCE: Ice Trail Tarentaise – 65 km, Val d’Isère – July 11
3. USA: Speedgoat 50K, Snowbird, Utah – July 19
4. ITALY: Trofeo Kima – Aug 31
5. USA: The Rut 50K, Big Sky, Montana – September 14

VERTICAL
1. SPAIN: Transvulcania Vertical Kilometer® – May 8
2. FRANCE: VK Face de Bellevarde, Val d’Isère – July 11
3. ITALY: Dolomites Vertical Kilometer®, Canazei – July 18
4. USA: Lone Peak Vertical Kilometer® – September 12
5. ITALY: Vertical Grèste de la Mughéra, Limone sul Garda – October 10

*Legend

SKY – races more than 22 km and less than 50 km long with at least 1,300m positive vertical climb (SkyRace® and SkyMarathon®)
ULTRA – races over 50 km long that exceed the SkyMarathon® parameters (Ultra SkyMarathon®)
VERTICAL – races with 1,000m positive vertical climb not exceeding 5 km distance (Vertical Kilometer®)

Skyrunner^®,SkyRace^®, SkyMarathon^®, Vertical Kilometer^®are registered trademarks

Press Release ©ISF

Skyrunning Vertical top 100 men and 50 women

Posted on November 27, 2013 by talkultra

Limone Vertical Extreme, the final of the Vertical World Series, Limone, Italy, 2013. © iancorless.com

After the Ultra and Sky rankings released recently, it is now the turn of the ISF Vertical discipline to announce the top ranked athletes.

Ten races in five continents were selected in the Vertical category and count 239 men from 20 nations and 115 women from15 nations.

Italy leads the men’s ranking followed by Spain and France and places second in the women’s ranking which is led by Spainand followed by France.

The Vertical discipline is clearly at home in the steep and technical terrain of the Alps where skyrunning was born. For added drama, many of the events take place at night. “One thousand metres skywards” however, can be found in many countries and new nations are adopting this fascinating discipline, introduced by the skyrunning inventors in 1994 who registered “Vertical Kilometer®” and it’s derivatives as a trademark. America will feature among the countries including the “VK” in their national calendar. Talking of new nations, it’s also interesting to note the very high performance level of new entries like Norway, ranking 10^th and 12^th

Urban Zemmer, 2012 & 2013 Vertical World Champion heads the Vertical ranking. © iancorless.com The overall ranking has been devised for the three skyrunning disciplines based on 55 races in 2013 (24 Ultra, 21 Sky and 10 Vertical). Among the principal aims was to take into account the quality of the field and the time relative to the winner, along with a proprietary ISF algorithm and other factors.

Here’s the general overview on the calculations previously published in the Ultra and Sky news:

“The ranking was elaborated on the basis of the participation and results obtained by the athletes in the international races selected by the ISF.

In calculating the points, the ranking is based on a proprietary ISF algorithm specifically studied for outdoor running, taking into account a consolidated algorithm used by the International Ski Federation.

Fifty-five races were selected for the 2013 season (24 Ultra, 20 Sky and 10 Vertical) – see ISF announcement in March. The selection was aimed at identifying the world’s most prestigious races with the greatest number of elite athletes participating, as indicated in the ISF news in January.

In each selected race, the first 30 men and first 15 women were counted. For each athlete, points were calculated on the basis of: the final position, the time relative to the winner and the number of elite athletes ahead or behind.

The final points were calculated on the average of the three best results of the season obtained by each athlete. For athletes who did not participate in at least three of the selected races throughout the season, a penalty of 11% was applied to those who participated in only two races, and 22% was applied to those who participated in just one.

The 2014 ranking will be based on 2013, but with a more precise indication of the elite athletes based on the previous year’s ranking.

The ISF ranking will be complete at the end of the 2015 season as the points will be calculated on the average of the previous three seasons with a weighted coefficient for each year.

The ISF assesses the yearly performances in their whole within the context of the results and performance in each race. As in other disciplines, it does not analyse the performance in absolute terms due to the many variables in outdoor running (vertical climb, type of terrain, climate, level of the competition… etc), the comparison between different races or different editions of the same race, would be too approximate.”

Erik Haugsnes, strong new Vertical contender from Norway. © iancorless.com

Here’s the top ten men and women at a glance

2013 ISF Vertical Ranking

Men

1. URBAN ZEMMER (ITA) 301,482

2. KILIAN JORNET BURGADA (ESP) 291,557

3. NEJC KUHAR (SLO) 237,842

4. ALEXIS SEVENNEC-VERDIER (FRA) 235,754

5. PHILIP GOTSCH (ITA) 235,538

6. MARCO FACCHINELLI (ITA) 230,773

7. AUGUSTI ROC AMADOR (ESP) 227,807

8. MARCO MOLETTO (ITA) 227,626

9. SAUL ANTONIO PADUA RODRIGUEZ (COL) 224,861

10. ERIK-DAGSSØNN HAUGSNES (NOR) 219,095

Women

1. LAURA ORGUE VILA (ESP) 230,564

2. CHRISTEL DEWALLE (FRA) 224,725

3. ANTONELLA CONFORTOLA (ITA) 223,595

4. VANESA ORTEGA TRANCON (ESP) 206,194

5. SAMANTHA GALASSI (ITA) 202,008

6. TESSA HILL (GBR) 195,039

7. ALBA XANDRI SUETS (ESP) 189,899

8. EMELIE FORSBERG (SWE) 184,717

9. VALENTINA BELOTTI (ITA) 179,400

10. CELINE LAFAYE (FRA) 168,187

2013 Vertical ranking

Top 100 men

Top 50 women

Article ©ISF

Coffee Table Book – iancorless.com

Posted on November 20, 2013 by talkultra

My 2013 Coffee Table Book is slowly coming together. It is still very early days with a great deal of designing, editing and layout work to be done within the next 7-10 days.

Once designed and a ‘test’ proof has been received, the book will be available for delivery in 8-12 days from ordering.

10×8 inches in size, landscape in format with a hardcover and dust jacket, the book will have 20-pages minimum, however, I anticipate 30-pages to be more appropriate. As you can imagine, selecting images has been a difficult task. So many to choose from…!

Content will be varied and cover locations, places, landscapes, people and of course iconic moments from the 2013 racing season. A minimum of 30 images will be included within the book.

Delivery within the UK is anticipated to be available from Dec 2nd which should allow adequate turnaround and delivery options for pre Christmas. However, at the moment, delivery outside the UK cannot be guaranteed until the New Year.

Price per book £48.00 (plus postage and package)

If you’d like to express interest or pre order, please fill out the form below and I will contact you directly. Many thanks for your support.

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

ISF Sky Ranking

Posted on November 19, 2013 by talkultra

Kilian Jornet & Marco De Gasperi Mont-Blanc Marathon ©iancorless.com

The top 100 men and 50 women in the ISF Sky ranking announced today offer more food for thought after the Ultra rankingannounced earlier. Twenty-one races in five continents were selected in the Sky category. The top 100 men count 487athletes from 37 nations while the top 50 women are calculated out of 216 athletes from 29 nations.

The overall ranking has been devised for the three skyrunning disciplines based on 54 races in 2013 (24 Ultra, 21 Sky and 10 Vertical). One of the principal aims was to take into account the quality of the field and the time relative to the winner, along with a proprietary ISF algorithm and other factors.

Some considerations on the ranking per country for the two distances:

In the Ultra distance France, Spain and USA count four, three and three athletes respectively in the top ten overall. If we take the mean value of the points of the top three ranked athletes per nation, the men’s results show Spain leading (247,649), followed by USA (245,363) and France (236,344).

The women’s Ultra ranking presents a more varied picture however, with, apart from the nations mentioned above, Sweden, Italy and New Zealand featuring. Again, taking the mean value of the top three per nation, Spain leads with (194,477), followed by France (192,846) and USA (190,065).

The Sky discipline with respect to the Ultra counts more nations in the top ten men’s and women’s rankings, with athletes fromfive nations. Again, Spain’s prowess dominates with four men and four women in the top ten overall. In both cases Italy, the cradle of skyrunning, boasts two men and three women in the top ten. In the men’s field, using the above mean value,Spain again leads the ranking with (262,317) followed by Italy (235,146).

The women’s Sky ranking is led by Spain (251,559) followed by Italy (234,246).

Here’s a general overview on the calculations previously published in the Ultra news:

“The ranking was elaborated on the basis of the participation and results obtained by the athletes in the international races selected by the ISF.

Fifty-four races were selected for the 2013 season (24 Ultra, 20 Sky and 10 Vertical) – see ISF announcement in March. The selection was aimed at identifying the world’s most prestigious races with the greatest number of elite athletes participating, as indicated in the ISF news in January.

The 2014 ranking will be based on 2013, but with a more precise indication of the elite athletes based on the previous year’s ranking.

The ISF ranking will be complete at the end of the 2015 season as the points will be calculated on the average of the previous three seasons with a weighted coefficient for each year.

The ISF assesses the yearly performances in their whole within the context of the results and performance

in each race. As in other disciplines, it does not analyse the performance in absolute terms due to the many variables in outdoor running (vertical climb, type of terrain, climate, level of the competition… etc), the comparison between different races or different editions of the same race, would be too approximate.”

Following on from the Ultra and Sky distances, the Vertical will be announced next. Subsequently, all the runners will be listed by country.

2013 Sky ranking

Top 100 men

Top 50 women

2013 ISF Ultra ranking

Top 100 men

Top 50 women

Article ©ISF

2014 Skyrunning World champs €25,000 prize purse

Posted on November 16, 2013 by talkultra

After the extraordinary sell-out of the three Skyrunning World Championship events in Chamonix, France, we’re pleased to announce the slots available for countries participating.Eighteen medals and individual world titles are at stake in each discipline – Vertical, Sky and Ultra, and a further six for thecombined titles based on the best results of the Vertical KM and Mont-Blanc Marathon.

Three more medals will be awarded to national teams based on the best results of three men and one woman across all three disciplines.

A total of twenty-seven glittering medals and a €25,000 prize purse await the champions of these prestigious competitions which, for the first time, include the Ultra distance.

More than 30 nations will participate and, unlike the previous Championships, dominated by Italy, Spain and France, “new” skyrunning nations like Australia and New Zealand, Czech Republic, Japan, Poland, South Africa and USA are raring to show their talent and make their mark in Chamonix.

The “test run” for the new Mont-Blanc 80K course was held in June, together with the KM Vertical and the Mont-Blanc Marathon which were Skyrunner® World Series races.

So, here’s the low down on the three World Championship races:

June 27 – the Mont-Blanc 80KM features a challenging 6,000 metres of vertical climb along ridges, over snow fields and traversing glaciers in a point to point loop.

Records: Francois D’Haene with Michel Lanne, 9h45’57” and Caroline Chaverot, 13h10’05”, 2013.

June 27 – short and steep, the Vertical KM points 1,000 metres skywards. A timed race, it will test your VO2 max to the limit.

Records: Saul Antonio Padua,34’34” and Christel Dewalle in 41’33”, 2013 .

June 29 – The Mont-Blanc Marathon – the 42 km course starts in Chamonix and finishes at 2,016m altitude, gathering 2,511m elevation gain and 1,490m on the downhill, this beautiful trail offers some of the best scenery of the Mont Blanc massif. Records: Kilian Jornet, 3h30’41”, 2013 and Stevie Kremer, 4h03’20”, 2013.

Chamonix, it is fair to say, is probably the most iconic and spectacular sports arena to stage a World Championship. The expert organisers are the Club des Sport de Chamonix, which manages year-round major international sports events.

Held every four years, the 2014 Skyrunning World Championships will represent the second edition since the inauguration of the ISF in 2008 and the first time with the ultra distance, attracting long distance runners from around the world.

Marino Giacometti, ISF President, commented: “We’re proud to present the World Championships in Chamonix and, with the support of the Club des Sport, we’re confident the events will be a perfect showcase for skyrunning and draw the best athletes in the world for some intense competition.”

ISF Member countries and countries wishing to participate should submit the Team Entry Form below.

Programme and race details can be found here.

Words ©ISF Images ©iancorless.com

Episode 47 – Bowman, Abdelnoor, Hill, Forsberg

Posted on October 31, 2013 by talkultra

Episode 47 of Talk Ultra and we speak with Dylan Bowman, after placing 5th at Western States, Dylan was looking forward to tackling UTMB, however, things didn’t go quite to plan. Lakeland 50 winner, Ben Abdelnoor talks about training and fell running and we catch up with Tessa Hill who has just had a very succesful season on the Skyrunning circuit. Emelie Forsberg talks Diagonale des Fous in Smiles and Miles, Marc Laithwaite talks winter in Talk Training. We have the News, a Blog, Up and Coming races and Speedgoat talks golf…

Himalayan Trail – Philippe Gatta and Anna – https://iancorless.org/2013/10/29/great-himalayan-trail-philippe-anna-gatta/

00:13:42 NEWS

Diagonale des Fous (Reunion)

Men:

Francois D’Haene 22:58

Freddy Thevenin 25:40:16

Pascal Blanc 25:47:18

Ladies:

Nathalie Mauclair 28:45:32

Emelie Forsberg 31:29:05

Christine Benard 34:19:40

Javelina Jundred

Men:

Hal Koerner 14:56:53

Catlow Shipek 15:59:58

Joe Grant 16:50:10

Ladies:

Rhonda Claridge 18:34

Emz Eliason 20:58:55

Erin Churchill 22:56:21

La Course des Templiers

Men 1 Thomas Lorblanchet 6h43min04 2 Xavier Thévenard 6h47min46 3 Michel Lanne 6h48min34

Ladies 1 Nuria Picas Albets (ESP) 7h57min49 2 Malika Coutant (FRA 8h19min19 3 Aurélia Truel (FRA 8h21min47

Ceasers Camp 100-miles only 10 finishers

Stuart Wilkie 21:42

Mick Barnes 22:31

David Rowe 22:48

OMM

Elite

Nick Barrable and Gustav Bergman 9:21:12
Steve Birkinshaw and Kim Collinson 9:29:11
Sander Vaher and Timo Sild 9:35:45

Mixed -Jasmin Paris and Konrad Rawlik 11:40:00

Female – Heather Dawe and Andrea Priestley 14:43:27

Full results – http://www.theomm.com/events/omm2013/

00:38:50 15 MINS of FAME – Tessa Hill

01:00:00 BLOGS

‘And somehow I reached the finish line of my first 100 miler. I don´t have enough words to describe the feelings. It was bigger than all my races I have done before. This was just something greater.’

http://emelieforsberg.com

01:03:55 Interview – BEN ABDELNOOR

01:24:28 TALK TRAINING – with Marc Laithwaite

01:48:12 INTERVIEW

This week’s interview is with Dylan Bowman. Dylan has not been running ultras for too long, however, he has impressed right from the start. Earlier this year he placed 5^th at Western States and was in Europe and ready to run UTMB but unfortunately he picked up an injury while training.

02:30:54 MELTZER MOMENT

GOOD

BAD

UGLY

02:37:40 SMILESandMILES with Emelie Forsberg – smilesandmiles@yahoo.com

03:02:36 RACES

Argentina

The North Face® Endurance Challenge Argentina – 50 km | 50 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website

The North Face® Endurance Challenge Argentina – 80 km | 80 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website

Australia

New South Wales

Carcoar Cup Ultra Marathon | 60 kilometers | November 03, 2013 | website

Great North Walk 100 km | 100 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website

Great North Walk 100 Miles | 100 miles | November 09, 2013 | website

Queensland

Run to Paradise Ultra Marathon | 74 kilometers | November 03, 2013 | website

France

Aveyron

Trail des Hospitaliers | 75 kilometers | November 03, 2013 | website

Marne

SPARNATRAIL classique | 55 kilometers | November 10, 2013 | website

Germany

Bavaria

Chiemsee-Ultramarathon November | 108 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website

Lower Saxony

KILL 50 | 50 miles | November 09, 2013 | website

North Rhine-Westphalia

Bottroper Herbstwaldlauf – 50 km | 50 kilometers | November 10, 2013 | website

Hong-Kong

Salomon LT 70 | 70 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website

India

Bangalore Ultra Marathon – 100 km | 100 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website

Bangalore Ultra Marathon – 50 km | 50 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website

Bangalore Ultra Marathon – 75 km | 75 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website

Italy

Tuscany

Eroica Running Ultramaratona | 65 kilometers | November 03, 2013 | website

Morocco

Trans 333 | 333 kilometers | November 15, 2013 | website

Namibia

100 km of Namib Desert | 100 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website

Desert Ultra | 250 kilometers | November 15, 2013 | website

Nepal

Everest Trail Race | 160 kilometers | November 03, 2013 | website

NEPAL Action Asia 3 day ultra 100km | 100 kilometers | November 01, 2013 | website

Nepal Action Asia Ultra 3 day marathon 60k | 60 kilometers | November 01, 2013 | website

New Zealand

Steelformers Around the Mountain | 100 miles | November 09, 2013 | website

Taranaki Steelformers 100 mile Around the mountain Solo | 100 miles | November 08, 2013 | website

Taranaki Steelformers 150 km Around the mountain Running and Walking Relay | 150 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website

The Taniwha – 60 km | 60 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website

United Kingdom

Northamptonshire

XNRG Druid Challenge 2013 | 84 miles | November 08, 2013 | website

Uruguay

ULTRA Maratón Altas Cumbres Serranas 100K Ultra | 100 kilometers | November 02, 2013 | website

ULTRA Maratón Altas Cumbres Serranas 60K Ultra | 60 kilometers | November 02, 2013 | website

USA

Alabama

Pinhoti 100 | 100 miles | November 02, 2013 | website

California

Almaden Hills 50K Run | 50 kilometers | November 02, 2013 | website

Chino Hills Spring Trail Series 50K | 50 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website

CTR Lake Chabot Train Run 50 km (Nov) | 50 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website

Folsom Lake Trail Run – Fall 50K | 50 kilometers | November 02, 2013 | website

San Lorenzo River Trail Run 50 km | 50 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website

Two Cities Ultra Marathon | 50 kilometers | November 03, 2013 | website

Georgia

Georgia Sky to Summit 50k | 50 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website

Idaho

NorthWest Nazarene University 100 Mile Run & Relay | 100 miles | November 08, 2013 | website

Illinois

Chicago Lakefront 50K | 50 kilometers | November 02, 2013 | website

Indiana

Owen Putnam State Forest 50K | 50 kilometers | November 02, 2013 | website

Owen Putnam State Forest 50 Miles | 50 miles | November 02, 2013 | website

Maryland

Rosaryville Veteran’s Day 50k | 50 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website

Massachusetts

Stone Cat 50 Mile | 50 miles | November 02, 2013 | website

Missouri

Ozark Trail 100 Mile Endurance Run | 100 miles | November 02, 2013 | website

Nevada

Bootlegger 50K | 50 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website

Coyote Springs 100K Trail Run | 100 kilometers | November 02, 2013 | website

Coyote Springs 100M Trail Run | 100 miles | November 02, 2013 | website

Coyote Springs 50K Trail Run | 50 kilometers | November 02, 2013 | website

Coyote Springs 50M Trail Run | 50 miles | November 02, 2013 | website

Ragnar Relay Las Vegas | 195 miles | November 08, 2013 | website

New Jersey

NJ Trail Series One Day – 50K | 50 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website

New York

Mendon 50K Trail Run | 50 kilometers | November 02, 2013 | website

Oklahoma

Turkey & Taturs 50K Trail Race | 50 kilometers | November 03, 2013 | website

Tennessee

Nashville Ultra Marathon 50 K Race | 50 kilometers | November 02, 2013 | website

Nashville Ultra Marathon 50 Mile Race | 50 miles | November 02, 2013 | website

Nashville Ultra Marathon 60 K Race | 60 kilometers | November 02, 2013 | website

Nashville Ultra Marathon 70 K Race | 70 kilometers | November 02, 2013 | website

Upchuck 50K Trail Running Race | 50 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website

Virginia

Mountain Masochist Trail Run | 50 miles | November 02, 2013 | website

Washington

First Call Veterans Day 50K | 50 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website

03:05:23 CLOSE

03:09:40

LINKS:

http://traffic.libsyn.com/talkultra/Episode_47_-_Bowman_Abdelnoor_Hill_Forsberg.mp3

ITunes http://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/talk-ultra/id497318073

Libsyn – feed://talkultra.libsyn.com/rss

Website – talkultra.com

International Skyrunning Federation Ultra Ranking 2013

Posted on October 31, 2013 by talkultra

As promised earlier in the year, a ranking has been devised for the three skyrunning disciplines based on 54 races in 2013 (24 Ultra, 20 Sky and 10 Vertical). One of the principal aims was to take into account the quality of the field and the time relative to the winner, along with a proprietary ISF algorithm and other factors.

Today we announce the top 100 men out of 613 selected from 38 nations in 24 races across five continents. The top 50 ranked women are named out of 273 from 27 nations . Subsequently, all the runners will be listed along with the Sky and Vertical rankings to be published later.

Here’s an overview:

The ranking was elaborated on the basis of the participation and results obtained by the athletes in the international races selected by the ISF.

In calculating the points, the ranking is based on a proprietory ISF algorithm specifically studied for outdoor running, based on consolidated algorithms used by the International Ski Federation.

In each selected race, the first 30 men and first 15 women were counted. For each athlete, points were calculated on the basis of : the final position, the time relative to the winner and the number of elite athletes ahead or behind.

The 2014 ranking will be based on 2013, but with a more precise indication of the elite athletes based on the previous year’s ranking.

The ISF ranking will be complete at the end of the 2015 season as the points will be calculated on the average of the previous three seasons with a weighted coefficient for each year.

2013 ISF Ultra ranking

Top 100 men

Top 50 women

Skyrunning UK – the first steps

Posted on October 24, 2013 by talkultra

It has been a long season… the 2013 Skyrunner World Series came to a close in early October on the shores of Lake Garda at the impressive Limone Extreme race. The Skyrunner ULTRA title had been concluded just weeks earlier in Vail, Colorado at the Ultra Race of Champions (UROC) but at Limone Extreme, VK and SKY champions were crowned confirming the closure of an incredible 2013 season.

It would be nice to sit back, relax and reflect. Oh no, time stands till for nobody, the 2014 Skyrunner World Series needs to be confirmed and announced, in addition, 2014 has the Skyrunning World Championships taking place in Mont-Blanc (here) at the Mont-Blanc Marathon weekend. Champions, male and female will be announced for the distances of VK, SKY and ULTRA.

An exciting year awaits!

Luis Alberto Hernando at Matterhorn Ultraks

The growth os Skyrunning has exploded in the past 2-years, the catalyst, Transvulcania La Palma in May 2012. Arguably, the worlds ‘best’ descended on a small island in the Canaries and although the ULTRA distance was new to Skyrunning, a transformation was made and suddenly, Skyrunning became the next big thing! The foresight of Marino Giacometti (President ISF) and Lauri Van Houten (Executive Director ISF) was rewarded with a big thumbs up from all who attended!

La Palma, Transvulcania La Palma 2012 ©iancorless.com

Skyrunning today is growing and at an alarming rate. The Skyrunner World Series has now established itself as one of ‘the’ series to do and we are seeing this reflected in the diversity of the nations taking part but also the diversity in the athletes. We are seeing many runners participating in several disciplines and in certain scenarios, such as Kilian Jornet, we are also seeing them crowned champion in multiple disciplines.

We are not only seeing the ‘regulars’ perform. Skyrunning are being rewarded with new athletes and teams, take a look at Arc’teryx and inov-8. They have taken the bull by the horns and seized an opportunity, not only have they created teams to perform at this high level but they have created apparel and shoes that work in this demanding sport. In 2013, Arc’teryx had UK based athlete, Tessa Hill create some stunning results in the VK and SKY distance, in addition, inov-8 had great success with UK based Anna Lupton and with Alex Nichols (USA) who placed third on the Skyrunner SKY World Series podium.

Tessa Hill and Anna Lupton, Limone Extreme ©iancorless.com

For years, the UK have provided a hard core of athletes who have raced and won on this world stage; Angela Mudge, Ricky Lightfoot, Andy Symonds, Tom Owens and so on… in many respects, these UK runners progressed from a minority sport in the UK, ‘Fell Running’ and participated in a minority sport in Europe called ‘Skyrunning’.

That is all changing and the time is now right, for the UK to progress and not only create a UK based series but also create stimulus within the UK to encourage UK based runners to travel to Europe and farther afield to experience Skyrunning on a global scale.

Salomon athlete, Andy Symonds sums it up very well,

‘Skyrunning was born in Italy, twenty years ago. For me it’s always represented the best of European and until recently – mainly Italian – racing. It’s about racing high up, on real mountains, on real mountain terrain. The fun comes from the race courses which go to summits, along exposed ridges, gaining incredible views, and from moving fast in a competitive environment over this sort of terrain.

Andy Symonds Trofeo Kima ©iancorless.com

The UK may lack the altitude of the Italian Alps, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t do the same thing on our own moderately sized mountains, fells and hills! It’s great to see the sport branching out of Italy, with national series now launching in France, Australia/NZ the UK and no doubt shortly elsewhere.

The future of proper mountain running will probably lie in the hands of the Skyrunning Associations and I’ll be supporting that growth and hoping to help guide things in a good direction!’

Andy is right! the time is perfect.

Welcome to Skyrunning UK

It is early days for Skyrunning UK and 2014 will almost certainly be a transformative year. We are well aware that Skyrunning in the UK will be a challenge… we don’t have too many 2000m+ peaks! However, as Andy says, ‘The UK may lack the altitude of the Italian Alps, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t do the same thing on our own moderately sized mountains, fells and hills!’

To that end, an athlete commission has been created to help guide the sport within the UK from a grass roots level. We already have established and respected runners signed up and confirmed:

Ricky Lightfoot (Salomon)
Anna Lupton (inov-8)
Tom Owens (Salomon)
Ben Abdelnoor (inov-8)
Andy Symonds (Salomon)

Within the coming weeks, several other athletes will be added to the commission and this will guarantee that the direction of Skyrunning in the UK is not only in good hands but will also consider the well established traditions of fell and trail running.

Skyrunning UK will work in harmony and respect existing races and traditions within the UK.

To interact and get involved, please make sure you:

‘Like’ the Skyrunning UK Facebook page HERE
‘Follow’ on Twitter HERE
and sign up to ‘Follow’ our website HERE

Matroosberg Trail Challenge – South Africa’s first SkyMarathon®

Posted on October 21, 2013 by talkultra

Excitement is building as the South African trail running community gears itself for the country’s first South African Skyrunning Association (SASA) sanctioned event, the Matroosberg Trail Challenge (MTC).

Staged in the Matroosberg Nature Reserve near Ceres in the Western Cape, the 36km race classifies as a SkyMarathon®, in which runners will exceed an altitude of 2 000m, enduring inclines exceeding 30%, with climbing difficulties of less than 11 degrees.

Runners from across the country will be on the start line on Saturday 26 October, with big trail names like AJ Calitz, Nic de Beer, Ake Fagereng and Charl Soumer contending for the top positions, with the likes of Derrick Baard, Noel Ernstzen, Luke Powers, Michael Owen and Leo Rust in the chase group.

The women’s line up will be equally competitive, with Robin Kime, Linda Doke, Annemien Ganzevoort and Chantel Nienaber predicted to give each other a good run for their money.

SASA is an associate member of the International Skyrunning Federation (ISF), whose founder Marino Giacometti saw the birth of the sports discipline of skyrunning some 22 years ago. He believed the name spoke for itself – it was about running where earth and sky meet.

The MTC is the first of two SASA-sanctioned events in 2013. The much-awaited Lesotho Ultra Trail, southern Africa’s first Ultra SkyMarathon®, will cover 55km in the Maluti Mountains in the Kingdom of Lesotho on 30 November. The starting line-up will boast one of the best ever fields in trail running in southern Africa, including Canadian ultra-distance trail runner of the year 2012 Adam Campbell.

Both races will form part of a national skyrunning circuit from 2014 – the details of which will be announced soon.

MTC race organiser Ghaleed Nortje is excited to have his race as the one that introduces local trail runners to skyrunning in South Africa.

“I’m really excited about the MTC being sanctioned by SASA, and by the prospect of it forming part of a national skyrunning circuit from 2014. Gone are the days when we trail runners had to drool over skyrunning events in Europe and the USA – our South African athletes can now be a part of the rich experience too, by participating in local skyrunning events,” says Nortje.

With just a few days to go before the race, all eyes are on the weather – just a fortnight ago the Matroosberg was still covered in snow. As with all mountain trail races, runners will be required to carry specific mandatory kit with them during the race to prepare for all weather eventualities.

To watch the action unfold come race day, follow the event on Twitter – www.twitter.com/MatroosbergTC and #MTC2013

Limone Extreme SKY race video

Posted on October 20, 2013 by talkultra

Great video here showing the terrain, climbing ability and descending ability of some of the best Skyrunners in the world. In particular, make sure you take note about 12-min in, this is why Kilian Jornet is the best in the world; look at his speed!