Limone Extreme 2016 #SKY – Skyrunner® World Series

Posted on October 15, 2016 by talkultra

The 2016 Skyrunner® World Series was up for grabs but news on the start line was one of drama… Tadei Pivk was unable to start after waking with a fever, Marco De Gasperi had been delayed in Milan on a flight from the USA and last year’s winner, Remi Bonnet decided not to start after taking a fall in training just days earlier. For the ladies’ race, a likely series win would come from Laura Orgue who needed to win the race or Megan Kimmel who needed to finisher in 2^nd place should Orgue win.

At the finish line on the shores of Lake Garda, Alexis Sevennec once again proved his supremacy with another stunning victory! For the ladies, Megan Kimmel confirmed her incredible mountain running and descending ability to take not only the victory in Limone but also the Skyrunner® World Series title.

We have witnessed some spectacular performances in the 2016 Skyrunner® World Series and the final race in Limone Extreme provided a special close to the 2016 season.

Laura Orgue had not started the Friday VK in a hope to give an all-out effort for victory. Using her impressive abilities at climbing she led the way on the long steep and technical first climb. Celine Lafaye followed closely in second but where was Megan? Megan was way back and was either struggling or running a tactical race… it was the latter. As Laura pushed at the front, Megan slowly closed the gap and on the final decent that drops to the lake she opened up and finally pulled away to take victory in a time of 3:17:35 and with it the Skyrunner® World Series crown. “Last year I lost the series title at Limone and this year I ran cautiously in the early stages, I was just hoping not too cautiously. When I eventually closed on Celine I was feeling good and then Laura and myself were running side-by-side. I decided to go knowing that I mustn’t let Laura win and me placed 3^rd otherwise the title would go to Laura – I pulled it off!”

Laura had run much of the race out front but looked relieved to finish just over a minute slower than Megan, her time 3:18:42. Celine Lafaye placed 3^rd in 3:19:22 and Skyrunner® World Champion for the ULTRA distance and the 2016 UTMB champion, Caroline Chaverot, placed 4^th. An incredible result for the lady who loves and excels at longer races. Quite a year for her and she has already said that Skyrunning will be an objective in 2017.

For the men, the non-start of Tadei Pivk did provide an opportunity for Hassan Ait Chaou to ‘take’ the title, however, he would have needed to run a great race and place on the podium. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen and therefore Tadei Pivk once again (also in 2015) is the Skyrunner® World Series champion from his impressive results and consistency earlier in the year.

A race was left to run and Stian Angermund lead the charge early on ahead of Marco Moletto, no doubt reeling from missing victory the previous night in the VK by just 1-second. Although looking good early on, the efforts from the previous night and minimal recovery before the 11am start took its toll and both Stian and Marco faded opening the doorway for an in-form Alexis Sevennec who forged a final lone path to a stunning victory in 2:46:49. Brit, Hector Haines and started high up on the first climb and held on to arguably one of his best podium places stirring local heads with 2:51:41 2^nd place. Bulgarian Kiril Nikolov took the final podium place in 2:52:04. Early protagonist, Marco Moletto who had looked a potential podium finisher placed 5^th looking tired and Stian placed 7^th.

The final ranking for the 2016 Skyrunner® World Series SKY distance has Tadei Pivk 1^st, Hassan Ait Chaou 2^nd and Kiril Nikolov 3^rd. For the ladies’ Megan Kimmel is champion, Laura Orgue 2^nd and Yngvild Kaspersen 3^rd.

Roll on 2017!

Thanks to the support of our Partner Migu Xempower, Sponsor Alpina Watches and Official Pool Suppliers, Scott Running, Compressport and Salomon.

About Skyrunner® World Series
Skyrunning was founded in 1992 by Italian Marino Giacometti, President of the International Skyrunning Federation which sanctions the discipline worldwide and sports the tagline:
Less cloud. More sky.

The Skyrunner® World Series was launched in 2004 and has grown to represent the peak of outdoor running defined by altitude and technicality. In 2016, the Series, composed of four disciplines, features 23 races in 15 venues on three continents.

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Limone Extreme 2016 #VK – Skyrunner® World Series

Posted on October 14, 2016 by talkultra

Torrential rain and thunderstorms started in the morning of the VK and continued on through the day and resulted in a course change instigated by the race organisation for safety reasons. The resulting course was very different to the original route and considerably longer at 6km. Less steep, less technical and considerably more runnable. Of course this may very well have changed the dynamic of the race but the usual protagonists for the VK distance still performed at the highest level.

Philip Götsch and Christel Dewalle won the race and in the process set two new course records for the ‘B’ route – incredible under such tough conditions.

Race director, Fabio Meraldi, made the decision earlier in the day with advice from mountain rescue that the original vertical route would not be possible in such bad conditions.

Although 289 runners were entered into the race, only 180 started in the inclement conditions. Leaving the warmth of a large tent, the 180 headed up 6km covering a total gain of 1200m.

Stian Angermund lead the race in the early stages but it was Philip Götsch who won the race, 32 seconds faster than Remi Bonnet in 2015 to finish with a CR 43:19. Stian finished just 1-second slower in an agonising 43:20. Patrick Facchini placed 3rd in 43:47.

Christel Dewalle ran an incredible time of 49:59 to go 48 seconds faster than 2015 and also set a new CR. The expected battle with VK specialist Laura Orgue did not happen with Laura deciding to rest ahead of tomorrow’s SkyRace. Valentina Belotti placed 2nd 53:15 and Hilde Alders placed a solid 3rd in 54:50.

Attention now turns to the Limone Extreme SkyRace which will start at 1100 tomorrow.

Thanks to the support of our Partner Migu Xempower, Sponsor Alpina Watches and Official Pool Suppliers, Scott Running, Compressport and Salomon.

IANCORLESS.COM IS THE OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHER AND MEDIA PARTNER FOR THE

SKYRUNNER® WORLD SERIES

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Matterhorn Ultraks 46k 2016 Race Preview – Skyrunner® Extreme Series

Posted on August 17, 2016 by talkultra

The stunning Matterhorn provides the stunning backdrop for Switzerland’s Matterhorn Ultraks race, a 46km Skyrunning race with 3600m of positive and negative gain – the next race in the Skyrunner® World Series 2016. It’s a magical race that provides a circular journey that starts and concludes in the picture postcard mountain town of Zermatt.

Wild expansive space, high mountains and the 3100m Gornergrat provides the high point of the race where the ever present lone peak of the Matterhorn shadows the race and runners with its majestic beauty.

Zermatt, located 1600m above altitude provides the focal point for this high altitude race. It’s a town of contrasts, tourists flood in to trawl the streets, shop and snap ‘selfies’ while in and amongst them, hardcore mountaineers head upwards with packs, ropes, cramp-ons and ice axes. Like a photo on a luxury box of chocolates, Zermatt is a beautiful place steeped in history. It’s a logical start and finishing place for such an iconic race.

Renowned for its tough opening kilometers, the Matterhorn Ultraks immediately heads to the sky via Sunnegga at 2260m all the way to the high point Gornergrat at 3130m. It’s a brutal 14km to open any race and as such, those opening km’s can be decisive in who crosses the finish line first.

2015 Champions, Martin Anthamatten and Elisa Desco return to Switzerland for the 4th edition of the race and as such they are the favourites. Desco just last weekend placed 3rd at Sierre-Zinal, the question mark will be, as she recovered? For Anthamatten, his last performance was at the Skyrunning World Championships.

It’s fair to say the men’s race is wide open, no doubt impacted upon by the recent Tromso SkyRace and next weekend’s Trofeo Kima. SWS race leader, Tadei Pivk is currently injured and that leaves an opening for valuable points.

Bhim Gurung who won the inaugural Yading race excelled at the high altitude in China and although this race tops out at 3100m in Switzerland, it will not register on the Nepalese runner’s radar. Strong competition and maybe the hot favourite will be Marc Lauenstein.

Hassan Ait Chou has a solid history in Zermatt and his recent podium at the SkyRace Comapedrosa indicates that he may well be in for a good run. Pablo Villa, Oscar Casal Mir and Marc Casal Mir will also contend the podium along with Adrien Michaud.

Lining up against Desco is Megan Kimmel who had a stunning race in 2015 only to later in the latter stages. Something tells me that won’t happen this year and for me, she is odds on favourite for victory!

Oihana Kortazar leads the other podium contenders after a recent top placing at SkyRace Comapedrosa and Celia Chiron who placed 3rd at the Dolomites SkyRace will no doubt be looking for a repeat performance. Ragna Debats, Aziziber Ibarbia and Marta Molist are other top runners who will be at the ‘pointy’ end of the race!

Course records were set in 2013 by Kilian Jornet and 2014 by Stevie Kremer, their respective times 4:43:05 and 5:18:43.

Race day is Saturday 20th August and the Matterhorn Ultraks 46k race will get underway at 0730

Thanks to the support of our Partner Migu Xempower, Sponsor Alpina Watches and Official Pool Suppliers, Scott Running, Compressport and Salomon.

iancorless.com is the official photographer and media partner for the Skyrunner® World Series Follow on:

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Dolomites VK 2016 Race Summary and Images – Skyrunner® World Series

Posted on July 15, 2016 by talkultra

Kicking off a weekend of racing, the Dolomites Vertical Kiolmeter® started today, Friday 15th, in waves of 20 runners. The juniors started at 0930 in Cisates, just a short walk from the centre of Canazei.

It was a clear day but the wind was blowing and the temperatures were very cool. Great for running a VK but not when you stop – the wind was icy cold. Departing in approximately 4-minutes gaps, wave-after-wave departed until it came time for the elite men and elite women at 1100am.

Departing at an altitude of 1450m they reach the high point of Spiz 2465m with a total distance of 2.4km covered. The Dolomites VK is considered one of the toughest on the circuit due to the short, steep course and underfoot, much of the terrain is grass. Poles are not essential but recommended.

Course records date back to 2015 and 2014 when Philip Goetsch ran an incredible 32:38 and Laura Orgue ran 38:14.

Once again it was Goetsch and Orgue who dominated both fields. They were well ahead of their respective waves and unlike in the past, victory for either runner was not contested. So impressive was Goetsch, he soloed not only to victory but a new course record of 31:34 – almost 1-minute off his old record.

Equally Orgue was impressive coming back from injury with a time of 38:31 – just 17-seconds shy of her 2014 record.

They dominated!

With Urban Zemmer and Saul Antonio Padua not racing, Nejc Kuhar lead the chase for 2nd in 32:41 and Hannes Perkmann was 3rd in 33:02.

Valentina Belotti was the 2nd lady with a strong and gutsy run just 30-seconds behind Orgue and the ever-present Francesca Rossi sealed 3rd place in 40:00.

Men

Philip Goetsch (ITA) – 31’34”
Nejc Kuhar (SLO) La Sportiva – 32’41”
Hannes Perkmann (ITA) La Sportiva – 33’02”
Manuel Da Col (ITA) Scott Running – 33’11”
Patrik Facchini (ITA) La Sportiva – 33’48”

Women

Laura Orguè (ESP) Salomon 38’31”
Valentina Bellotti (ITA) La Sportiva – 39’06”
Francesca Rossi (ITA) La Sportiva – 40’00”
Beatrice Deflorian (ITA) La Sportiva – 40’52”
Maite Maiora (ESP) La Sportiva – 41’36”

Full race results

Attention now turns to Sunday and the Dolomites SkyRace (preview HERE). Weather systems are currently moving in and out of Canazei and yesterday it snowed! Currently, Piz Boe summit has plenty of snow on it… we could be in for a very exciting and dramatic day of Skyrunning!

Thanks to the support of our Partner Migu Xempower, Sponsor Alpina Watches and Official Pool Suppliers, Scott Running, Compressport and Salomon.

iancorless.com is the official photographer and media partner for the Skyrunner® World Series Follow on:

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Ultra Skymarathon Madeira 2016 Press Conference and LIVE Tracking

Posted on June 3, 2016 by talkultra

The Ultra SkyMarathon Madeira #USM2016 athlete presentations took place today at the stunning hotel of Quinta do Furão followed with a traditional lunch in the gardens of the restaurant.

Importantly, 16 athletes have been selected for trackers during the race and you will be able to follow LIVE as the race unfolds using this link HERE.

The selected athletes are as follows:

Anna Frost, Ester Sofia Alves, Gemma Arenas, Kristina Pattison, Cometi Anna, Francesc Sole, Remigio Huamán, André Jonsson, Luís Fernandes, Nuno Silva, DimitriosTheodorakakos, Philipp Reiter and Cristofer Clemente Mora.

You can read a pre-race report HERE and find out more information on the official Skyrunning World Series website HERE.

Skyrunner® World Series 2016

Skyrunner® World Series is supported by Migu Xempower, Alpina Watches, Compressport, Salomon and Scott Sports.

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Ultra Skymarathon Madeira 2016 Preview #USM – Skyrunner® World Series

Posted on June 2, 2016 by talkultra

Running and ultra running really is booming in Portugal. Carlos Sa and Ester Alves amongst others are paving the way. Madeira, an island in the Atlantic Ocean lies west and slightly south of mainland Portugal and it is an incredible natural landscape that cries out for challenging races. Madeira is of volcanic origin with extremely rugged topography, as such, it’s the perfect location for a Skyrunning race.

The USM is a technical mountain race which consists of steep slopes and trails covering a distance of 55km and 4000m of vertical gain. It is no ordinary race and one that combines mixed elements in a wonderful natural playground for the adventurous runner. Comprised of passages which require technical climbing expertise of grade 2, stunning mountain scenery, mountains, sea cliff landscape plus the addition of an up river boulder hopping scramble; yes, the Ultra SkyMarathon Madeira is a unique race.

Starting in the town of Santana, a northern municipality of Madeira Island,the runners soon head up a climb of 1400m to Encumeada Alta (1750m). Cloud inversion happens often here and suddenly runners can feel as though they are floating. In the distance as altitude changes, islands appear in and out amongst a sea of clouds.

“The views when the mist lifted were incredible,” said Ricky Lightfoot, 2015 champion. “It was almost as though I was running in another race.”

“‘USM is one of, if not the hardest race I have ever done,” said US based mountain runner Stevie Kremer. “The terrain is relentless and conditions underfoot just make it so much harder than others.”

For the first time, the island of Madeira, Portugal, will feature on the Skyrunner® World Series. The 55 km course with a brutal 4,000m vertical climb will welcome runners from across the globe up for the challenge.

Anna Frost, fresh from a 7th place at Transvulcania is just one of the competitors who loves skyrunning and island-hopping. Speaking to Lauri van Houten she says:

“This place is incredible. The diversity of nature, the amount of vertical that you get immediately from the sea is breath-taking. The colour of the water is like nothing I have ever seen. I have stopped so many times to say “wow”! The organisers and community runners have made me feel at home already. I don’t want to ever leave…”

Frosty will be joined by Americans Hillary Allen, who is looking strong after her 5th place in Transvulcania and Kristina Pattison who is now fit and fired up to compete in Madeira after a recent illness and a a late withdrawal from Transvulcania.

Strong competition will come from Spaniards Gemma Arenas (6th) and Anna Comet, who placed third overall last year in the SWS.

Cristofer Clemente from Spain, second on the 2015 SWS Ultra ranking and in last year’s race, is among the men’s favourites with new-entry Remigio Huaman from Peru who finished 7th at Transvulcania. The line-up includes Philipp Reiter from Germany who has been missing from racing for some time, Jan Bartas from the Czech Republic, Dimitrios Theodorakakos from Greece, Pau Bartolo as well as competitors from Japan Skyrunning.

Nuno Silva and Ester Alves, 2015 Portugal National Champions, will no doubt perform well on home ground after placing respectively 3rd and 2nd last year.

Notable absentees include Mira Rai with a stress fracture and Paul Hamilton who will sadly miss the whole season. Also, Alicia Shay and Chris Vargo are unable to race (they have had to return to the USA) even though they travelled to Madeira directly after two great runs in La Palma at Transvulcania Ultramarathon.

Other runners to watch out for:

Elisabet Bertran
Anna Strakova
Luis Fernandes
Martina Valmassoi
Franch Pons
André Jonsson
Rick Floyd
André Rodrigues
Hidenori Fukuda
Lucia Franco
Santiago Soria
Zuzana Urbancova
Tiago Silva
Hana Krajnik
Ron Braz
Sachiko Kotani
Albert Herrero
Yukari Fukuda
Mindaugas Grigas

The Madeira Ultra SkyMarathon®, now in its third year, perfectly embodies the sea-to sky concept pioneered by skyrunning – with some very technical stretches up to Grade II, and a via ferrata sections just below the island’s highest point at 1,861m altitude.

Course records: Ricky Lightfoot 6h09’56”. Stevie Kremer 7h33’37”

Anticipation mounts for Saturday’s race where the top runners can be followed with our new live tracking system.

Current Ultra Series ranking

Race details

The 2016 Skyrunner® World Series is brought to you with a new management company, Geneva based SkyMan SA

SkyMan SA is pleased to present a new Main Partner, Migu Xempower, a Chinese exercise and health management platform which also counts a rich experience in organising marathons, city and mountain races for millions of runners.

The well-established, Sky, Ultra and Vertical format is joined by the Extreme Seriespresented by Alpina Watches, which more than ever expresses the true spirit of skyrunning defined not only by distance, but vertical climb and technical difficulty.

Skyrunner® World Series is supported by Migu Xempower, Alpina Watches, Compressport, Salomon and Scott Sports.

iancorless.com is the official photographer and media partner for the Skyrunner®World Series Follow on:

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