Tag Archives: Transvulcania

Episode 232 – Petter Engdahl Special

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Episode 232 of Talk Ultra is a Petter Engdahl Special. After making the podium of OCC in 2021, Petter focussed his attention on the 2022 CCC – He won in a course record time. And now he has followed up with a dream victory at Transvulcania by UTMB. We talk in-depth about his training and preparation for these two incredible performances.

Petter victorious at CCC – adidas TERREX Team ©iancorless
Petter leading Miguel Heras in the early section of Transvulcania by UTMB – adidas TERREX Team©iancorless

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Tom Evans – Zero to 100

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It was incredible. The preparation. The event. The course. The journey.

The process. The outcome.

I knew I always wanted to challenge myself over 100 miles…I just never expected it to be in this incredible race. I was privileged to have qualified to race so to have a Race Crew and Filming Crew follow my journey over the race to an unexpected end was amazing.

I had the immense pleasure to meet Tom at Marathon des Sables, he was a complete unknown who on day-1 of the race, rocked the apple cart and the Moroccan dominance of the race. Myself, the rest of the media and all the runner’s in the race were asking the question, “Who is Tom Evans?”

By the end of the MDS, we had an answer. He placed 3rd and in the process, the ultra-running world welcomed a new star in the sport. He was without a sponsor and still a captain in the army.

Post MDS, we discussed opportunities and how Tom could achieve his goals. I was fortunate that Tom decided to join me on my annual Lanzarote Training Camp. He joined us as a coach and ambassador.

It was easy to see Tom’s ability. Few on the camp could keep up with him and those that could went on to race well at the following Marathon des Sables. In particular, Gemma Game who made the podium.

Following our camp, Tom joined me in Costa Rica for The Coastal Challenge. I was keen to see him race once again over multiple days and this time without being in a self-sufficient manner. I arrange the elite field and I was determined to give Tom and the rest, a hard race. Hayden Hawks, Timothy Olson and Marcus Scotney amongst others toed the line.

Tom arrived to race and it was clear from the off, he had an agenda. He had researched the race, looked at the stages, checked the times and not only did he have ambitions to win the race, but also set a new course record. Hayden and Tom raced head-to-head day-after-day but victory and the CR was never in doubt, Tom dominated.

It was time to set the goals higher and work to higher objectives. Tom represented his country and placed 3rd at the world championships. He dipped his toe in skyrunning races going head-to-head with skyrunning world champion, Jon Albon. But all along, the big goal was CCC part of the UTMB races.

Just prior to CCC, Tom signed a deal with Red Bull. I was fortunate to join Tom at his family home in the UK and document his training.

At CCC, running the perfect race, Tom closed on the lead in the latter stages of the race, forged ahead and won the biggest race of his life. A sponsorship deal with adidas Terrex followed and the dream of Western States started to fall in to place.

Zero to 100 tells the story of Tom’s inaugural 100-mile race, the iconic Western States in the USA. To place in the top-10 here would have been an incredible result, but Tom went on to place 3rd and in the process run under 15-hours. He trained in Ethiopia to prepare and you can listen to the whole process in episode 174 of Talk Ultra listed below.

ZERO TO 100

Process not Outcome

Tom has always discussed his thoughts on training and racing and one element that always runs true is ‘Process not Outcome.’ His ability to focus on the prize, dedicate himself to the task and take running to a higher and higher level is all down to his dedication and professional approach.

In 2020, Tom will target new races, new goals and new experiences. One thing is for sure, after victory at Tarawera Ultra in New Zealand early in the year, Tom is in the perfect place to fulfil his dreams. I would expect no less…!

2020 calendar subject to change based around Covid-19

Over the past couple of years, I have documented Tom’s progress via my podcast, Talk Ultra, you can listen to the episodes below:

Tom Evans and the 2017 Marathon des Sables HERE

Episode 133 Podcast, Marathon des Sables HERE

Episode 152 Podcast, The Coastal Challenge HERE

Episode 174 Podcast, Western States HERE

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TRANSVULCANIA 2019 – IMAGE GALLERY

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The 2019 Transvulcania was once again an epic race. The stunning island of La Palma never disappoints.

Epic sunrise, cloud inversions and clear skies with intense heat.

The race was incredible with Ragna Debats and Thibaut Garrivier taking victory. You can read a summary HERE.

Below is a portfolio of images that gives a glimpse of the race.

Image galleries are HERE

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TRANSVULCANIA 2019 – Debats and Garrivier win! – Race Summary

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Petter Engdahl came of age today as he pushed a relentless pace right from the gun at the 2019 Transvulcania. The only runner brave enough to follow was Ruy Ueda and the duo pushed together over much of the volcano sections all the way to El Pilar.

Behind, runners lined up to chase including Thibaut Garrivier, Marco De Gasperi, Dmitry Mityaev, Jon Albon and a who’s who of top-talent.

Engdahl looked calm and relaxed and considering this is only his second year in skyrunning and his longest race so far, he was brave to take on the front. It was expected that Ueda and De Gasperi would push and test him. However, no! Both dropped before 30km leaving the young gun out front being chased by Garrivier and Mityaev.

At Rouques de los Muchachos, the 18km drop to Tazacorte beach is a formidable descent not only for the legs and lungs but also the mind. Engdahl found the pressure to intense and relinquished his lead, firstly to Garrivier and then Mityaev.

From the beach, as the runners ran through a slot canyon, the writing was on the wall. Garrivier had extended a lead of 5-minutes to the Russian and equally, Mityaev had extended a lead of 5-minutes over Engdahl. It remained that way to the line with Garrivier taking a great win in 7:11:04 ahead of Mityaev 7:14:23 and Engdahl 7:21:28. The UK’s Jon Albon moved up from outside the top-10 to place 4th and Diego Pazos was 5th.

Anne-Lise Rousset dictated the pace in the women’s race and over the opening 18km she looked strong. Behind, pre-race favourite, Ragna Debats fresh from victory at Marathon des Sables pushed but looked to be playing a waiting game. Behind, Megan Kimmel followed along with Kristin Berglund and Ekaterina Mityaeva.

The heat and the pace took its toll and as Rousset slowed, Debats turned up the gears and applied the pressure, no doubt the sandy terrain and heat feeling ‘normal’ after her Moroccan adventure.

The speed increased and Debats took an incredible victory in 8:09:25 dominating the race. Rousset held on for 2nd, no doubt the course and conditions hurting everyone and Kimmel rounded out the top-3, their times 8:25:11 and 8:35:03. Russian Mityaeva placed 4th and Berglund 5th.

Men:

1. Thibaut Garrivier (FRA) Hoka One One – 7:11:04

2. Dmitry Mityaev (RUS) Adidas Terrex – 7:14:23

3. Petter Engdahl (SWE) Salomon Running – 7:21:28

4. Jonathan Albon (GBR) Gore / VJ Shoes – 7:36:34

5. Diego Pazos (SWI) Compressport – 7:41:48

Women:

1. Ragna Debats (NED) Merrell – 8:09:25

2. Anne-Lise Rousset (FRA) Oxsitis-Odlo – 8:25:11

3. Megan Kimmel (USA) Salomon Running – 8:35:03

4. Ekaterina Mityaeva (RUS) Adidas Terrex – 8:53:02

5. Kristin Berglund (AUS) Salomon Running – 8:58:10

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Episode 156 – Kelly Wolf, Brittany Peterson and Alex Kurt

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Episode 156 of Talk Ultra and bringing you interviews with Kelly Wolf and Brittany Peterson who placed 3rd and 4th at Transvulcania. The Godfather of Trail, Kurt Decker, brings us a chat with Alex Kurt and Speedgoat is co-hosting.
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00:21:38 NEWS
Apology! Folks, sometimes, work, life and well ‘shit’ just gets in the way of producing a podcast. Sincere apologies that I (we) missed couple of shows…. I hope you understand why. Thanks!
MARATHON DES SABLES check out the summaries and images:
Day 1 HERE
Day 2 HERE
Day 3 HERE
Day 4 HERE
Day 5 HERE
IAU WORLDTRAIL CHAMPS
Luis Alberto did it again, 3rd time in a  row, wow! Cristofer Clemente 3rd and Tom Evans 4th – 8:38, 8:46 and 8:49.
Ragna Debats took an incredible and well deserved victory in 9:55, Laia Canes was 2nd and Claire Mougel 3rd, 10:11 and 10:15.
108km Racewas won by Hayden Hawks and Fernanda Maciel
TRANSVULCANIA
Ida Nilsson did it again ahead of Monica Comas Kelly Wolfe –  8:40, 8:46 and 8:49. For the men,  Pere Aurell Bove took a surprise win in 7:37, Dmitry Mityaevwas 2nd and Thibaut Garriver was 3rd, 7:38 and 7:42.
Transvulcania VK HERE
Transvulcania Ultra HERE
QUICKSILVER 100km
Cat Bradley and Ben Eysenbach took the Victories in. 11:15 and 9:53.
QUADROCK 50
Won by Addie Bracy in 8:51, Abby Levene and Ginna  Ellis 2nd and 3rd. Jimmy Elam 7:40, Frank Pipp was 2nd and Oliver Knauer 3rd.
MIWOK 100km
Franz van der Groen in 9:23 ahead of Chris Jackson and Misha Shemyakin Megan Arauzo 10:36 ahead of Emily Sabo and Coral Candlish-Rutherford.
WINGS  FOR LIFE
Vera Nunes ran 53.78km and Andreas Stabner ran 76.77km for the longest distances.
TRAIL MENORCA – Cami de Cavalls
Read the summary HERE
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00:37:54 Interview with KELLY WOLF
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00:59:06 Interview with BRITTANY PETERSON
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01:31:37 Interview with ALEX KURT
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UP and COMING RACES
Check out the world ultra calendar on https://marathons.ahotu.com you can do a specific search for the ultra calendar HERE
Ultramarthon calendar HERE
Race calendar forJune 2018 HERE
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02:05:31 CLOSE
02:10:05
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Keep running
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Transvulcania Ultramarathon 2018 Race Summary and Images

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The second race of the 2018 Migu Run Skyrunner® World Series kicked today on the island of La Palma (La Isla Bonita). The stunning Fuencaliente lighthouse once again providing an epic backdrop as 1000+ head-torches rushed north for a 74km journey  of tough and challenging terrain on the islands iconic GR131 route. It was a day of mixed temperatures and the Route of the Volcanoes was bathed in glorious sun as the runners broke through a cloud inversion before heading to the mist, grey and damp of El Pilar. Pushing onwards, the wind increased causing a challenging chill that resulted in many runners reaching for wind proofs. As often happens on La Palma, push through the cloud and a new weather system awaits, it was no different for the 2018 Transvulcania. Running around the Caldera to Roques de Los Muchachos, intense heat and blue skies greeted the runners all the way. Dropping back down to the sea and Tazacorte Puerto, the only thing that remained was the final challenging climb to the finish in Los Llanos.

For the ladies’ 2016 and 2017 champion and pre-race favorite Ida Nilsson lead the charge and she never really looked back. It was a strong performance.

As often happens, the chasing group can change as the brutality of the Transvulcania route takes its toll. Monica Comas from Spain placed 2nd just 6-minutes behind Ida.

The American contingent of Kelly Wolf and Brittany Peterson placed 3rd and 4th ahead of Russia’s Ekaterina Mityaeva, their times 8:49, 8:59 and 9:13 respectively.

The men’s race proved to be a real revelation… despite the early efforts of Cody Reed, he faded around the 20km mark and then all the main contenders and protagonists made their moves. It was a close race and the long descent to Tazacorte Puerto was always going to be decisive. Pere Aurell Bove held a lead over Dmitry Mityaev, Thibaud Garriver, Marco De Gasperi and Xavier Thevenard. For perspective, it is arguably one of the closest top-5 the race has experience, 7:37, 7:38, 7:42, 7:44 and 7:47 respectively. It is fair to say, that for Pere Aurelio, this is one of the biggest victories of his career and one that he will savour for a long time.

Image gallery available HERE

Route Summary:

Leaving Fuencalientie lighthouse, black sandy trails lead to Los Canarios. From here, the route weaves in and out of pine forests – underfoot the trails are good, at times technical but it is as the runners break the tree line that the challenging volcano sections await. The arrival of the sun provides some clarity and the push begins to El Pilar and notable marker in the race progression.

At least 5km of relatively flat and easy running follow El Pilar. It provides an opportunity for the ‘runners’ to stretch their legs and either extend or reclaim lost time. A left turn and suddenly they are climbing again, high trees with a canopy of green shelter the runners and then from El Reventon the true splendor of this mountain range is exposed with Roques de los Muchachos visible in the distance.

The harder sections of technical running around the Caldera, combined with heat and altitude provided the next challenge. From the high point, dropping 2400+m in 18km requires legs and nerves of steel. Believe me, it’s one hell of a ride. The early sections are open and the heat hits hard. Tree cover finally arrives and underfoot the single-track changes from dusty sand perpetuated with rocks to sand trail covered with a blanket of pine needles. In the latter stage pine needles giveaway to rocks and then the final zig-zag steep path to the port follows.

At Tazacorte Puerto, a short run along the beach, a technical run through a gulley and then a relentless claim all the way to the finish line in Los Llanos would decide the overall winner of the 2018 Transvulcania La Palma

Transvulcania VK by Binter – 2018 Race Summary and Images

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The island of La Palma today hosted the Winter Transvulcania Vertical Kilometer® (VK) one of many VK’s in the 2018 Vertical Kilometer® World Circuit.

Just last weekend in Italy the Trentapassi Vertical, rising 1,000m above Italy’s Lake Iseo took place and many of the runners who participated followed up with the VK in La Palma.

To clarify, a VK is a uphill mountain race that climbs for 1,000m over a course that is less than 5 km in length. Certain courses on the circuit do obtain special dispensation – Transvulcania one case in point.

The route here in La Palma covers over 1200m of vertical gain over a distance of 7.6km and re-traces sections of the Ultramarathon course and concludes at the forest lookout tower at an altitude of 1600m and stunning views of the Aridane valley and the north east of the island.

From sea to sky, today in La Palma, the BBinter Transvulcania VK provided a wonderful showcase for the sport as runners departed from Tazacorte Puerto. However, the usual glorious skies of blue and intense sunshine were replaced with cloud, grey and at times, light rain.

The line-up for the VK was impressive with Stian Angermund, Pascal Egli, Aritz Egea and Ondrej Fejfar heading up a world-class field.

Pascal Egli dominated with a strong performance ahead of Stian Angermund-Vik and Rui Ueda. Their times 47:55, 48:03 and 48:08.

Christel Dewalle set blistering pace and set a new course record ahead of Laura Orgue and Zuzana Krchova. Their times 56:52, 57:19 and 1:01:13.

Attention now turns to the main event of the weekend, the Transvulcania Ultramarathon that starts in the early hours of the morning on Saturday at Fuencalienti lighthouse. You can read the race preview HERE.

Full set of race images available HERE

Transvulcania Ultramarathon 2018 Race Preview

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Transvulcania is upon us! Since 2012, the race has been an ever-present in the Skyrunner World Series and now it is acclaimed the world over as a pinnacle event. Taking place on the Isla Bonita (the beautiful island) of La Palma, the race personifies the pure ethos of Skyrunning. It is a wonderfully logical race route that starts next to the sea in the south of the island and concludes on the west of the island in the town of Los Llanos. The route offers 74km’s of amazing trails, wonderful views and technical trail and some real vertical ascent (4350m) and descent (4057m) that tests the legs, lungs and mind of the most experienced runner.

Taking place on the GR131, Rute del Bastion, the route starts low and climbs and climbs into the National Park of the Caldera de Taburiente. Runners then traverse the rim to Roques de Los Muchachos before dropping over 2400m in one leg busting drop of 18km’s to the sea and Tazacorte Puerto before a final push upwards to the finish in Los Llanos.

A decade of Transvulcania and La Palma magic. In 2009, just 378 runners toed the line, in 2018, 2000 runners will embark on the majestic journey. One only has to look at past winners of the race to understand the importance of Transvulcania on the world running map – Luis Alberto Hernando Kilian Jornet, Miguel Heras, Dakota Jones, Emelie Forsberg, Anna Frost and the 2017 champions, Ida Nilsson and Tim Freriks.

As in previous year’s the race has a stellar line-up of world-class talent and notably includes the Italian Skyrunning master, Marco De Gasperi. For Marco, this race will be a departure for him as he will arguably race one of the longest races ever in his remarkable career. He is, one of the first ever official Skyrunner’s who has pioneered and paved a way for the rest. His inclusion in the 2018 Transvulcania is an exciting prospect.

Competition will come from all sides, in particular Xavier Thevenard who comes to the race with incredible results, however, he has raced at Transvulcania before and has always seemed to just miss the performances shown at the UTMB series of events which he has dominated. Will 2018 be his year?

Zaid Ait Malek is a pure Skyrunner. He placed 3rd last year and this year may well place 2nd or take the top slot. The race is there for the taking and Zaid has all the skills to make it happen.

Jason Schlarb raced in La Palma last year and had a solid result. He knows the race now and will be finely tuned to move up the ranks and potentially break into the top-5.

Dmitry Mityaev has risen in the Skyrunning ranks over the last few year’s with a string of excellent performances. He has got better and better and it is fair to say we can expect a solid performance in La Palma. He prefers the longer distances, so, Transvulcania may well be ideal for the Russian.

Michel Lanne rarely these days but when he does, he always excels. He has won CCC and TDS and last-year had a great run in Norway at Tromso SkyRace. For me, on his day, Michel is a potential winner for Transvulcania.

Franco Colle was missing in 2017 from the Skyrunning ranks but he is back. A past winner of the Rut 50km, Franco is an experienced Skyrunner who will make his presence felt in La Palma.

With a stellar line-up, other contenders to watch are as follows:

Morgan Elliott – 2016 and 2017 Skyrunner National Series champion.

Cody Reed – 2nd Bandera 100km and winner of Mt Bachelor 50km.

Cole Watson – 1st Canyons Endurance Run 50km.

Daniel Jung – 2nd Hong Kong 100 in 2017.

Fulvio Dapit – Consistent Skyrunner with great experience. 

Pau Bartolo – 1st at Buff Epic Trail in 2017 and 1st TDS 2015.

Alfredo Gil – 8th Dolomites SkyRace.

Pere Aurell – 4th at The Rut and 3rd at Royal Gran Paradiso.

Thibaud Garrivier – 6th at OCC and Marathon du Mont-Blanc 2017.

Ivan Camps – 5th at Ultra Pirineu.

Francesc Sole – 7th at UTMB and 6th at Ultra Pirineu.

Peter Kienzl – Long distance runner won won 360 Transgrancanaria.

Stephen Wassather – 1st Silver State 50 and 4th Bandera 100km

Jan Bartas – 4th Devil’s Ridge and 8th High Trail Vanoise.

Plus many more…

The ladies’ race has the 2016 and 2017 returning champion and course record holder, Ida Nilsson. In all honesty, if Ida shows any potential of her 2017 form, she will be unstoppable in 2018. She knows the course and has the speed and skills.

Ekaterina Mityaeva like her husband, Dmitry, has grown in experience and stature over the last few years and we can expect her to bring that experience to La Palma. The podium is a distinct possibility! 

Anna Mae Flynn has won Speedgoat 50km and placed 3rd at Lake Sonoma 50, two races that indicate a solid performance at Transvulcania. However, racing in Europe is always different than the US. I still think we will see something solid from this lady.

Cassie Scallon has won Bandera 100km and so we know the distance will not be an issue. In 2017 she had two notable wins at Gorge Waterfalls and Nine Trails.

Brittany Peterson has won Moab Red Hot 55km and placed 2nd at the 50km event at Run Rabbit Run. She is a slid runner with a good skill set that should transfer over to Transvulcania well.

Kelly Wolf may well be a dark horse after her recent win at Tararwera in New Zealnd. Arguably though, her 2nd at Speedgoat 50km and victory at Flagstaff SkyRace is more indicative of a good performance in La Palma.

Francesca Canepa prefers the longer distance races and although she brings a wealth of experience I believe the Italian will lack the speed required to penetrate the top 5.

Emilie Lecomte like Francesca is a long distance specialist and although she will perform well, it is unlikely she has the speed for the podium.

Meredith Edwards placed 2nd at TDS which confirms that climbing is not an issue, the question mark will be does she have the speed required to make the podium?

Eva Moreda is a solid Skyrunner who placed 5th in the 2017 Skyrunner World Series.

Ildiko Wermescher 3rd at TDS, 2nd at Swissalpine T133 and 2nd Swiss Irontrail confirms that Ildiko can run and handle the vert, however, I think Transvulcania may well be around 30km too short for a podium performance.

Laura Besseghini won the 2016 Dolomite Sky Run and in 2017 won Valmalenco Ultra Trail.

Paloma Lobera potentially could impact on the top-10 but lacks the pace or speed for the podium. She placed 8th at Matterhorn Ultraks in 2017.

Zuzana Bartasova – 7th at Trofeo Kima in 2016.

Natalia Roman – 1st Ultratrack Supramonte 2016 and 2nd Mustang Trail Race 2017.

Juan Maria Jimenez – 10th UTMB and 7th Oman Desert Marathon

Maylis Drevon – 11th Transvulcania 2017 and 2nd Marathon du Mont-Blanc 80km.

Plus many more…

Race Website HERE

As a point of note, other races take place over the Transvulcania weekend:

In the marathon, a key name to watch out for is Ryan Sandes, and in the half marathon, Stian Angermund-Vik for the men and Laura Orgue for the ladies.

Action starts on Thursday with the Vertical Kilometer Transvulcania Binter starting in Tazacorte Puerto at 1700 hrs.

The main events take place on Saturday with Transvulcania starting at 0600 and it is estimated that the first finisher will arrive in Los Llanos around 1230pm.

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THE FUTURE IN THE SKY – 2018 Migu Run Skyrunner® World Series Announced

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Getting steep and getting high, the 2018 Skyrunner® World Series was announced today.

Since 1989 and the pioneering days of Marino Giacometti, Skyrunning has developed and grown into one of the most prestigious mountain running circuits in the world.

The catchphrase, Less Cloud, More Sky sums the sport up perfectly.

2018 brings a new circuit with old and familiar races but importantly the distances of SKY CLASSIC, ULTRA and EXTREME combine – SKY CLASSIC and SKY EXTRA.

The 2018 Season

China will kick-off the season with the Yading Skyrun in April.

May brings us two iconic races that over the years have become favorites for Skyrunner’s all over the world, Transvulcania and Zegama-Aizkorri.

June kicks-off with USM – Ultra SkyMarathon Madeira followed by TBC, Olympus Marathon (Greece).

Buff Epic 42km (Spain) is the first race in July closely followed by High Trail Vanoise (France) and the iconic Dolomites SkyRace (Italy) and Comapedrosa (Andorra).

Tromso SkyRace (Norway) is a stunning way to start August and the highly anticipated Trofeo Kima (Italy) returns (this race is every two years) on the same weekend as Matterhorn Ultraks (Switzerland).

The RUT 25km (USA) begins September and then Skyline Scotland will host the Glen Coe Skyline (Scotland) ahead of the Ultra Pirineu (Spain).

Pirin Ultra SkyRace (Bulgaria) kicks-off October and Limone Extreme (Italy) concludes the season once again in the mountains that back on to Lake Garda.

BONUS RACES

Each of the bonus races will award 50% extra points.

There will be three Sky Classic and two Sky Extra bonus races. 

Sky Classic

  1. Olympus Marathon
  2. SkyRace Comapedrosa
  3. Limone Extreme

Sky Extra

  1. Ultra SkyMarathon Madeira
  2. Trofeo Kima

RANKING

Sky Classic Ranking

The Sky Classic Ranking will take into account a maximum of the five best seasons’ results in this category.

Sky Extra Ranking (Extreme and Ultra Races)

The Sky Extra Ranking will take into account a maximum of the four best seasons’ results in this category.

Overall Ranking

The Overall Ranking will be the focus of the season and a foretaste of the single ranking that will apply from 2019.

All athletes scoring points in any race will enter the Overall Ranking.

The ranking will take into account a maximum of the best two results in each category.

BONUS POOL

The 2018 End of Season Bonus Pool will increase amount 66,000 EUR (in increase from 60’000 EUR in 2017). Men and Women will be equally rewarded and emphasis will be put on the Overall ranking. The breakdown will be as follows:

1st Place:

Sky Classic 5000 euro

Sky Extra 5000 euro

2nd Place:

Sky Classic 2500 euro

Sky Extra 2500 euro

3rd Place:

Sky Classic 1500 euro

Sky Extra 1500 euro

THE FUTURE IN THE SKY – 2019 VISION

The Migu Run Skyrunner® World Series in 2019 will continue within the footsteps pioneered by Giacometti, Meraldi and Brunod to establish itself as the premier circuit for mountain running worldwide.

Varied distances, varied terrain and locations all over the world.

As the running world continues to grow at a pace, the Skyrunner® World Series will look to set new standards in 2019.

  1. Races will not exceed 16-hours.
  2. Distances will be 22km to 66km.
  3. A SkyRace will be clarified by technicality, speed, intensity and extreme terrain.
  4. A race rating of 1 – 3 will based on the following:
  • Climbing difficulty.
  • Altitude reached.
  • Single vertical difference.
  • Snow fields and glaciers.

For example, Extreme races are 3.

THE BIG NEWS

A single ranking for 2019 to determine who is the best Skyrunner® in the world.

SEASON

The calendar will run April to October with a spread of races that will number 15-20 on different continents.

RACE STATUS

Four races in the season will be ‘SuperSky Races’ and will reward more points.

THE ‘KONA’ OF THE SKY

Ironman has its KONA and Skyrunning will have its THE SKY MASTERS – a race to end the season that will gather the best-of-the-best to race head-to-head at an iconic location.

PRIZE MONEY

Each SkyRace will have a price purse of 6000 euro.

 The end of season bonus pool will amount to 100.000 euro.

More details and information to follow

Berghaus Dragons Back Race 2017 and Transvulcania 2017 on IRUN4ULTRA

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May was a busy month of racing and race coverage. The epic Berghaus Dragons Back Race weaved it’s way down the spine of Wales, starting in the north and finishing in the south.

My summary of the race is available to read on IRUN4ULTRA HERE. You can also listen to episode 136 of Talk Ultra which was a Dragons Back special with three incredible interviews, check it out HERE.

You can view the full image galleries from the Dragons Back Race HERE

May would not be May without the Transvulcania Ultramarthon on the magic island of La Palma. It was a record year with Ida Nilsson setting a new course record and Tim Freriks taking the win for the USA. You can read the summary of the race on IRUN4ULTRA HERE.

You can view images for the Transvulcania VK, the Ultra and a few fun days in the mountains HERE