| PRESS RELEASE 2013 SWS – new races new formats |
 Nine new entries, two brand new races, a US final and the much anticipated new format – that’s what’s in store for the 2013 Skyrunner® World Series which celebrates ten years with some of the best and most exciting races across the world. The new Series is divided into three stand-alone circuits: Sky, Ultra and Vertical, each with their own titles and prizes – clean and simple!The introduction of the ultra distance this year wrote a new page in skyrunning. The Series kicked off with the Transvulcania Ultramarathon on the Spanish island of La Palma, which saw probably the deepest field of world-class runners to date. The spectacular 83km course and 4,400m vertical climb will represent a major challenge to competitors in 2013 as once again the race opens the Ultra Series.
The success of the 2012 Ultra Series paved the way for our first 100-miler – the Ronda dels Cims. With a gruelling 13,000m-elevation gain, the race will take place on the longest day under the full moon crossing the entire Principality of Andorra. The Speedgoat 50K will be back with top runners and a fast course reaching three passes at 3,400m altitude in Snowbird, Utah, USA.
Two of Europe’s most famous mountains feature in the Sky Series: the Mont-Blanc Marathon which will also host theKM Vertical in Chamonix the same weekend, and the new Matterhorn Ultraks, a fast, 46 km race in Zermatt, in the shadow of the world’s most famous peak will, without a doubt, attract top runners. Spain’s long-standing testing ground of champions, the Maratòn Alpina Zegama-Aizkorri, launches the Sky Series and the popular Pikes Peak Marathon in Colorado USA, will again feature. To close, yet another new venue offers both a nocturnal Vertical and the Sky Series final: Skyrunning Xtreme, a short, steep technical race towering over Italy’s famous Lake Garda. Russia’s Mount Elbrus Vertical Kilometer® launches the entire skyrunning season and the Vertical Series on May 7. Entirely over snow, the VK reaches an altitude of 3,450m, the world’s highest race of its kind. The Vertical Series continues with the Ribagorza Vertical Kilometer® on the site of the 2012 SkyGames® in Spain, followed by Greece’sGerania Vertical Kilometer®, dominating the Corinthian Gulf. See below for the full calendars in each Series. Click on the Sky and Ultra Series races for a detailed race profile (still updating). Some numbers from the 2013 Skyrunner® World Series: nine new entries, two brand new races – 653m kilometresand 43,632 vertical climb – six races located in the world’s top ski resorts (Chamonix, Zermatt, Vallnord, Val d’Isère, Snowbird, Vail) – without a doubt some of the best places to run in summer…see you there! Check out the calendar here with links to the new race profiles and follow us on twitter and Facebook for news and updates. |
Two favourite skyrunning locations from the past also make a comeback: Val d’Isère and Vail, Colorado. The Ice-Trail Tarentaise, 65 km with 5,000m vertical climb, will test the best against the spectacular backdrop of the Rhône-Alpes Region, site of the ’92 Winter Olympics while Vail in Denver, Colorado, will host the Ultra Race of Champions “UROC” – the Ultra Series final. American and European legends will compete in this new 100 km race, very much at high altitude with four passes at 3,600m – a race of champions indeed.
Not a single race in Asia-Pacific it seems (not even Kinabalu), that’s a real shame …
Ronda del Cims what a beauty … even Miguel Heras took over 30hrs to finish it!
Reblogged this on Running news from around the World and commented:
SKYRUNNING 2013
whats the course elevation of the miler ?
13000m……harder than utmb ? any thoughts??
Yep you read it here first Clarkey – 13,000m ! That is why the winning time by gun athlete Miguel Heras is over 30 hours !! You need some proper climbing legs for this one that is for sure.
Andorra looks like it should be on the Ultra168 travel calendar for next year. Adam Campbell, Joe Grant, Julien Chorier and for sure more to come 🙂
..at last, some real elevetion..