2003 Skyrunning World Championship Circuit

· Six countries will participate in the 2003 Skyrunning World Championship Circuit
· The final of a circuit of seven races will award the "Skyrunning World Champion" title to the winner based on four placings
· Points: 100-88-78-72-68-66-64-62-60-58 (top 10)
· Participation is open to athletes holding a current FSA membership card or that of an associate national mountain federation, (AATRA, FFME, FEEC, FISI, etc)
· Official FSA rules will apply
· World Circuit race organisers will offer hospitality to top athletes and visibility to FSA circuit sponsors (to be defined)
· A box with the FSA World Skyrunning Championship Circuit Race logo and details will be published in each organiser's brochure and web site
· Travel and contributions to be defined

2003 SKYRUNNING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CIRCUIT RACES

SPAIN: Maraton Alpino Madrileño SkyRace, Sierra Guadarrama, June 15
FRANCE: Val d'Isère Vertical Kilometer, June 22
ITALY: Trofeo Davide SkyRace, Corteno, Brescia, July 6
USA: Barr Trail Mountain Race, CO, July 13
SWITZERLAND: Corse de Sierre-Zinal, SkyRace, Zinal, August 10
ITALY: SkyMarathon, Cervinia, Aosta, 7 September
MALAYSIA: Mount Kinabalu Climbathon, SkyMarathon, October 4/5

These are the official 2003 races:

Maratòn Alpino Madrileño, Puerto de Navacerrada, Spain, June 15
The 42 km race reaches a top altitude of 2,450m and seven peaks with a
vertical climb of 2,250m (total up and down 4,500m) over trail and mountain crests.
www.tierratragame.com/maraton - asociacion@tierratragame.com

Vertical Kilometer, Val d'Isère, France, June 22
1,000m of steep, uphill vertical climb is the feature of this popular race. The course starts at 1,800m and reaches 2,800m over only 3 km up the Olympic Downhill run, the Face de Bellevarde. The Vertical Kilometer world record was set here in 35'32".
www.valsport.org/evenete/2002/kilovert - info@valsport.org

Sentiero 4 Luglio, Corteno Golgi, Brescia, Italy, July 6
The 42 km race reaches a top altitude of 2,744m with a total vertical climb of 2,200m (4,400m up and down) over trail, mountain crests and snow.
The record time is 4h11'39'', set by Italian Bruno Brunod in 2001.
www.cortenogolgi.it/sport - 4luglio@cortenogolgi.it

Barr Trail Mountain Race, Colorado, USA, July 13
The race takes place on the north side of Pikes Peak with a steep ascent from Manitou Springs up the Barr to an altitude of 3,109m and back for a total distance of 19.3 km and 2,212m vertical climb. The winning time is 1h30' for men and 1h51' for women.
www.runpikespeak.com - info@runpikespeak.com

Course de Sierre-Zinal, Zinal, Switzerland, August 10
A very popular race with more than 1,000 participants from all over the world. The 31km course reaches an altitude of 2,325m. The winning time is 2h30', a record held by Mexican Ricardo Mejia. The women's record is 3 hours.
www.sierre-zinal.com - info@sierre-zinal.com

SkyMarathon, Cervinia, Aosta, September 7
SkyMarathon from Cervinia to the summit of the Western Breithorn, 4,160m, across the Teodulo Pass and the Plateau Rosà glacier.
Total climb +/- 2200m, distance 27 km.
Record: 2h39'00 Dennis Brunod, 2001.
info@fsaitalia.org - www.fsaitalia.org

Mount Kinabalu International Climbathon, Sabah, Malaysia, October 4/5
Steep race for 8.5 km from 1,890m to 4,095m with a vertical descent down steps to 1,600m for a total distance of 20 km. Record time is 2h41' set by Spaniard Agusti Roc..
The women's race takes place the previous day over the same distance. Winning time 3:11:04 .
www.sabahtourism.com/mkic2002/mkic.htm - balwant@sabahtourism.com

Organizers and athletes click here for the rules

NATIONAL RANKING AND TITLES
· National Ranking is based on the three top results of the FSA races in each country
· A national federation can organise a National Skyrunning Championship based on the same ranking points
· A National Skyrunning Championship, based on the official FSA race list (up-date December, 02), could be held in France, Italy, Spain, USA and Switzerland

Results World Championship Circuit 2002

FIRST SKYRUNNING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

The first Skyrunning World Championship in Cervinia, Italy, on July 12, 1998, brought together 16 countries from four continents with top athletes competing for the prestigious world title and the $20,000 purse.
The 26 mile race over mountain trails, ski runs, moraine and glacier covered the full marathon distance with a total elevation gain of 3,500 meters started and finished in the town of Cervinia. The maximum altitude of 4,160m was reached on the Breithorn on the Swiss/Italian border with breathtaking views of the Matterhorn (for those with breath to spare).

Skyrunning World Champion, 35 year-old Bruno Brunod, a local athlete, was the favorite, whose months of training on the course paid off in a 4h46’ win over the Mexican, Ricardo Mejia 2nd, while Brunod’s training companion, another local athlete, Jean Pellissier, took 3rd. The top men’s places all went to Skyrunner Team athletes. The women fared exceptionally well, beating many of the men in the field. French skyrunner Corinne Favre took the title in 6h16’, promising local runner Gloriana Pellissier was 2nd and Italian Gisella Bendotti 3rd .

Random anti-doping tests were carried out by the FSA’s medical team headed by Dr Sergio Roi and other tests aimed at high altitude functional assessments formed part of a research program.

While the grueling course penalized many participants used to less rigorous terrain and lower altitude, the event marked an important stride in skyrunning history.