Livigno Sky Marathon & Livigno Trail

With six days to go until Marco de Gasperi’s Alta Valtellina Experience and its trio of races, just a few start numbers still remain for the Livigno Skymarathon, held on Sunday 26th June with the entry limit set at 300 competitors for logistical reasons. Entries are, however, still being taken for Friday 24th June’s Santa Caterina Vertical Kilometre and Sunday’s brand new Livigno Trail, which is a great side event for the two Skyrunning World Series branded events.

Alongside a wealth of passionate amateur runners, there’s an exciting starting line-up for the first event on Friday afternoon that sees competitors take on the uphill-only course from the village in Valfurva before finishing on the Cresta Sobretta after just 3km of distance and 1,000 metres of altitude. Hailing from South Tyrol, Team La Sportiva’s Urban Zemmer not only won last year’s inaugural edition but is also the first man ever to break the 30 minute VK barrier at Fully 2015, decisively making him the one to beat on Friday. However, there’s no shortage of competition for Zemmer, as the French national ski mountaineers Alexis Sevennec and William Bon Mardion as well as Team Scott’s vertical specialist Manuel da Col are all on the list.

The women’s field is also going to be hotly contested with last year’s winner Elisa Desco (Team Scott) facing a handful of vertical specialists including Francesca Rossi (Team la Sportiva),  Christel Dewalle (Team Adidas), Laura Orguè (Team Salomon), Antonella Confortola (Forestale) and the Italian national ski mountaineers Corinna Ghirardi and Giulia Compagnoni).

The race will set off in a mass start from the centre of Santa Caterina before the athletes tackle the infamous Alpine ski piste to cover 1,000 metres of climbing condensed into just three kilometres to reach the Cresta Sobretta at 2,760 metres. Set last year, the records stand at Urban Zemmer’s 35.42 and Elisa Desco’s 42.20.

Saturday sees the race and its entourage move to Livigno, fondly known as Little Tibet, in anticipation for the weekend’s main event: the Livigno Skymarathon. A 34.5 km cavalcade of true skyrunning with 2,700 metres of altitude, the route traces a path across the wild landscape on the Swiss/Italian border and is a veritable mountain marathon with technical, exposed ridges and sections run at 3,000 metres above sea level in the ultimate skyrunning style. On this occasion the race welcomes a host of intrepid specialists including 2015 World Series winner Tadei Pivk (Team Crazy Idea), Aritz Aegea from the Basque Country, the Swiss duo of Pascal Egli (Team Dynafit) and Micha Steiner (Team Salomon) as well as the Frenchmen Samuel Equi and Alexis Sevennec.

Once again, the women’s field won’t be outdone, spearheaded by the American Megan Kimmel (Team Asics), local hero Elisa Desco, Denmark’s Katrine Villumsen (Valetudo) and Salomon Spain’s Laura Orguè and Ohianna Kortazar.

Hand-in-hand with the two World Series events, Sunday’s Livigno Trail has been conceived as a mellower introduction to the world of skyrunning, and where better to be held than in Little Tibet, one of the world’s top outdoor sports destinations. A joint venture with the Marathon Club Livigno athletics club, Carosello 3000 and APT Livigno, the Livigno Trail has a distance of 17.9 km with 1,000 metres of climbing, rendering it a viable option for all.