Limone Skyrunning Extreme, the end-of-season happening for all sky riders returns in mid-October with Saturday races that you won't want to miss. The program includes the legendary Vertical de la Mughéra, the final of ISF's VK OPEN Championship, followed by the sky race that will award the first edition of the “Skyrunning Team Awards,” a sort of world championship for private teams with awesome prizes.
FOR VERTICAL CLIMBERS:
At the end of 10 challenges, the ISF (International Skyrunning Federation) will announce the king and queen of the "only up" race after a final with a lake view and a formidable climb. Starting at 9:30 a.m., some of the world's top athletes flanked by numerous amateurs will compete on the acrobatic ascent that leads to the finish line of Cima Mughéra. There are 200 racing bibs available for this race. The route is the usual: a 1100 m elevation gain in less than 3 kilometers. These stats are as impressive as the amazing panorama that is sure to impress spectators and the public. Starting at just 60 m above sea level, the specially "cleaned" and marked trail shoots up to 1,160 m above sea level to the finish line. The times to beat are 36'02" by Rémi Bonnet (2018) and 42'43" by Andrea Mayr (2021). Currently leading the circuit are the Chilean Lasen Pingel and Charlotte Cotton from Belgium, but with the finale worth double points, their leadership is far from certain.
Keep in mind that since the sky race starts at 11:30 a.m., the program of the two Scarpa-sponsored events has been specifically designed to allow the athletes of the vertical climb to reach the top and then follow the salient phases of the "up & down" skyrunning race.
A REAL "WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP" FOR CLUBS AT LIMONE:
In skyrunning country, there will be a special addition in the challenge: the first “Skyrunning Team Awards”. This sort of world championship for private clubs has awesome prizes: the first team will take home €5,000, the second €3,000, and the third €2,000. The confirmed individual prizes offer €1300 for first place, €1,100 for second, and €1,000 for third (equal prizes are awarded in the women's category).
That's right, besides the individual ranking of the athletes, teams will be ranked by summing up the finish times of the top three men and top two women of each club. Therefore, for this category, the teams can present a minimum number of 3 male and 2 female athletes. (For larger clubs, there is no maximum limit for the number of registrations). The proven 22.22 km route with an elevation gain of 2,052 meters will therefore determine the world's strongest team. The start and finish lines will be, as usual, in the striking location of Lungolago Marconi in Limone. In this race, the times to beat are 2h23'03” by Nadir Maguet and 2h55'23” by Denisa Dragomir.
As always, the awards ceremony will take place in the afternoon and the big end-of-season party will be in the evening. For more info and registration: www.limonextreme.com.
