Author: wmra_wp

This year’s Muttersberglauf is also a World Cup race (second of the seven stages) and is regarded as an Austrian State Championships in mountain running.
There are already about 200 participants from 14 nations registered. Among them are the top runners are: in the female race, Andrea Mayr (AUT), Monique Siegel (GER), Taylor Watts (USA); instead in the male race Isaac Kosgei (KEN), Francesco Puppi (ITA) and Pedro Mamo (ERI).

On Saturday 3rd of June 2017 (2,00 – 4.00 p-m.) there will be the ceremony for the drawing of the numbers followed by a great pasta party.
On Sunday 4th of June 2017 the start of the competition is scheduled at 10.00 a.m.
The finish line is located at Fraßenhütte 1740mt. altitude.
The distance of the race is 8,46km (1180 m Hd).
LOC of the event with its Chairman Hubert Rodhammer is ready to organize – once again – a great world level competition!
Thousand of spectators will support the runners along the track.
Wolfgang Munzel, WMRA Council member, will attend to the race as WMRA Official.

Edited from LOC press Office

Source of the pictures LOC:
on front page:
– cover-depliant of the race
on second page:
– Hubert Rodhammer, Chiarman of LOC.

Petro Mamu and Valentina Belotti were clear winners of the first stage of the 2017 Mountain Running World Cup.
Since the race in Arco was one of the Italian National Championships races and also served as their nation’s trial race for the European Championships, the Italian top runners were present.
They were among the more than 250 runners from 8 countries participating in the senior categories.

Eritrean Mamu was one of the strongest runners worldwide from the 2016 season having won the World Cup, and was considered the favourite in Arco.
He delivered an outstanding performance to win with a nearly one minute lead over the top Italians Xavier Chevrier and Cesare Maestri who finished in the remaining podium positions.
Scott Andrew Douglas, second in the World Cup 2016, finished fourth while Czech Jan Janu, third in the World Cup 2016, finished ninth.
With the silver medal at the World Championships, Valentina Belotti was also coming off a great 2016 season. Besides the Italian runners, only the Czech Pavla Shorna finished in the top 10.
Both Mamu and Belotti are world-class specialists for uphill races; in Arco they ran their own races and both finished with one minute margin over their nearest competitors.
The Bolognano – Velo race is a traditional uphill race, but is not held every year. It alternates with the Arco-Castle up-down hill race, that has been also a World Cup race and in 2016, also hosted the European Championships. The uphill course has also been changed several times during those years so the results can not be compared with the ones from previous editions.
This year the course for women was 9,1km long with 1140m elevation gain (including 50m of descents), while the men’s course was 11,1 km long with 1240m elevation gain (including 150m of descents).
The Bolognano Velo was re-proposed this year 2017 by Garda Sport Events after four years of absence to leave the space in the calendar for the Castle Mountain Running, which will return in 2018 with the formula relay.
The conditions on race day were sunny providing a dry course with temperatures about 25°C.
In spite of personal medical problems, the key person in the organization, Mr. Franco Travaglia, and his staff did a great job: the general and technical organization was on a high level, suitable for a World Cup race and national Championships.
WMRA Council member, Tomo Sarf attended the event and provided this report.
Full results are available to the following link:
Men: http://www.fidal.it/risultati/2017/COD6059/Gara295.htm
Women: http://www.fidal.it/risultati/2017/COD6059/Gara395.htm

WCup race results are available on WMRA web site, in the section named “result”.
The next stage of the World Cop will be next Sunday in Bludenz/AUT and only one week later there will be the World Cup third stage – the Grand Ballon race – in France..

Edited from Tomo Sarf (WMRA Council member)

Source of the pictures Tomo Sarf (WMRA Council member):
on front page:
– Petro Mamu at the finish;
on second page:
– Valentina Belotti in action on the track.

On Sunday morning, May 28, Bolognano-Velo will open the World Cup WMRA season with an uphill race that is part of the tradition of one of the most historic races in the Italian landscape.
The men’s race, the longest competition, will be of 11.1km with a 1272m difference of overall altitude, the same that divides Bolognano a quarter of the city of Arco, Garda Trentino, home to the 2016 European Championships, from the quarter Sant’Antonio, at 1260 m at the foot of the Mount Stivo.

The two main actors of Arco 2016 are expected at the race: the twins Martin and Bernard Dematteis respectively gold and silver, are still the men to beat in the big competition that will count among others the former champion Petro Mamu, Kenyan Isaak Kosgei, the British Andrew Douglas or the Czechs Jan Janu and Roman Skalsky. Not to forget the other Italians led by Francesco Puppi or the athlets from the Trentino Cesare Maestri and Davide Magnini, at their first season of seniors after their excellent results obtained at juniors.
The female race (and likewise the junior male) will be slightly shorter with the same start and finish. The track is reduced in the height of overall 9.1 km (1189 meters in altitude): Valentina Belotti, Alice Gaggi, Samantha Galassi and Antonella Confortola are some of the big Italian athletes, with the presence of Claudia Ecker Kosgei and Pavla Schorna.
In addition to the first round of the World Cup WMRA 2017, the Bolognano – Monte Velo 2017 race will also be valid as the first act of the Italian Championship. But the organizer Gardasport Events is already looking to the future to repeat in 2018 the Castle Mountain Running Arco with the formula of a spectacular relay race.
The track:
The senior men will face the track in its entirety, start from the center of Bolognano for the total
distance of 11.1 km and a total altitude distance of 1272 meters. A steeply climb for the first 4,5 km till San Francesco, followed by a plain part then again uphill towards the finish line in S. Antonio. The same start for the senior women and junior men with a slight deviation up-hill that
reduces the track to 9.1 km with 1189 meters of altitude. Start in San Francesco instead
for the junior race: 4,5 km and 342 m total altitude difference.
All information regarding the track, the technical data and program are available on the website www.bolognano-velo.it

Edited from Press Office of LOC

Source of the pictures (LOC):
on front page:
– depliant of the event: frontpage.

On Sunday, February 5, 2017, the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) held its annual winter council meeting in Cap d’Ail-Monaco, with seven of its eight council members present (Erhan Basoglu, was not in attendance).
For IAAF attended at the whole meeting Alessio Punzi (member of the staff of IAAF Competition Department) and Carlos Cardoso (IAAF Chairman of Cross Country Committee). For the first part of the meeting also Paul Hardy, IAAF Competition Director, was present.
In his eighth and final year as President of the WMRA, Bruno Gozzelino (ITA), who has worked closely with Secretary Pierre Weiss (FRA) for the past two years to lead the Council, conducted his second to last council meeting. Elections will be held July 29, in Premana, Italy, during the WMRA Congress meeting in advance of the 33rd World Mountain Running Championships the following day.

Four of the current Council members – Tomo Sarf (SLO), Wolfgang Munzel (GER), Andy Puchacz (POL), and Nancy Hobbs (USA), intend to run for seats. Weiss, along with Basoglu (TUR) and Galia Puhaleva (BUL), do not plan to run for another term.
There are presently 43 member countries in the WMRA family, the majority of which are represented by their respective National Athletic Federations. Only Canada and Australia, are outside their federations, but do operate with the approval of their respective federations. Any of the WMRA member countries can nominate an individual for a council seat in accordance with article 11.1 of the constitution. Nominations must be received 50 days prior to the Congress meeting, therefore by June 8, for the upcoming election.
In addition to discussions surrounding the impending election, rules and regulations for the various championships in the WMRA portfolio were reviewed with some changes to existing rules by a majority vote of the council members in attendance.
The Long Distance Championships will have a change in how teams are ranked. Starting in 2017, at the 14th WMRA Long Distance Mountain Running Championships on August 6 in Premana, Italy, teams will be scored by place instead of time.
One reason is to align the team scoring with the other WMRA championships. The other relates to a rule, which took effect several years ago, to have a separate start for the championships division if it was held in conjunction with an open race. With this separate start, there is no need to eliminate open runners in the results thereby making the place ranking easier (and quicker). Hobbs shared feedback from a poll taken of US athletes who supported keeping the scoring based on time, and therefore was the lone dissenter of the rule.
Another change in the regulations affecting organizers was to eliminate the previous requirement to pay travel and lodging expenses for the past year winners of the event. This is due to the local organizing committee (LOC) now responsible for more costs associated with hosting the event.
For the WMRA/WMA Masters Mountain Running Championships, several rule changes will be implemented starting this year at the 17th annual event in Dubnica nad Vahom, Sloakia, on September 2.
The most interesting, especially for countries with fewer athletes participating in the predominantly European-centric competition, is the new rule for team scoring. Previously, three athletes per country made up the team scoring in each of the age divisions starting at 35-39, in five-year increments to 74-79. Starting with the championships this year in Slovakia, all age groups for women, and men’s age groups 55 and up, will require just two athletes per country to score for a team. Men’s categories 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, and 50-54 will still require three per country to score as a team.
Athletes in masters championships must represent the country in which they hold citizenship. Organizers must request during the registration process, not only the address for a competitor, but also nationality as sometimes an athlete resides in a country in which he or she does not hold citizenship.
It was suggested by the council that national vests should be worn for all podium appearances for both individuals and teams.
Although age determination for Masters was discussed, with many on the council supporting the age in the year of competition, rather than the age of the athlete on the date of competition, the World Masters Athletics (WMA), whose global rules are followed for this competition, did not support a change to the age rule.
Switching gears to anti-doping efforts, six international mountain runners were in the out of competition testing pool of the IAAF resulting in 35 tests, all of which were negative. Additionally, all in-competition tests (of which there were 19 doping controls and 10 EPO analyses) were negative.
Much of the meeting content focused on objectives to increase exposure and participation in the sport worldwide. This includes the launch of the newly designed WMRA website, which will be live in the coming weeks, and the continued publication of the quarterly e-newsletter, and social media interaction on Facebook and Twitter.
In an effort to expand the reach throughout the six areas within the IAAF (Africa, Asia, Oceania, Europe, NACAC, Consudatle), Gozzelino and Weiss met with the six IAAF area designees the day before the Council meeting. The meetings were very positive and resulted in several new nations considering WMRA membership.
President Gozzelino and Secretary Weiss spoke also a few words about the future of mountain running and out stadia athletics discipline with Lord Sebastian Coe, IAAF President, during free moment in the weekend: in fact in the same days a IAAF Council meeting was held at Monte Carlo. 
For a complete list of races sanctioned by the World Mountain Running Association check out their Major Events calendar. You can also follow the WMRA on Facebook and Twitter.

Edited from Nancy Hobbs for the WMRA

Source of the pictures (Nancy Hobbs – WMRA):
on front page:
– Gozzelino, President, and Weiss, Secretary;
on second page:
– Council meeting. 

Eritrean Petro Mamu and Andrea Mayr of Austria produced convincing victories at the 37th Smarna Gora Mountain Running race, the last stop on the 2016 WMRA World Cup circuit, in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana on Saturday.
They win also 18th edition of the WMRA World Cup 2016.
Nearly 200 runners from 11 countries took part in the event on Smarna Gora, one of Slovenia’s most popular mountains among hikers, runners and walkers, which sits on Ljubljana’s northern outskirts.
WMRA Council member Tomo Sarf attended to the event.

“In a strong performance, Mamu clocked 41:35 over the 10-kilometre course with an ascent of 710 metres and ascents of 350 metres, just three seconds shy of the course record.
&quot,I’m really happy with the victory,&quot, Mamu told Slovenian news portal Siol.net. &quot,This season was a very successful one for me.&quot,
Victor Kiplangat of Uganda, the runner-up in the junior race at this year’s World Mountain Running Championships, led for most of the race until he faded over the final kilometre. He held on to finish second, 50 seconds behind the winner.
Andrew Douglas of Great Britain was third, 27 seconds behind Kiplangat.
The victories sealed the 2016 World Cup titles for both Mamu, who won the series crown in 2014, and Mayr, who dominated the women’s race as much as she did during the entire mountain running season.
Mayr, who raced to the world title in Bulgaria early last month, won here by more than three minutes in 48:42. That performance came despite a bad fall which left the former marathoner battered, bleeding and bruised as she crossed the finish line.
&quot,It’s nothing serious,&quot, she said, explaining that her spill came after she glanced at her watch during the last descent to see if she was still on course record pace.
Alice Gaggi of Italy was a distant third in 51:46. Slovenia’s Karmen Klancnik was third, nearly five minutes behind Gaggi.
Now WMRA Council will work for preparing Calendar of World Cup 2017: WMRA Council took decision during last meeting for giving prize money for the overall result of the next 19th edition of the World Cup 2017!

“

The International Smarna Gora Mountain Running Race remains one of the highlights of the mountain running season, and its rich tradition will continue on Saturday, October 1, with its 37th edition as the final Mountain Running World Cup 2016 race.
In the fall season of 1979, running enthusiasts from Ljubljana &ndash, Slovenia&rsquo,s capital &ndash, decided to organize a race to the top of one of the most popular mountains in Slovenia at Smarna Gora.
Nobody envisioned that it would become such a massive event with worldwide popularity.
The mountain running champions of the world will again be crowned this Saturday at this magnificent mountain peak.

In the early 1990s the event was the first national championships in the new state of Slovenia and later that decade, world champion Lucio Fregona (ITA) made the Smarna Gora race an internationally recognized event.
After the millennium, the Smarna Gora race became one of the founding members of the WMRA World Cup and since then it has been the final World Cup event on fourteen occasions.
In the last 36 years many World and European Championships medallists have been tested on the demanding course that takes runners 360 meters uphill to the first summit, followed by 300 meters of technical descent before a 300-meter climb to the finish.
The top men will race just over 40 minutes for this 10-kilometre course.
This Saturday, the best mountain runners will again meet to test their strength, speed and skills.
After the World Cup race in Bergen last Sunday, this will be the second official WMRA meeting after the World Championships and many will strive to climb the famous podium at Smarna Gora.
This will be a tall order, as the top female runners will include serial World and European Champion Andrea Mayr (AUT), and Alice Gaggi, Italian specialist for technical descents, also world champion 2013.
In the men&rsquo,s event, favourite No1 is Smarna gora 2014 winner Eritrean Petro Mamu who is almost unbeaten in the last 2 seasons.
Alex Baldaccini (ITA), returns to defend his Smarna Gora title from 2012, when he set the course record, in 2013 and 2014 he finished 3rd and in 2015 second.
Ugandans not even 20 years old Joel Ayeko and Victor Kiplangat, actual junior World Champion and Vice-champion, will test their skills on the Smarna Gora course for the first time.
Andrew Douglas, representing GBR, is one of the strongest mountain runners of this season, he finished in top positions wherever they raced.
In this strong international competition, Slovenian runners will try to use the benefits of home soil.
The weather forecast promises excellent running conditions and maybe even course records.

Edited from Tomo Sarf (WMRA Council mmber)

Source of the pictures (Tomo Sarf – WMRA):
on front page: top runners in action.

Excellent organization, ideal weather conditions and many strong international runners were the three most important characteristics of the 5th stage of the 2016 WMRA Mountain Running World Cup.
The sun just started to warm the cold clear fall morning, when a shot from real historical cannon gave the sign for 40 female and 205 male runners coming from record 20 countries to start the race on the 8,9km long course with 1075m elevation gain.

The top runners started first kilometre on the asphalted road with moderate incline with a decent pace around 3:35/km.
After 2 km the course becomes more and more steep and the leading group split to smaller.
On the “Alm” at 5,5km, where hundreds of spectators were waiting for the runners, the both Eritreans were already alone, followed by the Italian.
Later winner was not pushing too much, together with his fellow countryman he run together up to the last 1km sign, where he speed up and decided the race.
Petro Mamu won with time of 42:48, ten second in front his teammate Yossief Tekle. Third was Italian Antonio Toninelli who clocked 43:31.

Andea Mayr did again not allow and surprise. She clearly wan the race, with time of 48.18.
Second finished Slovakian Silvia Schwaiger (50:58) and third German Michelle Maier (time 52:12). Italian Antonella Confortola was fourth with 54:23.
After the race Andrea Mayr,was taken back to the valley with Mamu&rsquo,s coach, professional paragliding instructor in tandem parachute: “What an interesting experience!”, was her short comment later in Bergen.
Wolfgang Munzel and Tomo Sarf attended at the event like WMRA Council members.
Next week the final race of WMRA World Cup is already staged at Lublijana, with the traditional Smarna Gora International Mountain Race (37 edition this year)

Edited from Tomo Sarf (WMRA Council mmber)

Source of the pictures (Tomo Sarf – WMRA):
on front page:
– flower ceremony for men and women,
on second page:–
– Petro Mamu in action.

On next September the 25th, starts in Bergen/Chiemgau the 43. Hochfellnberglauf, this year the first time member of the 18th WMRA World Cup series.
The race was one of the founding members of the Mountain Running Grand Prix, which lately developed into the World Cup.
In 2000, the venue hosted on the same courses also the 16th World Mountain Running Championships.

As every year, most of the best athletes in mountain running comes to Bergen.
Andrea Mayr, Austria, the winner of the World Championship 2016 in Sapareva Banya and Emmily Collinge, GBR, Winner of the European Championship 2016 in Arco are the favorites between the strong female participants.
Petro Mamo, Eritrea and Isaac Kosgei, Kenia, and the strong Italian runners Francesco Puppi and Alex Baldacchini are the male favorites. Together with Jonathan Wyatt, NZL, Antonio Toninelli, Italia, Andrew Douglas and Robbie Simpson, GBR, it will be a real World Cup race.
All LOC hope for good weather and see forward to a great race.

323 athletes coming from 35 Nations from the continent in the world took part at the 32. WMRA World Mountain Running Championships 2016 in Sapareva Banya, Bulgaria.
Top runners fought for&nbsp,eight medals and six Countries were very proud for having listened their national anthem following the victory!
Germany, Czech Rep., Austria and Italy took titles in the female section whilst Uganda and USA took – both – two gold medal each in the male competition.
Medal table showed ten Nations.
Uganda in top position with 2 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze, followed by U.S.A. with 2 gold and 1 bronze. Third was Italy that took five medals in total with 1 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze. Czech Rep. was fourth with 1 gold and 2 silver. Fifth was Germany with 1 gold and 1 silver. Austria finished sixth with 1 gold. In&nbsp,the order: 7. Mexico with 1 silver and 1 bronze, 8. Frace with 2 bronze and 9. both Turkey and Great Britain and N.I. with 1 bronze each.

Sarah Kistner of Germany won the women’s junior title, covering the 3.5km course with an elevation gain of 500m in 22.48: she was junior silver medallist at World Championships in 2014, at Casette di Massa (ITA) and also Junior European Champion last year 2015, Porto Moniz (POR).  Czech Michaela Stranska was second in 23:31; 25 seconds clear of Bronwen Jenkinson of Great Britain (23:56). 
Stranska confirmed her silver medal at the World Championships of last year 2015 without forgetting that she won also bronze medal at World Championships 2014 and that she is European Champion 2016 and last year took silver medal at the European Championships. 
Agatha Thibert (FRA) was fourth, Barbora Havlikova (CZE) fifth, Nada Balcarczyk (GER) sixth, Rita Mineiro (POR) seventh, Klaudia Pawlus (POL) eighth, Francesca Franchi (ITA) ninght and Verena Streitberger (AUT) tenth.
Stranska, along with Barbora Havlickova, led the Czech squad to the junior team title with 19 points, ahead of Germand and Italy, with 25 and 33 respectively.
51 junior women started and 50 finished. 11 teams were in the final results.
In the junior men’s races, Uganda’s runners squad swept the top-three spots to dominate the competition. Joel Ayeko covered the 7.3km course with an elevation gain of 700m/-20m in 33:53, winning by nearly a minute-and-a-half over Victor Kiplangat (time 35:39). Third was their teammate Albert Chemutai who clocked 35:50.
Just behind Ugandan team arrived two strong Turkish (Ramazan Karagoz 4. and Ferhat Bozurt 5.) followed by two Italian (Daniele Pattis 6. and Davide Magnini  7.). Norwegian Stian Overgaard Aaarvik 8., New Zealender Jack Beaumont 9. and Belgian Maximillien Drion Du Chapois completed top ten position.
In the team chase, Uganda dominated with 6 points; Italy was a distant second with 41 points and third finished France with 49 points, the same of U.S.A. team that lost bronze due the fact that third counting runner was 22 instead third counting running for France was 19. Turkey lost a potential medal because its third runner didn’t finish the race due an accident, without conseguences.
65 junior men started and 63 finished. 15 teams were in the final results.
Austrian mountain running sensation Andrea Mayr won a sixth women’s senior title to highlight the 32nd WMRA World Mountain Running Championships in Sapareva Banya, Bulgaria.
Mayr covered the 7.3km course with a 700m elevation gain in 39:04, well ahead of Italy’s Valentina Belotti, who clocked 40:47. Christel Dewalle of France was third, clocking 41:05.
Mayr, the Austrian record holder in the half marathon and marathon, seems to be at her best when competing in the mountains in even years. The 37-year-old has won the crown every other year since her first in 2006. In total Mayr won 6 gold medal plus 1 silver and 1 bronze at the World Championships, besides she gained also 3 gold medals, 1 silver and 1 bronze at European Championships.
At Sapareva Bany, in the top ten arrived also two Slovakian (Sona Vnencakova, 4. and Silvia Schwanger 6.), one Czechian (Petra Novakova, 5.), two Italian (Alice Gaggi 7. and Sara Bottarelli 8.), one U.S.A. (Kim Nedeau, 9.) and one British (Atti Archer, 10.)
Belotti, the winner in 2009 and twice silver in 2010 and 2012, lead Italy to a comfortable victory in the team race with 17 points. The Czech Republic was second with 32. The USA was third with 36, just one ahead of Great Britain.
67 senior women started and finished. 13 teams were in the final results.
Joe Gray of the US, in his ninth consecutive appearance on the US Mountain Running Team, ran for an impressive victory nearly two minutes ahead of his nearest competitor.
Gray covered the demanding 12.7-kilometer course, which boasted 1,468 meters of climbing and 107 meters of descent, in a time of 1:02:13, followed by Mexico’s Israel Morales, second, in 1:03:52, and the  six-time European champion, Ahmet Arslan of Turkey, third, in 1:04:49. It is possible to tell that Joe Gray “lead from start to finish”: this because, Gray was passed in the final 1000 meters by Ugandan runner Robert Chemonges who cut the finish line in the first position but who was disqualified for a pacing violation (rule 144. 3-a).
In the top ten finished two other US runner (Hayden Hawks 4. and Brett Hales 7.), one Ugandan (Filex Chemonges 5.) and four Italian (Bernard Dematteis 6., Martin Dematteis 8., Alex Baldaccini 9. and Xavier Chevrier, 10.)  
Despite this situation with all the four Italian counting runners in the top ten, in a heated battle, USA edged mountain running powerhouse Italy by a single point with 32 point. Italy was second with 33 points. Mexico was third with 69.
140 senior men started and 137 finished. 22 teams were in the final results.
The Championships was organised very well by BAF and its President, Dobromir Karamarinov, was present at the event together Mayor of Sapareva Banya and many other political persons. 
At the end of the closing ceremony WMRA President, Bruno Gozzelino, together IAAF rapresentant, Carlos Cardoso, passed the WMRA flag to FIDAL Council Member, Giacomo Leone, and to a team of Premana Athletic Club, LOC of next 33rd World Mountain Running Championships 2017 at Premana (Lecco), Italy on Sunday 30th July 2017.

Pictures of the event at the following address: http://saparevabanya2016.info/gallery/

Edited from Bruno Gozzelino (WMRA President)

Source of the pictures (first four by Patrizia Longo and last by Deni Mileva): 
on front page: 
– Mayr, Champion senior women; 
on second page: 
– Kistner, Champion junior women;
– Ayeko, Champion junior men;
– Gray, Champions senior men;
– pass the flag to LOC W. Ch. 2017.