Author: wmra_wp

The euro symbol has been converted to a ? symbol in the newsletter message. read 5 euro, not 5?

11th Edition ready for distribution

The annual WMRA newsletter has been printed and distributed to international mountain running athletes whose addresses have been supplied to me by team management. You should receive these in the near future. I have sent copies to team management for those who have not supplied individual team members addresses. The IAAF will as usual distribute the newsletter to all its member federations. If you are not a member of your international mountain running team, and wish to receive a copy, you can do so by sending 5€, 5$(US) or £3 (Cheques payable to D.Hughes) to me: Danny Hughes, Hallsteads, Gosforth, Cumbria, CA20 1BJ, England. The title ‘Newsletter’ was appropriate when it was first published 11 years ago. Now however, besides bringing you up to date with current WMRA activity, it contains a full record of last years events, details of forthcoming events, and other interesting news. It is now a 24 page full colour production containing many photographs. We will have to think of a new name!

Applications invited.
Event organisers are reminded that the European Athletic Association (EAA) are inviting potential organisrs of the 2008 European Mountain Running Championships to make their interest know by 15th April 2006. Organisers should inform their national athletic federations of their plans and they in turn should inform the EAA by the due date. The rules and regulations concerning the championships can be obtained from EAA or seen directly on the WMRA web page (www.wmra.info) under the ‘rules’ tab.

The latest progress report.
Your attention is drawn to the latest progress report from Turkey on preparations for the 2006 World Mountain Running Trophy. It can be seen via the link on the WMRA web page or directly on www.wmrt2006.org

2006 event Links
The WMRA web page now contains links to WMRA events web pages. The links are under headings, ‘Championships’, ‘Grand Prix events’, and ‘associate members races’. The list is not complete since some web pages have not yet been prepared. Go to www.wmra.info and click the LINKS tab.

Points system altered.
Athletes interested in the 2006 WMRA Grand Prix series should note that the rule concerning the points system has been changed as from this date. The final race in the series will attract a bonus of 30% not 50% as previously indicated.

Entries.
A reminder to those mountain runners planning to compete in the Pikes Peak Marathon (USA).
The on-line entry system opens on March 1st. You are advised to enter immediately on that date since there is a limit on available places.

An invitation to advertise.

WORLD MOUNTAIN RUNNING ASSOCIATION – “THE NEWSLETTER” WMRA MAGAZINE I have recently become the Director of Marketing for the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) and I would like to offer interested parties the opportunity to advertise in our Annual Newsletter Magazine. The “Newsletter” is an excellent quality twenty eight page glossy, full colour,magazine (copies available on request) which has world wide distribution to our thirty five member countries and is distributed at major Mountain Running Events, World Mountain Running Trophy, European Championships, European and World Masters Events, the six WMRA Grand Prix races, The Long Distance Challenge (Pikes Peak USA 2006) and all other affiliated WMRA Mountain Races. Full details of all our exciting fixtures are available on our website www.wmra.info Copies of the magazine are also distributed to all competing international athletes at major championship events. The Newsletter is printed in March 2006 and prime positions within the magazine are available for your advert at a cost of £500 /750 Euro/ $900 US for a colour full page or £350/ 520 Euro/ $650 US for a colour half page. This opportunity is limited to four pages only and will be allocated on a first come first served basis. The deadline for reply and copy material will be Tuesday 28th February 2006 and I will be most grateful if you could contact me as soon as possible to secure your advert. Please contact me directly on 01633 644551 during the day or 01495 791754 evenings and weekends. All the best Yours faithfully Adrian Woods Director of Marketing Adrian Woods Phone ( home ) + 44 1495 791754 Ty’r Mynydd, Phone ( office ) + 44 1633 644551 7,Heol Coed Cae Uchaf, E-Mail adrian.woods@virgin.net Blaenafon, Torfaen, NP4 9JA Wales

New regulations and Rules, application form and agreement.

Your attention is drawn to the revised Grand Prix Regulations and 2006 Rules which can be seen under the Grand Prix tab on the WMRA web page.
In particular note the new points system and the revised prize list with WMRA doubling its input to 3,000 and each race organiser 1,500€

Press Release from ancy Hobbs (WMRA Delegate)

January 21, 2006

Pikes Peak to Host WMRA World Long Distance Mountain Running Challenge

The Pikes Peak Marathon will have an international designation this year as host of the third annual WMRA World Long Distance Mountain Running Challenge. The Pikes Peak Marathon committee placed a bid to host the Challenge in 2004 and was awarded the nod in 2005.

“The Pikes Peak Marathon Committee is honored to be hosting the third WMRA World Challenge. Having the Challenge will continue our recent tradition of attracting some of the best mountain runners in the world and of placing the Marathon on the world mountain running stage,” said race director Ron Ilgen.

The Challenge is designed to attract the best mountain runners in the world to one venue that would rotate between Europe, the Americas, Oceania, Africa, and Asia. The event is staged in conjunction with a traditional long distance mountain race that has an established international reputation and is affiliated or registered with the national athletic federation of the country of competition. The race must fall within the following approximate parameters: 1) the men’s race record time must be between 2 hours and 4 hours; 2) the total amount of ascent must exceed 2,000 meters; and 3) the event is open to men and women who will both run the same course and may start at the same time.

Prior hosts of the Challenge included the Sierre-Zinal 31Km Mountain Race in Switzerland in 2004 and Marathon du Vignemale in Cauterets, France in 2005.

Top finishers at Sierre-Zinal were Mexican Ricardo Mejia (also a past winner at Pikes Peak) and Angeline Joly of Switzerland. Second place honors went to Helmuth Schiessel, Germany and Maria Rodriguez, Columbia with Billy Burns, Great Britain and Isabelle Guillot, France rounding out the top three. In Cauterets, Schiessel proved victorious besting Slovenian Toni Vencel and Daniel Bolt, France. For the women Australian Emma Murray led the field (18th overall) followed by Austrian Marion Kapuscinski and France’s Isabelle Guillot.

Nancy Hobbs, WMRA Council Member, expects a stellar international field for the 51st running of the Pikes Peak Marathon. “At the World Trophy race in New Zealand both Helmuth Schiessel (5th place at the World Trophy) and Emma Murray (34th at the World Trophy) indicated their plans to race Pikes Peak. Since then we’ve had interest from athletes in Slovenia, France, and the UK and some of the top runners in the U.S. We are also delighted that WMRA President Danny Hughes will attend all of the race festivities with plans to make the trip to the summit on Ascent day and again to see runners at the half-way point in the Marathon.”

Page Two/WMRA Challenge

In January 2006 during the WMRA Council Meetings in Monaco, the Jungfrau Marathon in Switzerland was announced as the site of the 2007 World Challenge. Organizers of the Jungfrau Marathon have offered to pay 75% of the travel expenses (economy class) for the top three male finishers and the top woman finisher at Pikes Peak. Jungfrau will celebrate its 15th running on September 8, 2007. Additionally, the top three men and top three women finishers at Pikes Peak will receive medals from the WMRA and the event organizers hope to provide prize money to top finishers.
For athletes interested in learning more about the Challenge including entry and lodging assistance for the event, please contact Nancy Hobbs at (719) 573-4405 or by e-mail to: trlrunner@aol.com. Visit the following websites for more details on the WMRA and prior hosts of the Challenge.

WMRA WMRA
Sierre-Zinal www.sierre-zinal.com
Cauterets www.cauterets.com
Pikes Peak www.pikespeakmarathon.org
Jungfrau www.jungfrau-marathon.ch