The Engadin Skimarathon is an annual cross-country skiing race (

ski marathon Competitive cross-country skiing encompasses a variety of race formats and course lengths. Rules of cross-country skiing are sanctioned by the International Ski Federation and by various national organizations. International competitions incl ...

) held on the second Sunday of March in the

upper Engadine The Engadin or Engadine ( rm, ;This is the name in the two Romansh idioms that are spoken in the Engadin, Vallader and Puter, as well as in Sursilvan and Rumantsch Grischun. In Surmiran, the name is ''Nagiadegna'', and in Sutsilvan, it is ...

valley ( Switzerland), between Maloja and

S-chanf S-chanf (; german: Scanfs; it, Scanevo) is a municipality in the Maloja Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. Localities in the municipality of include Susauna, Chapella and Cinuos-chel. Name is first mentioned around 1137–1139 as ''Sc ...

. It debuted in 1969 and has been a part of

Worldloppet The Worldloppet Ski Federation is a federation of long distance cross-country skiing events whose aim is to promote cross-country skiing through ski races. The federation was founded on 10 June 1978 in Uppsala, Sweden. Locations Only one and t ...

as long as Worldloppet has existed. It is one of the major cross-country skiing events in the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...

. Between 11,000 and 14,200 skiers participate each year. The total distance covered is 42 km, although it is also possible to complete the half-marathon of 21 km (finishing in

Pontresina Pontresina ( rm, Puntraschigna) is a municipality in the Maloja Region in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. History and name Pontresina was first mentioned in medieval Latin documents as ''ad Pontem Sarisinam'' in 1137 and ''de Ponte Sar ...

) or the 17 km Women's Race (Samedan to S-chanf) . While it is a freestyle race, there are separate tracks for skiers practicing classic style for all but the narrowest parts of the race. Participation is open to anyone from the age of 16, and no licence is required to sign up. Tha track record of 1:16:10h was set by

Hervé Balland Hervé Balland (born January 7, 1964) is a French cross-country skier who competed from 1990 to 1998. He won a silver medal in the 50 km event at the 1993 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Falun. Balland's best finish at the Winter Olym ...

in 1994. In the same year, Silvia Honegger completed the race with the female track record of 1:22:08. As the race was extended by 2 km in 1998 to match the distance of a full marathon and the track was changed slightly in the Stazerwald section, resulting in a more difficult topography, longer racetimes are now standard. The start of the race takes place at the Maloja Palace Hotel with an elevation of . The track than leads over both Lake Sils and

Lake Silvaplana Lake Silvaplana (german: Silvaplanersee; rm, Lej da Silvaplauna) is a lake in the Upper- Engadine valley of Grisons, Switzerland. It takes its name from the village of Silvaplana. The lake is also connected to the nearby Lej da Champfèr. Togethe ...

(which are frozen at this time of year). After passing St. Moritz there is a forested climb in the Stazerwald. The proceeding descent to

is regarded by many as the most spectacular part of the race for spectators, due to the high number of falls and crashes by skiers. The race then follows the runway of

Samedan Airport Samedan Airport, french: Aéroport de Samedan, it, Aeroporto di Samedan , also known as Engadin Airport,, french: Aéroport d'Engadin, it, Aeroporto d'Engadina, rm, Eroport da l'Engiadina is a regional airport in Samedan in the Engadin valley ...

and afterwards continues on the right side of the

Engadin The Engadin or Engadine ( rm, ;This is the name in the two Romansh idioms that are spoken in the Engadin, Vallader and Puter, as well as in Sursilvan and Rumantsch Grischun. In Surmiran, the name is ''Nagiadegna'', and in Sutsilvan, it is ...

valley, passing several small communities before reaching the Finish in

at an elevation of .

Winners

See also

References

External links