The Giro di Castelbuono (officially Giro Podistico Internazionale Castelbuono) is an annual
road running
Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain.
These events are usually classified as long-distance ac ...
competition over 10 kilometres which takes place in
Castelbuono
Castelbuono ( Sicilian: ''Castiddubbuonu'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, Sicily (southern Italy).
Fountain of Venere Ciprea.
It is known for its castle from which its name derives, and around which the city deve ...
, on the island of
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
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,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. First held in 1912, the competition, which holds
IAAF Gold Label Road Race
World Athletics Label Road Races are races that the World Athletics (until 2019: ''IAAF'') designates as one of the "leading road races around the world." The classification was first introduced for the 2008 running season, upon the suggestion of ...
status, is one of the oldest road races in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, which is the inspiration for the event's nickname – "La Corsa Più Antica" (''The Oldest Race''). The race, typically held on (or around) July 26 to coincide with
Saint Anne
According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come o ...
's Day, has been held almost every year since its inauguration, although the two
World Wars
A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...
interrupted the event over those periods. The race has been broadcast every year for a decade by Italian television channel
Rai Sport Più.
[Storia Del Giro]
. Giro di Castelbuono. Retrieved on 2010-08-08.
From 2011 onwards, the race departed from its long-standing original distance of 11.3 kilometres and switched to a certified 10 km circuit. From 1912 to 2010, the course of the race followed a looped pattern of ten laps of roughly 1.13 km around the historical centre of the town. The start and end point of the race was at Piazza Margherita. Beginning at the square, the route went south along Via Roma and into Via Mario Levante. It then went east along Via
Camillo Benso Conte Di Cavour
Camillo Paolo Filippo Giulio Benso, Count of Cavour, Isolabella and Leri (, 10 August 1810 – 6 June 1861), generally known as Cavour ( , ), was an Italian politician, businessman, economist and noble, and a leading figure in the movement towa ...
before heading back north along Via
Vittorio Emanuele II
Victor Emmanuel II ( it, Vittorio Emanuele II; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di House of Savoy, Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was Kingdom of Sardinia, King of Sardinia from 1849 until 17 Marc ...
. The course then followed Via
Umberto I
Umberto I ( it, Umberto Rainerio Carlo Emanuele Giovanni Maria Ferdinando Eugenio di Savoia; 14 March 1844 – 29 July 1900) was King of Italy from 9 January 1878 until his assassination on 29 July 1900.
Umberto's reign saw Italy attempt colo ...
in a north-westerly direction which arrives back at the starting point. The race is a challenging one for athletes as they must contend with a difficult uphill section on each lap.
Over the history of the event, the Giro di Castelbuono has attracted many of the sport's top athletes. Among the past winners are former world record holders
Khalid Khannouchi
Khalid Khannouchi ( ar, خالد خنّوشي) (born September 12, 1971) is a retired American marathoner. He was born in Meknes, Morocco. He is the former world record holder for the marathon and held the former road world best for the 20 km ...
and
Paul Tergat
Paul Kibii Tergat (born 17 June 1969) is a Kenyan former professional long distance runner. He became the first Kenyan man to set the world record in the marathon in 2003, with a time of 2:04:55, and is regarded as one of the most accomplished l ...
, three-time
London Marathon
The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held ...
winner
Martin Lel
Martin Kiptolo Lel (born 29 October 1978) is a Kenyan professional long distance and marathon runner. He won the London Marathon in 2005, 2007, and 2008, the New York City Marathon in 2003 and 2007 and the Great North Run in 2007 and 2009. His p ...
, and four-time road running World Champion
Zersenay Tadese
Zersenay Tadese (Tigrinya: ዘርእሰናይ ታደሰ; born 8 February 1982) is an Eritrean long-distance track and road running athlete. He held the men's half marathon world record from 2010 to 2018. His bronze medal in the 10,000 metres ...
. The pre-international era of the race also featured prominent runners, including
Gelindo Bordin
Gelindo Bordin (born 2 April 1959) is an Italian former athlete, winner of the marathon race at the 1988 Summer Olympics. He is the first Italian to have won an Olympic gold in the marathon and the only male to win both the Boston Marathon and th ...
,
Orlando Pizzolato
Orlando Pizzolato (born 30 July 1958) is a retired long-distance runner from Italy.
Biography
He represented his native country in the men's marathon at the 1988 Summer Olympics, finishing in 16th place (2:15:20). His biggest success was twice w ...
,
Venanzio Ortis
Venanzio Ortis (born 29 January 1955) is an Italian retired long-distance runner who won two medals at the 1978 European Championships.
Biography
Ortis was born in Paluzza, province of Udine. He started racing in 1969 (for a period he also prac ...
,
Franco Fava
Franco Fava (born 3 September 1952) is an Italian former long-distance runner.
Biography
Franco Fava participated at two editions of the Summer Olympics (1972, 1976), he has 29 caps in national team from 1968 to 1977.
After his sporting career ...
, as well as Sicily's own
Luigi Zarcone
Luigi Zarcone (18 June 1950, in Villabate – 9 June 2001, in Palermo) was an Italian middle and long distance runner.
Biography
Luigi Zarcone won two medals, at senior level, at the International athletics competitions. He has 32 caps in nation ...
.
[ While the competition has principally been a men's race throughout its existence, a women's race was featured on the programme from 1995 to 2004. Winners of this short-lived race included ]Rome Marathon
The Rome Marathon is an annual marathon competition hosted by the city of Rome, Italy.
History
The competition has also doubled as the Italian Marathon championships on two occasions; in 1983 and 1986. The race date was shifted from the t ...
winner Gloria Marconi
Gloria Marconi (born 31 March 1968) is an Italian long-distance runner.
Biography
She was born in Florence. On the track she finished fifth in the 5000 metres and 24th in the 10,000 metres at the 2002 European Championships. She became Italian ...
, Florence Marathon
The Florence Marathon ( it, Maratona di Firenze) is an annual full-length marathon race held in late November in Florence, Italy, since 1984.
History
Established in 1984, the international competition has significantly grown in size since its ina ...
winner Florence Barsosio
Florence Jepkemoi Barsosio (born 11 August 1976 in Keiyo District) is a Kenyan athlete who specialises in long-distance running. Her sister, Sally Barsosio, is also a professional runner.
She has competed at world championship finals in long-dis ...
and multiple Major Marathon champion Margaret Okayo
Margaret Okayo (born May 30, 1976 in Masaba, Kisii District) is a professional marathon runner from Kenya. She has won a number of major marathons, including the New York City Marathon (two times), the Boston Marathon, and the London Marathon. Sh ...
.[Monti, Dave & Civai, Franco (2010-07-27)]
La Corsa Piu' Antica 11.2 km (M) and 5.6 km (F)
Association of Road Racing Statisticians
The Association of Road Racing Statisticians is an independent, non-profit organization that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics regarding road running races. The primary purpose of the ARRS is to maintain a valid list of world road record ...
. Retrieved on 2010-08-08.
Past winners
National era
International era
*The course distances are 11.3 km for men and 5.6 km for women, unless stated otherwise
Key:
See also
*BOclassic
The BOclassic is an annual road running competition over the distance of 10 kilometres for men and 5 kilometres for women. It is held on New Year's Eve in Bolzano, Italy. The competition has only elite races, competed between a limited number of ...
*Memorial Peppe Greco
The Memorial Peppe Greco is an annual men's 10 kilometres road race which takes place in Scicli, Italy. Also known as the Scicli 10km, the race was created in 1990 by Giovanni Voi. The course consists of ten one-kilometre laps on the streets of th ...
References
;List of winners
*Monti, Dave & Civai, Franco (2010-07-27)
La Corsa Piu' Antica 11.2 km (M) and 5.6 km (F)
Association of Road Racing Statisticians
The Association of Road Racing Statisticians is an independent, non-profit organization that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics regarding road running races. The primary purpose of the ARRS is to maintain a valid list of world road record ...
. Retrieved on 2010-08-08.
Albo d'oro
. Giro di Castelbuono. Retrieved on 2010-08-08.
Further reading
*Lirio Abbate
Lirio Abbate (born 26 February 1971, in Castelbuono) is an Italian journalist and editor-in-chief of the Italian weekly news magazine L'Espresso. Before joining the magazine, he was a correspondent from Sicily for the news agency ANSA and the nati ...
& Rosario Mazzola, ''La storia del giro podistico internazionale di Castelbuono'', Promos Editore (1994).
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giro Di Castelbuono
10K runs
Athletics competitions in Italy
Recurring events established in 1912
Sport in Sicily
1912 establishments in Italy
Summer events in Italy