The Monte Rosa SkyMarathon is an international

skyrunning Skyrunning is a sport of mountain running up to or exceeding where the minimum average incline is 6% over the total distance and at least 5% has an incline of 30% or more. The climbing difficulty does not exceed II grade UIAA. Poles, crampons and ...

competition held in

Alagna Valsesia Alagna Valsesia (Walser German: ''Im Land'', Piedmontese: ''Alagna'', Valsesiano: ''Lagna'') is a ''comune'' and small village high in the Valsesia alpine valley in the province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy, a UNESCO World heritage site ...

Monte Rosa : , other_name = Monte Rosa massif , translation = Mount Rose , photo = Dufourspitze (Monte Rosa) and Monte Rosa Glacier as seen from Gornergrat, Wallis, Switzerland, 2012 August.jpg , photo_caption = Central Mon ...

(

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 ...

) which marked the origins of skyrunning.

History

The first edition of the race was in 1992 to and from Alagna, reaching Colle del Lys at 4,250m where the race was turned around due to strong winds. In 1993 and 1994, and from 2018, the race course was from Alagna, 1,192m to the summit of Monte Rosa, 4,554m and back, making it Europe's highest race. (In 1996 the highest point reached was the Gnifetti Hut, 3,647m). Between 2002 and 2011 the race (also known as Trofeo Stefano Degasparis) took place on a different course to and from Alagna to the

Passo dei Salati The Passo dei Salati (2,980 m) is a mountain pass that between the Valsesia (Piedmont) and the Valley of Lys (Dora Baltea), Lys (Val de Aosta). The pass was also known by the name of the Colle Inferiore de Pisse. The term ''salati'' recalls of a ...

at 2,980m. In 2009 the race was valid for the

Skyrunner World Series The Skyrunner World Series is an annual international championship of skyrunning (high altitude endurance races) and the official International Skyrunning Federation (ISF) race circuit for mountain running. Each year the Skyrunner World Series pr ...

. When the original course was relaunched in 2018 (the 25th anniversary of the first race to the summit), a new rule was introduced where participants race in teams of two for safety. The winners of the 2019 edition were Italian William Boffelli with Austrian Jakob Herrmann (men) (4h51'58") and Natalia Tomasiak with Katarzyna Solinska (women) from Poland (6h38'14"). The record holders for the original course (Alagna - Monte Rosa - Alagna) are Italians

Fabio Meraldi Fabio Meraldi (born 5 August 1965) is an Italian ski mountaineer, mountain guide and mountain runner. Meraldi was born in Valtellina. He passed the mountain guide training at the age of 20, and participated in various mountain tours, sky running a ...

in 4h24' and Gisella Bendotti in 5h34', both set in 1994.

Emelie Forsberg Emelie Tina Forsberg (born December 11, 1986) is a Swedish athlete specializing in trail running (skyrunning, mountain running) and ski mountaineering. She has won repeated victories in different disciplines, including European and World Champion ...

finished in a faster time of 5h03'56" in 2018. She teamed with

Kilian Jornet Killian or Kilian, as a given name, is an Anglicized version of the Irish name Cillian. The name Cillian was borne by several early Irish saints including missionaries to Artois and Franconia and the author of the life of St Brigid. The name is s ...

in a mixed gender team which falls into the male category, Bendotti's individual time still stands. Forsberg's time is the best female performance over the course.

Editions

Legend: *''reduced course due to bad weather''

Trofeo Stefano Degasparis

From 2002 to 2011 the race took place on a different course from Alagna to the

at 2,980m and back. Legend: *''28 km course''; **''reduced course due to snow''

References

External links

* https://www.monterosaskymarathon.com/?lang=en {{Skyrunner World Series races Skyrunning competitions Skyrunner World Series Defunct sports competitions in Italy Recurring sporting events established in 1992 1993 establishments in Italy Alagna Valsesia Sport in Piedmont Athletics competitions in Italy