On the fifth leg of the Sky Classic category in the 2017 Migu Run Skyrunner® World Series, the season’s rankings are beginning to take shape with five out of the eleven races counting for the finals. Saturday, July 8 will see some of the top ranked runners in the category line up for the The Buff Epic Run 42K, in Barruera, Spain.
As the name suggests, the race is a point to point over a rugged 42 kilometres with 3,200m positive vertical climb. A highly challenging extremely technical race with a nine-hour time limit, it’s designed for skyrunners who love it demanding and fast.
It was here that the 2016 Skyrunning World Championships took place and the standing course records were set by Norwegian Stian Angermund 3h56’47” and Spaniard Maite Maiora 4h42’15”.
The current Sky Classic ranking leader Aritz Egea will be here to defend his title after his first-ever win on the World Series in the recent Olympus Marathon, fourth stage of the tour. He will be pushed by fellow countrymen from Spain, Julen Larruzea, ranked third and Hassan Ait Chaou, in fifth. Heading for a likely top ten position are: Frenchman Adrien Michaud and the unstoppable Andorran Casal Mir brothers, Marc and Oscar.
Again, Spaniards at the top of the Sky Classic ranking in the women’s field will see Laura Sola, Maria Zorroza, Oihana Azkorbebeita, Aitziber Ibarbia and France’s Celia Chiron leading the field.
The Vall de Boí in the heart of the Spanish Pyrenees lies in a spectacular natural arena surrounded by 3,000m peaks and 200 mountain lakes. Rich in cultural history, it is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The race is capped at 500 participants for ecological and safety reasons.
With another six Sky Classic races to go, Saturday’s race will reach the minimum five for the final rankings, giving at the same time, a panorama of the season’s top runners.
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