Sixteen years on and the Zegama-Aizkorri in Spain’s Basque Country continues to hold its legendary status with yet another stellar line-up in the second Sky Classic race of the 2017 Migu Run Skyrunner® World Series.
The men’s race is headed by Swiss runners Marc Lauenstein, second in 2016, Rémi Bonnet and Pascal Egli. Add Italy’s Marco De Gasperi, a consistent top finisher and Moroccan Zaid Ait Malek. They will be challenged by Norwegian Stian Angermund, winner of both the VK and Sky 2016 Skyrunning World Championship titles. Briton Jonathan Albon, 2016 Sky Extreme Champion, will help push the field. Strong competition will come from top ranked local runners Hassan Ait Chaou, Aritz Egea and Julen Martinez. Other contenders include: Kiril Nikolov from Bulgaria; Frenchmen Alexis Sévennec and Adrien Michaud; Nuno Silva from Portugal and Dai Matsumoto from Japan.
“I’m looking forward to going into my last Zegama race,” said Marco De Gasperi. “I love the course and the competition and it’s a race I really want to do before retiring. I’m in great shape recently so let’s see where we are on Sunday!”
With the 2016 top four men absent, (Kilian Jornet, Luis Alberto Hernando, Manuel Merillas, Tadei Pivk), the field lies wide open.
The women’s competition is led by 2016 Skyrunner® World Series Sky Classic champion and current ranking leader, American Megan Kimmel, second in last year’s race. Super star Emelie Forsberg, injured last year, is back on form and will compete in her first race of the season here. Among the favourites, needless to say, is a strong field of Spaniards including: Maite Maiora, Aitziber Ibarbia and Maria Zorozza; Ragna Debats from Holland; Célia Chiron from France and Katrine Villumsen from Denmark. They will be joined by New Zealanders Anna Frost and Ruth Croft, both better known for the longer distances.
One of the most iconic skyrunning races, the Zegama-Aizkorri has been on the Skyrunner® World Series calendar since 2004. It’s “only” a “marathon” but the brutal 5,472m vertical ascent and descent, the highly competitive field and the often severe climate conditions make this race, now in its 16th year, a must on every runner’s bucket list. Lining the entire course, thousands of local spectators applaud the 500 runners lucky enough to gain entry into one of the most popular skyrunning events.
Depending on Sunday’s weather conditions, will the 3h48’13” set by Kilian Jornet in 2014 and the long-standing women’s record of 4h38’19” set in 2008 by Emanuela Brizio remain intact? Whatever the outcome, the race looks set for another exciting contest.
The weekend’s events include the Zegama Aizkorri Vertical Kilometer® on Friday, May 26, third race on the new Vertical Kilometer® World Circuit.
