From sea to sky, the 2017 Migu Run Skyrunner® World Series heads to the island of Madeira, Portugal for the second race in the Sky Ultra category on Saturday, June 3.
The Ultra SkyMarathon® Madeira (USM) will host some 200 runners from around the globe up for the challenge of racing some very technical stretches up to Grade II and a via ferrata section just below the island’s highest point at 1,861m altitude. It’s 55 km long with 4,000m vertical climb.
Approximately 1,000 athletes from 29 countries will participate in the weekend’s events which include four distances: 55km, 20km, 13 km and the new Santana Vertical Kilometer® race.
Many are here to score points for the Series’ Ultra ranking which awards titles and an end of season prize purse. Among them, Briton Jonathan Albon, 2016 Sky Extreme champion, who is aiming for the Series’ Overall Champion* title. He will be joined by top ranked athletes including Frenchman Ludovic Pommeret, currently 2nd; Spaniards Roger Viñas and Pere Aurell; Russian Dmitry Mityaev; Andorran Xavier Teixido and Nuno Silva from Portugal who placed 5th here last year.
Albon commented, “With only a week’s rest since the punishing Zegama-Aizkorri I’m hoping my body can recover well. Having now arrived in Madeira and seen the beautiful mountains I’m already exceptionally excited to take part in the race. My goal is to start easy and enjoy the landscape before seeing if my legs have got anything to give in the second half. Of course, to do well in the overall Skyrunner® Series I’ll need a great result but I’m intent on not letting this impact the experience of running on this beautiful island.”
American Hillary Allen currently ranks 3rd after the first Sky Ultra race in the Transvulcania Ultramarathon just under three weeks ago. She placed 2nd here in 2016 and is looking forward to racing above the clouds again this year. She said, “I’m thrilled to be back at the Ultra SkyMarathon Madeira. The trails are challenging, technical and spectacular. I’m ready to work hard and enjoy the adventure Saturday.”
Skyrunning star Anna Frost, after a 3rd place here last year is back for more, “I’m so excited to be back to this special island and this year with the added VK!” she exclaimed. “More vert for more fun!”
All-round skyrunner, Russian Ekaterina Mityaeva after excelling in the VK’s and shorter distances in the past few years, has moved into the longer distances and will no doubt perform well here. Spaniard Elisabet Bertran and Italian Martina Valmassoi will be pushing the pace.
The records to beat? They were set last year by Cristofer Clemente (ESP) – 6h00’28” and Gemma Arenas (ESP) – 6h59’51”.
João Canning Clode, USM co-director and PR comments, “I have no doubt we have a great event with an exclusive and diverse course, technical passages and breath-taking landscapes. The number of foreign participants registered this year were 180 versus only 30 in 2016. I’m very proud to see this solid growth of our race, something achieved by a group of friends that some years back had the dream to put a Madeira race on the skyrunning global map,” he added.
From Saturday’s pre-dawn 6 am start in the town of Santana, to the summit overlooking the ocean, this spectacular skyrunning race promises yet again to inspire runners and supporters alike.
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