This Saturday, September 28th,Gorbeia Suzien Skyrace, the third stop in Spain of the 2024 circuit of the Merrell Skyrunner® World Series, will welcome athletes from around the world to its starting line in the Basque Country. The Basque municipality of Zeanuri, in the province of Bizkaia, will once again be a crucial stage of the circuit. 600 runners from over 30 nationalities are ready to challenge the technical terrain of the Skyrace, with a distance of 32 kilometers and 2,400 meters of positive elevation gain.
The SkyRace course
The race starts in the town of Zeanuri and heads towards the Gorbeia Natural Park through the hermitage of San Justo, where skyrunners will find the first hard slopes. It is a race that alternates technical sections with fast segments and with the assured presence of mud.
After overcoming the first slopes and passing Zanburu, the athletes will go in a straight line towards the summit of Lekanda. Shortly before reaching this steep rocky summit, they will turn towards the green meadows of the Arraba fields. Then, after a small crest, they will descend to the area of Zastegi where they will climb to the top of Gorbeia, and then go back down to the vicinity of Azero. At this point they will face the third major climb of the route to the summit of Aldamin. From there they will start the descent back to the starting point to cross the finish line.
Impressive Elite Field
For the third year, Gorbeia is a stage of the Merrell Skyrunner® World Series calendar, resulting in there being a large list of elite runners who do not want to miss this event in the Basque Country. Among the athletes who will be on the starting line of the SkyRace Gorbeia Suzien is Manu Merillas of Spain (New Balance), the champion of the Skyrunner® World Series 2023, Antonio Martinez (Asics), the Basques Aritz Egea(Domusa Teknik – Lana) and Aitor Zunzunegi (Euskal Selekzioa), Zaid Ait Malek,Dimas Pereira and Sebastian Poesy of Brooks Running, the American Morgan Elliot(Merrell), the French Loic Robert (Kiprun), the Peruvian José Manuel Quispe (Merrell) and the Japanese Omi Ryunosuke (Adidas Terrex), among others.
In the women’s category there will also be a high level in the list of elite runners, with the presence of the winner in Acantilados del Norte, Lide Urrestarazu (Euskal Selekzioa), as well as Júlia Font and the French Noemie Vachon of Brooks Running, Oihana Kortazar (Salomon), Lucille Germain of France (Sidas Matryx), Iris Pessey (Scott), Norway’s Theresa Dahl (Salomon), Oihana Zubillaga (Euskal Selekzioa), Onditz Iturbe (Basque Selection), France’s Olivia Magnone and Catalan runner Georgina Gabarró.
“Hopefully the third time’s the charm.”
The French runner, Iris Pessey, explains that: “I’m coming back to Gorbeia for the third year trying to score points after a not very good start of the season. I have a love-hate relationship with Gorbeia Suzien. Last year I got a great place with a podium, but the year before was a disaster for me, so hopefully third time’s the charm. I love the course, the atmosphere of the Basque Country and the atmosphere surrounding the race.”
In the men’s category, Japanese runner Omi Ryunosuke is enthusiastic ahead of his participation, stating that: “I chose Gorbeia Suzien as one of my SWS races this year mainly because of its location. The mountains are so green and resemble the mountains in Japan, where I am from, so I was very curious to experience skyrunning in the Basque Country.”
“Gorbeia always looks like a fun event and this year, with the support of the organization and SWS, I was lucky enough to travel from Japan to Europe to participate in these amazing races. I’m looking forward to another great race with the best athletes from around the world,” he says.
An Organisation unlike any other
The race director, Jurek Ziemkiewicz, points out that: “We expect the 2024 edition of Gorbeia Suzien to be spectacular. We have been preparing for it all year long: it is the fruit of hard work done with a lot of love and we will celebrate a whole weekend of skyrunning. What makes Gorbeia special is that it is a race organized with a lot of care, by a whole city, together. This creates a very special atmosphere in Zeanuri and each and every runner feels at home and is recognized and loved as one of our own.”
Ziemkiewicz adds that “the fact that our race is part of the SWS circuit is a fantastic way to put our town on the world map and represents an incredible opportunity to show the world our amazing environment and that the best runners in the world want to be part of it.”
“We are expecting a very intense race for both women and men. The world will be able to follow and enjoy the race through the live stream. The race is fast and hard and there are often surprises at the final finish point in Zeanuri. It is an honor to have riders of this level,”he added.
For her part, the Merrell Skyrunner® World Series representative, Seana Forbes, points out that: “In just a few years, Gorbeia has become a classic in the World Series. It is a race that athletes come to because they enjoy both the place and the race. The spirit of the Basque Country is something special. The organization and the people of the city are so welcoming and love to host the event and this makes a huge difference.”
“This year we have an impressive line-up of athletes from all over the world travelling from as far away as Peru and Japan just for this race, and that says it all. We are expecting an exciting race, as always. Gorbeia is race number 15 of 21, so we are well into the season, therefore, athletes will be fighting hard for the last points at stake for the overall standings,” she concludes.
The SkyRace will start on Saturday, September 28 at 9 am. From that moment on, all skyrunning lovers will be able to connect to Skyrunning’s social media channels to follow all the news of the event.
The race can be followed live with the streaming in charge of Evasión TV Play, from 8.30 am to 1.30 pm, with the journalist specialized in skyrunning, Albert Jorquera and with the technical commentary of Txus Romón.
