1100 people enrolled at the DoloMyths Run
Canazei will host athletes from 26 nations
on Saturday, July 15th
While the wait for the DoloMyths Run 2023 gets bigger, the Organizing Committee has decided to focus all the attention on the spectacular running competition at heights that, on July 15th, will reach the 25 editions accomplishment, instead of the three events presented during the last seasons. All eyes are therefore on the sky challenge, considered the Italian competition of the Golden Trial World Series.
THE MOST AWAITED PERSONALITIES
Among the 1100 contestants representing the 26 nations, there are a few names that cannot get unrecognized, such as Stian Angermund, the Norwegian runner who won the 2018 and 2021 editions, Jan Margarit Solè, Spanish winner in 2017 and his compatriot Manuel Merillas Moledo, Polish athlete Bartolomiej Przedwojewski, French runner Frédéric Thancand, Thomas Roach from England. Moreover, there will be Moroccan Elazzaoui Elhousine and Kenyan Robert Pkemoi and last but not least Italians Mattia Bertoncini and Luca Del Pero. Unfortunately, last year's winner Davide Magnini won’t be able to join due to an injury.
In the female top ten, we can find Judith Wyder, the Swiss athlete who holds the DoloMyths Run record and winner in 2021 and 2019, her compatriot Therese Leboeuf, Sophia Laukli from the USA, French runner Elise Poncet, New Zealander Caitlin Fileder and Daniele Oemus from Germany. Competing at home we have Italian athletes Fabiola Conti, Cecilia Basso, Chiara Galli and Stephanie Jimenez.
THE ROUTE
The Organizing Committee has finished the planning of the route, which will be a 22km run, 10km uphill and 12km downhill; the departure will be from the 1750m of Canazei, then the path will go up to the 2239m of Pordoi Pass, down to Forcella Pordoi an its 1829m, up again to the highest point of the run, Piz Boé, at an altitude of 3152m. From there on the route will start its decrease with its first transit at Rifugio Boé (2871m), down to the 2300m of the lovely Lasties Valley, then there will be the crossing of Pian de Schiavaneis and the arrival at Marconi Square in Canazei, back to 1750m.
REGISTRATION DATA
The registrations have officially concluded, the report by Evo Data, the DoloMyths Run Skyrace timing company, announced that on Saturday 15 July 1089 corridors of the sky will wear the bib, of which 196 women and 893 men. There will be 26 nations represented: Italy with 781 members, then Spain, Poland, France, Switzerland, Germany, Norway, United States, Austria, Holland, Belgium, Great Britain, Australia, Czech Republic, Turkey, Hungary, Afghanistan, Mexico, Finland , Brazil, Slovakia, Sweden, Morocco, Andorra, Greece, Albania.
18 regions of Italy are represented, with Lombardy the most numerous thanks to 220 runners, and 76 provinces with Trento the most present with 88 athletes, followed by Turin with 54. The total team numbers are 316.
From the age point of view, the youngest athletes in the race are Santiago Padial Cimarro with his 18 years and Maria Medici who has turned 19. The oldest runners are Arnaldo Giulivi, 69 years old, and Alison Jane Atkinson, 62 years old.
On Saturday 15 July, two athletes will also be competing who will celebrate their birthday. They are Claudia Tedesco (48 years old) and Sinead Cox (31 years old).
THE RECORDS
In the 25 edition on the same route, besides a couple of years where they had to slightly change it due to the weather, the record was conquered in 2013 by the Spanish ace runner Kilian Jornet Burgada, who scored the record timing of 2h00’11”, after an epic head to head with the Italian Marco De Gasperi.
The other DoloMyths Run records are the female record, set in 2019 by Swiss athlete Judith Wyder, who completed the route in 2h18’51”; moreover we have the best timing uphill, hold again by Kilian for the male category with his 1h16’00” and Swiss athlete Maude Mathys for the female category, who ran all the way uphill in 1h25’41” in 2019.
The best time downhill from Piz Boè to the finish line was also recorded by Judith Wyder in 2019, taking 49'25". The men's downhill record, set in 2007 by the Italian Fabio Bonfanti with a time of 43'35 ", has lasted for 16 years".
2023 EDITION NEWS
The most relevant change that has been made this year is that the race will start at 8, granting the athletes one more hour to complete it and giving them 5 hours and a half.
Thanks to the lifts society's generosity, it will be possible to follow the race through Forcella and Piz Boé from the Pordoi lift. They have also booked a payment bus that will make it possible to follow the race through the Pordoi pass, uphill, and Pian de Schiavaneis, almost at the arrival, passages.
THE PROGRAM
Everything will start on Friday 14th with the deposit operations from 2pm and the opening of the expo area in the park opposite the Marmolada Cinema, where the race office will be set up. At 5pm there is going to be the press conference of the bigs in the council room at the Canazei city hall, afterwards, there is going to be a race presentation and the numbered shirts will be given to the top ten, followed by a briefing. On Saturday at 8am the race will start and at 8.30pm there is going to be the award ceremony in the big tent at Ciuch locality, supported by a band and followed by the rhythm of DJ Dany.
On Sunday 16th, at 10.30am, the baby runners will give life to a new DoloMyths Run Mini Skyrace edition, enlivening the streets of Canazei.
THE HISTORY
The Dolomites Skyrace first started in 1998 thanks to the idea of Diego Perathoner, historian and unforgettable president of the manifestation, and Sergio Valentini, both big sports lovers and especially mountain lovers.
This idea of organizing a skyrunning race among the marvelous mountains that surround the Fassa Valley and particularly Canazei, got real on August 2nd, 1998 with the first edition. The route that the two “creators” figured out for the race, that stuck on all other editions, is the real strong suit of the manifestation; none can be indifferent in front of the amazing view and the breathtaking landscape that opens in front of the eyes of the athletes and the many spectators watching and following them.
The Dolomites Skyrace grows from year to year, not only the number of athletes grows bigger, but also the organization’s quality gets better. The competition is acquiring more and more prestige; in 2002 it became a valid competition for the Italian Championship, while in 2006, for the first time, World Cup competition. In 2008 the FSA (Federation for Sports at Altitude) entrusts to the Skyrace Organizing Committee the organization of the “Skygames”, also known as Olympics at Altitude, which include four types of competitions all concerning the skyrunning world.
The Skygames are hard and demanding work from the organization’s point of view, but they’re also an opportunity to show the international Skyrunning world the value and skills of the committee that makes everything possible. As proof, in 2009 the International Federation assigned the organization of the European Championship to the Committee.
During December of the same year, on Saint Stefano’s day, the mountain took the founder Diego Perathoner’s life, who got stuck under an avalanche, while he and his three Alpin rescuers were trying to save two other lives. A tragedy for all of Fassa Valley and the Organizing Committee, which found itself orphaned by its father.
But this sad event did not stop the will to keep the race alive, and a new president got elected: race director Diego Salvador. Therefore in 2011 became it a World Cup competition once again, even though it had to fight against the weather, especially against the snow, and in the following years it always got inside the international Skyrunning World Series circuit.
From 2008 on, the race got backed up by the “Kilometro Verticale della Crepa Neigra”, an uphill-only race against time with a one thousand meters gap that starts in Alba di Canazei.
In 2011 another race took life: the ”Sellaronda Ultra Trail'', a 61km run that surrounds the Sella group, and in 2019 another part, the “Half Ultra Trail'', was added.
From 2018 on, the four races got under one single umbrella: the nowadays DoloMyths Run, which a new symbol was drowned for. The name wants to represent the landscapes that host the races, in other words, the Fassa Valley and the Dolomites UNESCO. The look change is also due to a new agreement with the brand Salomon, after years of collaboration with La Sportiva.
ROLL OF HONOR: POKER BY KILIAN AND LAURA ORGUÉ
Looking back, only two athletes were able to win four times, Spanish Kilian Jornet Burgada and his compatriot Laura Orgué I Vila. In the male section there always had been different champions, from 1998 to 2009, until 2010, when Palo Larger won for the second time. The double win also for Tadei Pivk, Norwegian Stian Angermund and Italian Davide Magnini.
In the female category, we have many double winners: Morena Paieri, Angela Mudge, Antonella Confortola, Emilie Forsberg, and record bearer Judith Wyder.
At the moment the DoloMyths Run Skyrace is part of the Golden Trial World Series, the world circuit that includes the six most iconic skyrunning races in the world.
For the Silver Wedding of the race, the Committee has decided to go back to its origin and to host only the 22km skyrace. A significant goal, but also an opportunity to start with interesting news, that will be presented at the end of the race.
ERWIN RIZ, THE LAST OF THE SENATORS
In 25 editions of the DoloMyths Run there is only one athlete who has worn the bib every year. We are talking about Senator Erwin Riz, born in 1973 in Val di Fassa, a loyal follower who has spent half his life racing every year in the belly of the group. In 1998 Erwin took part in the first edition out of curiosity (a bit like everyone at the time), gritting his teeth and closing his effort with the remarkable time of 2h50'39", in 33rd position. His best performance dates back to 2003, when he obtained 14th place with a time of 2h32'. Today is an example for everyone and on Saturday 15th July he will inevitably wear bib number 25.
LIVE STREAMING
A live streaming of the DoloMyths Run skyrace is scheduled for Saturday 15 July on the www.goldenrailseries.com website and on the social media channels of the Golden Trail World Series circuit and Salomon. In the following days, a wide diffusion is also expected on Italian and European satellite and digital terrestrial TV.
