The countdown to Trofeo Kima has begun. With the end of the month drawing near, it’s the turn of the skyrunning elite to take on the most mythical and technical ultra sky marathon in Europe’s equivalent to Yosemite: Val di Mello. The race organisers are working around the clock to ensure the smooth running of their two-day event, which is set to be another epic staging. At the moment they’re currently sifting through the extensive waiting list and allocating the remaining start positions. After having gone through meticulous selection procedures to ensure the athletes are capable of the challenge, the official list of 300 handpicked skyrunners will be announced next week.
Save the date. The final weekend in August welcomes two additional trail races for the masses as well as the long-awaited World Series race that forms part of the aptly named Extreme Series, one of just a few cherry-picked races in the world that merit this title.
Here’s a glance at some of the figures that render this race so iconic: Over the 52 km distance, there’s 4,200 metres of elevation gain (and the same for the descents), seeing participants scale seven passes above 2,500 metres, with the highest being Cameraccio at 2,950 metres.
But there’s more to Trofeo Kima than just legends and the weekend isn’t purely dedicated to the Skyrunner® World Series: On Saturday 27 August, there’s an unmissable event for trail runners in the same spectacular surroundings of Val di Mello. Alongside the epic race on the Sentiero Roma, there are two alternate races measuring 6km and 14 km with both courses run beneath the same legendary granite peaks that have witnessed immense feats of alpinism over the years.
An overview of the Trofeo Kima course: Starting from Filorera (870m), Val di Predarossa, Rifugio Ponti, Passo Cameraccio, Passo Torrone, Rif Allievi- Bonacossa, Passo Averta, Passo Qualido, Passo Camerozzo, Rif Gianetti, Passo Barbacane, Rif Omio, Bagni di Masino, Piana di Bregolana, San Martino before finishing in Filorera (870m). A distance of 52Km with 4,200 metres of climbing and descending, scaling seven passes above 2,500 metres, with Cameraccio at 2,950 metres being the highest (GPM).
