Trofeo Kima 2020 – The 21st edition is cancelled

Trofeo Kima, all eyes on 2022. It is with a heavy heart and the best intentions that the organising committee of the Grande Corsa sul Sentiero Roma have had to accept that the 2020 edition of Trofeo Kima cannot go ahead given the current pandemic, despite their hopes and efforts. They acknowledge that hosting an international event like Trofeo Kima is not a sensible option for this period.

The president of the Associazione Kima, Ilde Marchetti, stated: ‘We tried our hardest; we kept dreaming, holding onto the idea that our event would salvage the late season and allow those who love skyrunning to realise their dream, but we have to accept the reality of the situation. A big international event like ours simply cannot take place in Italy at this moment in time. The recent months marred by Covid-19 have been a hard test for all the safety and rescue staff, who would be out on the course taking care of the athletes, as well as for the private companies and public authorities that have always been loyal in their support for Kima. We’ve decided to raise the white flag for two reasons: firstly out of respect for these people, and secondly because we are aware that the restrictive measures that we’d have to put in place would lead to a version of Kima that doesn’t match the image we have in our heads.’

Going further into details about the race along the legendary granite peaks of Europe’s Yosemite, founder Marchetti continued: ‘Our project was to stage a race for everyone: from the elite of the World Series to the enthusiastic amateur trail runner and the young, upcoming talents. This remains our goal. The bar has been set higher than ever––out of the 2,000 applications to compete in the main event, we sifted through each individual entry to select a fine field of 280 truly top runners, evaluating past performances and race results. We’ll be contacting these athletes very soon. Our objective at the moment is to cause as little hassle as possible for the athletes; thanks to support from all collaborators, 70% of each pre-paid entry fee is covered. As an exceptional measure, those who wish, may defer their entry to the following edition in 2022.’ The final weekend in August is the date to put in your calendar for the next staging of the Grande Corsa sul Sentiero Roma.

‘2021 is going to be exciting because we will see the return of another legendary skyrunning event that we hold dear to our hearts,’ explains Marchetti, putting a positive spin on proceedings. ‘The Grigne Skymarathon – formerly known as the Trofeo Scaccabarozzi – is back on the scene, organised by Team Pasturo. Trofeo Kima and the Grigne Skymarathon have reached an agreement whereby the races will take place alternate years, which means that the region of Lombardy will have the honour of hosting a late-season epic skymarathon every single season.’