Lizzy Hawker has announced a new 100k race, taking place alongside her epic Ultra Tour Monte Rosa 170k race.
The new ultra crosses three high passes on the border from Italy to Switzerland, taking in 6,400m of ascent and climbing over 3000m on four occasions. It takes place on September 7th 2018.
Starting in Gressoney-La-Trinité, competitors are treated to some of the prettiest sections of the Tour de Monte Rosa path, with the taste of authentic Italian pizza in Macugnaga and Swiss fondue at the endpoint in the Swiss mountain village of Grächen.
Race director Lizzy Hawker says, “for comparison, I think it’s harder than the TDS, albeit shorter. For all but about 5 or 6 km it's all single track and mountain trail.” This thought is supported by the 28 hours cut-off and expected winning time of at least 15 hours.
Competitors will be focusing on the three big passes with continuous, arduous climbs of 1400m, 1600m and 1400m respectively. The biggest climb, to Passo Turlo, meaning ‘small door’, is an ancient path used since the thirteenth century, paved with stone by prisoners of war in the 1920s.
Monte Moro pass was already known in Roman times as important trading route between north and south. And more recently smuggling of cigarettes and booze on mules.
At the summit, the Golden Madonna stands with her back to Switzerland, almost warning you not to go on saying “stay in Italy, dear runner, the food is better!” Indeed the descent is technical bare rock, which can make for a memorable experience in the dark. It’s not quite the usual civilised welcome into Switzerland, but a reminder, as if it was needed, that Switzerland is definitely mountain country.
The Ultra Tour Monte Rosa also includes a 170 km race as an ultra and in four stages, so 100 km competitors will be sharing the trail, overtaking tired 170km runners, and in turn being overtaken by super fresh 4-stage racers. All share a well deserved celebration of their efforts in Grächen on Saturday 8th at the close of the race.
Does the world need another 100 km race? “Possibly not,” says Hawker, “but there’s a lot of interest in this distance, and, if you are going to make a race, you may as well make one that packs a punch.”
