Si è svolta tra il 29 giugno e il 1° luglio 2012, la Mont Blanc Marathon che riunisce in una sola manifestazione tre diversi eventi podstici: il Mont Blanc Cross (alla sua 34^ edizione), la 10^ Mont Blanc Marathon sulla classica distanza dei 42,195 km, valevole come tappa del National Trail Running Cup 2012 sulla distanza di 10 km.
A questi tre eventi "major" si è aggiunto il "Vertical Kilometer" (alla sua 2^ edizione). Numeri e risultati da record!
After the Vertical KM that inaugurated this big race weekend yesterday in the valley of Chamonix Mont-Blanc, it is the Cross and 10km races that reunited thousands of passionate runners on Saturday, and the "Queen" Mont-Blanc Marathon event on Sunday celebrated its 10th edition. A masterful edition with many new time references.
Friday June 29: New record time and first victory for Kilian Jornet. After a start in sweltering heat Kilian Jornet crossed the finish line with a final sprint and clocked a new reference time for the men in this 2nd edition of the Vertical KM in 36:07. Emmanuel Vaudan, winner in 2011 finished two minutes later. "This course is very steep with aerial passages on the last part but it is so beautiful to start from the center of Chamonix and finish here 1000m higher and cooler on the plateau of Planpraz Brevent," confides the Spanish champion.
A beautiful victory for Italian Antonella Confortola in 45:26. "When I heard that Laetitia Roux (1st in 2011) was not coming I told myself I had a chance. I felt very good, I ran the first 600 vertical meters and then I controlled my race by walking. It was very hot at first but little by little as we got higher it got better and better."
Saturday June 30: Record heat of 34°C. The Mont-Blanc Cross has made running history. Saturday morning the participants appreciated the sun and the magical views of the Mont-Blanc range. Francis Tijod (66 years old) is one of the rare runners to have participated in 34 editions. He reminisces, " Back in the day 23km was a lot and we were not many! Today I estimate around 4 hours of race time, it is getting harder and harder for me. But the goal is to finish at the top!" He finished in 4 hours and 20 minutes!!
Everyone was equipped to face the heat, and the head group quickly took the lead. For the men logic was respected. New Zealander Jonathan Wyatt, 7-time World Champion in mountain running led the race with total control! He expected to run in 1:55 and finished in 1:54:42. After a year without running due to injury it is his first big comeback. Behind Laurent Vicente (1:57:59) is the outgoing winner Guillaume Fontaine (1:59:39). Renaud Jaillardon finished 4th in front of Cyril Henriot.
For the women. Victory for Stephanie Duc who ran her race out in front without any apparent difficulties in 2:21:16 placing before the young Axelle Mollaret, 20 years old, Junior World Champion in Ski Alpinism who had a beautiful race in 2:29:02. Behind the Nordic skier was Anouk Faivre-Picon who won a place on the podium in the last climb beating Julia Combe.
Behind in the pack was a human tide of smiles, efforts and a bit of suffering. Families and spectators were particularly strong in number supporting the runners. Scattered all along the trails the ambiance resembled that of the Tour de France!
Sunday July 1: Record reference times for men and women and a second victory for Kilian Jornet. At the time of departure (7:00am) showers were forecasted but once again as in each of the previous editions this 10th Mont-Blanc Marathon started under a clear enough sky that the views could be appreciated. With dropping temperatures the conditions were ideal to break all records...
The race took off with a quick rhythm from the first few minutes. At the 5km mark a group of six was leading: Yoan Meudec, Thomas Owens, Raymond Fontaine, Gregory Vollet, Tofol Castaner and Kilian Jornet, followed closely by 2 other small groups. The same runners were at the 13km mark without a trace of fatigue on their faces. It was not until the first big climb toward the Col des Posettes (+940m) that the head group split with Kilian Jornet and Tofol Castaner taking a slight lead. But the race was clearly won by Kilian who crossed the line in 3:38:24, 7 minutes 31 seconds ahead of Tofol and 14 minutes faster than last year's reference time. Phenomenal!
Kilian confides, "Tofol and I ran the race together, I just put a bit more punch into the climb at Flegere. I did a good time because the head pack pace was very good and the conditions excellent." Gregory Vollet (FR) finished third running an incredible race. Six runners finished faster than the 2011 record time of 3hours 56 minutes held by Pierre-Yves Rey (CH). Worth noting that the podium is 100% Salomon.
The trio in the lead for the women were Sylvia Serafini (IT), Maude Mathys (CH) and Maud Girod Gaubert (FR). Maude Mathys won her first place finish between Trelechamp and Vallorcine leaving Sylvie and Maud behind. "Until the end I was scared that Sylvia would come back. The course was rolling enough for me and I liked it. I am even more satisfied because I decided to register late," declared Maude Mathys. For her first participation she ran a time of 4:28:17 beating the record of 4:39:36 held by Stephanie Jimenez (2011). A first trail victory for Maud who is more familiar with podiums on Vertical KM. She won the Vertical KM in Fully in 2011 with a 38:24.
Around noon the rain came to play spoilsport for the rest of the pack but without overshadowing the success of the weekend. Rendez-vous for next year with a few new features: the valley of Chamonix Mont-Blanc announces its candidature for the Skyrunner World Series in 2013 for the Marathon and Vertical KM events, and also for the Skyrunning World Championships in 2014. Verdict on July 6th!
Vertical KM: 230 Participants 19 of which were women
Men
Kilian Jornet (ES) : 36'07''
Emmanuel Vaudan (CH) : 38'09''
Christophe Perillat (FR) : 39'01''
Women
Antonella Confortola (IT) : 45'26''
Corinne Favre (FR) : 48'09''
Christiane Nex (IT) : 50'05''
Cross 1448 participants 469 of which were women
Men
Jonathan Wyatt (NZ) : 1h54'42''
Laurent Vicente (FR) : 1h57'59''
Guillaume Fontaine (FR) : 1h58'39''
Women
Stéphanie Duc (FR): 2h20'16''
Axelle Mollaret (FR) : 2h29'20''
Anouk Faivre-Picon (FR) : 2h32'29''
10KM - 591 participants 391 of which were women
Men
Geoffrey Lafarge (FR) : 42'27''
Jullen Salamun (FR) : 42'31''
Hector Reguera (FR) : 42'33''
Women
Julie Giacomelli (FR) : 48'19''
Stijntje Reulen (CH) : 48'42''
Rachael Gordon (NZ) : 50'35''
Marathon - 1927 participants 246 which were women
Men
Kilian Jornet (ES) : 3h38'24''
Tofol Castaner (ES) : 3h45'55''
Grégory Vollet (FR) : 3h52'42''
Women
Maude Mathys (CH) : 4h28''17'
Sylvia Serafini (IT) : 4h33''53'
Maud Gaubert (FR) : 4h39''12'
The races
Mont-Blanc Marathon - July 1, 2012. Start from center of town 7:00am. Trail in semi-autonomy. Distance of 42,195km mixed with a positive vertical gain of 2511m and a drop of 1490m. Limited to 2000 runners.
Mont-Blanc Cross - June 30, 2012. Paragliding landing field 8:30am. Short Trail in semi-autonomy. Distance of 23km with a vertical gain of 1454m and a drop of 474m. Limited to 1500 runners.
Vertical KM - June 29, 2012. Sart in the center of town 16:00. Race against the clock. Distance of 3,8km with a 1000m vertical gain. Limited to 400 runners.
Mont-Blanc 10 KM race - June 30, 2012. Start at 9:00am. Nature race. Distance of 10km on marked cross-country ski trails, accessible to all runners and all levels. Limited to 800 runners.
Mini-Cross- June 30, 2012. Start at 11:00am. Races from 800m-3km long for kids at the Bois du Bouchet
Domenica 22 luglio 2012, si è svolto il Classic Trail Torcole (alla sua 5^ edizione). Si tratta di una gara in ambiente di media montagna tra l’abitato di Piazzatorre (BG) e la vetta del Monte Torcola a 1800 m. Si sviluppa in un ambiente totalmente naturale e non pericoloso che presenta una certa varietà di percorso, dalla strada sterrata al sentiero, a tratti di attraversamento di pascoli e prati. Non sono presenti passaggi esposti. Dislivello totale: 4.050 m, con sviluppo lineare di 23 km, e quota massima 1784 m (si superano 2029 metri D+). In alternativa per i meno allenati, è previsto un minitrail non competitivo di 12 km. Tempo record percorso 23 km (M) 2h17’27” e (F) 2h58’58. 
La gara è inoltre candidata ad ospitare i mondiali IAU Ultratrail nel 2014, e sarà quindi presente come osservatore il responsabile europeo IAU Francisco Sanchez Rico, accompagnato nella circostanza dal presidente della IUTA Gregorio Zucchinali e dal coordinatore tecnico del settore Ultramaratone FIDAL, Stefano Scevaroli.
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