Another great international mountain running event in Mayrhofen
The second ",Harakiri Run", was also the second event of the WMRA Grand Prix 2010 circuit.
Excellent conditions with sunny but not hot weather and dry course announced attack to the course record set at the first edition in 2009.
A short view to the start list was just an approval of the attack to the best course times, especially in the men's race. Jonathan Wyatt, 6-times World champion, Ahmet Arslan, 4-times European Champion, Schneider from Suisse, strong Kenyan squad and many other strong international runners gathered on a start line in front of ",EuropaHaus", in Mayrhofen.
" "After 1km running ",close race", in the city centre strong Kenyan squad pushed hard and got a small advantage.Just after those first 2 flat kilometers came the part that gave the name to the course - the ",Harakiri",, very steep section where Arslan escaped to the other runners, Wyatt was the only one who can follow his pace on the distance that was increasing up to 30 seconds at the finish. Schneider from Suisse did his best and came as third to the podium. It was not the best day for the four Kenyan runners, who were expected to finish close to the top.
The course record was broken for almost 3 minutes!
In the women's division Brandy Erholtz from USA, the winner of the North American Championships 2010, clearly wan the race.
Excellent organization and enthusiastic people, challenging course and wonderful scenery are a guarantee that this ",rising star", of Austrian Mountain Running could grow up to the highest possible level.
Tomo Sarf for WMRA
Photos by LOC:
- the two winners: Ahmet Arslan and Brandy Erholtz
- Jonathan Wyatt