World Long Distance Challenge 2006
Press Release from ancy Hobbs (WMRA Delegate)
January 21, 2006
Pikes Peak to Host WMRA World Long Distance Mountain Running Challenge
The Pikes Peak Marathon will have an international designation this year as host of the third annual WMRA World Long Distance Mountain Running Challenge. The Pikes Peak Marathon committee placed a bid to host the Challenge in 2004 and was awarded the nod in 2005.
“The Pikes Peak Marathon Committee is honored to be hosting the third WMRA World Challenge. Having the Challenge will continue our recent tradition of attracting some of the best mountain runners in the world and of placing the Marathon on the world mountain running stage,” said race director Ron Ilgen.
The Challenge is designed to attract the best mountain runners in the world to one venue that would rotate between Europe, the Americas, Oceania, Africa, and Asia. The event is staged in conjunction with a traditional long distance mountain race that has an established international reputation and is affiliated or registered with the national athletic federation of the country of competition. The race must fall within the following approximate parameters: 1) the men’s race record time must be between 2 hours and 4 hours; 2) the total amount of ascent must exceed 2,000 meters; and 3) the event is open to men and women who will both run the same course and may start at the same time.
Prior hosts of the Challenge included the Sierre-Zinal 31Km Mountain Race in Switzerland in 2004 and Marathon du Vignemale in Cauterets, France in 2005.
Top finishers at Sierre-Zinal were Mexican Ricardo Mejia (also a past winner at Pikes Peak) and Angeline Joly of Switzerland. Second place honors went to Helmuth Schiessel, Germany and Maria Rodriguez, Columbia with Billy Burns, Great Britain and Isabelle Guillot, France rounding out the top three. In Cauterets, Schiessel proved victorious besting Slovenian Toni Vencel and Daniel Bolt, France. For the women Australian Emma Murray led the field (18th overall) followed by Austrian Marion Kapuscinski and France’s Isabelle Guillot.
Nancy Hobbs, WMRA Council Member, expects a stellar international field for the 51st running of the Pikes Peak Marathon. “At the World Trophy race in New Zealand both Helmuth Schiessel (5th place at the World Trophy) and Emma Murray (34th at the World Trophy) indicated their plans to race Pikes Peak. Since then we’ve had interest from athletes in Slovenia, France, and the UK and some of the top runners in the U.S. We are also delighted that WMRA President Danny Hughes will attend all of the race festivities with plans to make the trip to the summit on Ascent day and again to see runners at the half-way point in the Marathon.”
Page Two/WMRA Challenge
In January 2006 during the WMRA Council Meetings in Monaco, the Jungfrau Marathon in Switzerland was announced as the site of the 2007 World Challenge. Organizers of the Jungfrau Marathon have offered to pay 75% of the travel expenses (economy class) for the top three male finishers and the top woman finisher at Pikes Peak. Jungfrau will celebrate its 15th running on September 8, 2007. Additionally, the top three men and top three women finishers at Pikes Peak will receive medals from the WMRA and the event organizers hope to provide prize money to top finishers.
For athletes interested in learning more about the Challenge including entry and lodging assistance for the event, please contact Nancy Hobbs at (719) 573-4405 or by e-mail to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Visit the following websites for more details on the WMRA and prior hosts of the Challenge.
WMRA WMRA
Sierre-Zinal www.sierre-zinal.com
Cauterets www.cauterets.com
Pikes Peak www.pikespeakmarathon.org
Jungfrau www.jungfrau-marathon.ch