14° Tre Cime Alpin 2011
Sexten/Sesto (Italy), Sunday 11 September 2011
The South Tyrol Three Peaks Alpine Run is one of Europe's top mountain running events. It's meticulously well organized, and the route is immensely spectacular and scenic.
Last year, more than 800 runners completed the course. The winners were Jonathan Wyatt of New Zealand (1:26:23) and Italy's Maria Grazia Roberti (1:44:45).
The start is in Sexten (Italian: Sesto), a pretty summer and winter sport resort in the far north-east of Italy, situated at an elevation of 1320 metres. The Austrian border is just a few kilometres away, and more than 95 percent of Sexten's population speak German as a first language.
The route is 17.5 kilometres long and features an elevation gain of 1350 metres.
The first 7km are just mildly uphill, half on asphalt and half on dirt roads, but then comes a 7km-long climb on steep trails into the bizarre landscape of the Sexten Dolomites. The highest point on the course is at an elevation of over 2500 metres.
After a short but steep downhill section the route runs uphill again to the finish at the "Drei Zinnen Hütte", a mountain hut at 2405 metres above sea level. The finisher buffet is as impressive as the views of the famous Three Lavaredo Peaks (Italian: "Tre Cime di Lavaredo", German: "Drei Zinnen").
A helicopter brings personal clothing to the finish but participants have to walk back down to the valley. There's a short cut, however, and a free bus service saves you the walk back to Sexten.
In case of hazardous weather the event takes place on a shorter and safer route on the other side of the valley. So far, this has occured only once, in 2008.
Race report, results and photos: Drei Zinnen Lauf 2011
Country: Italy
Venue (Map): Sexten·Sesto (Bolzano 111km, Innsbruck 140km, Ljubljana 250km)
Date: 11 September 2011 (Sunday)
Race distance: 17.5km (+1350m)
Start: 10.00 "Haus Sexten" (1320m)
Finish: Drei Zinnen mountain hut (2405m)
Entries: online or by post, fax or e-mail; payment by credit card or bank transfer; entries close 10 Sep 2011 at 8pm; entry limit 1000 runners
Entry fees: 30/35/45 EUR (until 4 June/3 Sep/10 Sep 2011)
Race centre: Haus Sexten (10 Sep 10.00-12.00 and 14.00-19.00; on the day 7.00-8.30)
You get: technical T-shirt, timing chip rental, transport of personal clothing to the finish; finisher medal, pasta party (after the race in Haus Sexten)
Prizes: first 10 men and 7 women; category prizes (?)
Award ceremony: 15.30 in Haus Sexten
Number of finishers 2010: 835; 195 children
Event website (in English, German and Italian): www.dreizinnenmarathon.com
No guarantee is made as to the accuracy or completeness of the information on this page.