Start of the 2010 Mayrhofen Mountain Running race (© Organisers)
The Harakiri Mountain Run, part of the WMRA Grand Prix, continues to grow and has an excellent international field assembled in the 3rd running of this event in Mayrhofen, Austria on Sunday (31).
The runners will have 1170m of elevation gain, climbing over 10.4Km of uphill running before finishing at an elevation of 1775m.
The field that is assembling for Sunday morning is perhaps the finest of the year so far. There are already 40 top seeded runners registered which include many of the finest mountain running athletes in the world. With 20 nations represented, this is a fine testament to the spirit of the WMRA Grand Prix.
The Men’s list is headed by recently crowned five-time European Mountain Running champion Ahmet Arslan from Turkey. Arslan will be tested by mountain running legend Jonathan Wyatt of New Zealand and Eritrean silver medallist from the World Mountain Running Championships, Azarya Weldemarian.
With other prominent runners in the field such as Geoffrey Ndungu and Isaac Kosge of Kenya, Robert Krupicka from the Czech Republic, Swede Anders Kleist Sweden and Mitja Kosovelj from Slovenia it will be a fierce battle on the mountains of Mount Penken in Mayrhofen.
Also featuring is Austrian national champion Alexander Rieder, along with Timo Zeiler of Germany and Austrians Markus Kröll and Simon Lechleitner.
The women’s race also promises to field many of the finest female mountain runners with 2011 European silver medalist Antonella Confortola of Italy heading the starters. Close rival and current Grand prix leader Lucija Krkoc of Slovenia is also on the entry list. 2010 winner Brandy Erholtz of the U.S. Briton Emma Clayton are also expected to feature highly. Others who may feature include Clayton’s compatriot Lauren Jeska, Romania’s Denisa Dragomir, Lisa Reisinger of Germany and Slovenia’s Mateja Kosovelj.
While the elite field is clearly outstanding there will be many other runners who will also take to the mountains to compete in this unique event. The organisers look forward to welcoming all of the runners entered to enjoy the mountains around Mayrhofen on Sunday morning.
Bashir Hussain (organisers) for the IAAF