La Sportiva Mountain Running Team Aims for First Place in 2008

Boulder, Colo. – The U.S. Women’s National Team for Mountain Running won the team gold medal at the World Trophy Race 2007, upsetting all of the favored European teams. Three of the four women on this championship team came from Team La Sportiva. In addition, the U.S. beat the Czech Republic National Team by a single point. Anna Pichrtova, the winner of the Women’s Overall Championship and a member of Team La Sportiva, leads the Czech team.

After coming off this banner year in 2007, La Sportiva decided to make their Mountain Running Team even stronger with the addition of 13 new team members. Now, Team La Sportiva is comprised of 39 athletes of all ages and from all over the country.

This year’s new additions include many of the country’s top ultrarunners to complement La Sportiva’s already strong roster of Mountain Runners.

Headlining the team is Karl Meltzer, the USA Track & Field Ultrarunner of the Year for 2006. Karl is known for his record-setting 4 wins at the Hardrock 100 trail race in Silverton, Colo. This race includes over 33,000 feet of elevation gain, demanding a light and fast shoe like the La Sportiva Fireblade. This year Meltzer will attempt to break the speed record for the Appalachian Trail, which extends from Springer Mountain, Ga. to Mount Katahdin, Maine, spanning more than 2,000 miles. The current record stands at 47 days, 13 hours and 31 minutes, for an average pace – including sleep time – of roughly 1.8 miles per hour.

La Sportiva also welcomes the husband and wife team of Nate and Petra McDowell, who thrive on single track and big elevation gains. Nate is the 50-mile National Champion and held the 2002 Wasatch 100 Course Record. In 2007, Petra was the overall winner of the Speedgoat 50-K.

Returning to Team La Sportiva from last year is Anna Pichrtova. Based in the Czech Republic but training in Boulder, Colo., Pichrtova is literally the best female mountain runner in the world. Although, she modestly claims that she needs to do more speed work. She won the World Mountain Running Trophy in Switzerland last year to go along with her European Championship from the previous year. She is also the only person to win the Mount Washington Road Race 6 times. Many of her wins are due to her amazing reputation for fast downhill running on technical trails. As such, Pichrtova prefers the La Sportiva Skylight due to its lightweight combined with its supportive fit for kamikaze descents.

Also returning is Tony Krupicka, who surprised the ultrarunning world with multiple wins at the famous Leadville Trail 100 race, where he finished ahead of the field by hours, not minutes. Appearing on the cover of the December 2007 issue of Running Times magazine at only 25 years old, Krupicka brings an exciting fresh perspective to the sport. As a purist, Tony will run in La Sportiva’s Skylight this year – opting to run with the natural contours of the trail, not through them.

Under the leadership of team captain Buzz Burrell, La Sportiva is always looking for ways to improve their already strong product line.

“We’ve always had literally the best mountain runners in the world. Now our Team also is composed of some of the best ultrarunners in the world,” says Buzz Burrell. “This is reflected in our product line, where expert feedback from our Team has enabled us to develop shoes specifically designed for all types of terrain and uses.”

With strong new athletes joining the team and the best runners in the world renewing their commitments to the team, La Sportiva is poised to have its best year ever in the mountains.


ABOUT LA SPORTIVA
Celebrating their 80th anniversary, La Sportiva brings a strong alpine mountaineering and climbing heritage to their line of performance mountain footwear. This core experience enables La Sportiva to offer the most versatile technical climbing, mountaineering, Mountain Running® and hiking shoes on the market. For more information on La Sportiva visit www.sportiva.com.