La Sportiva’s Second Annual Mountain Cup Set To Begin May 29

La Sportiva N.A., makers of technical climbing, mountaineering, Mountain Running® and hiking footwear announced the lineup for this year’s 2009 La Sportiva Mountain Cup, presented by GORE-TEX® and Fleet Feet Boulder. The Mountain Cup’s first race of the 10 race national series is the Rock2Rock 10k in Asheville, North Carolina, set for Friday May 29. Unlike the rest of the races on the 2009 Mountain Cup schedule, the Rock2Rock is special because it takes place on a Friday evening, kicking off Asheville’s Ashland Sports Festival weekend.

“No one can run the entire course,” says Race Director Jay Curwen, in speaking about the Rock2Rock. “The name Rock2Rock originated because the course literally climbs two rocky outcroppings with a technical traverse trail between them. This is a true mountain course, with steep ascents and exciting descents, requiring the utmost attention from even the most experienced mountain runners.” Last year’s champions Shiloh Mielke and Meadow Tarves, a brother and sister who live in Asheville, will be returning to defend their title. La Sportiva athletes Kerri Nelson, of Gunnison, Colorado, and Megan Kimmel, of Silverton, Colorado, are also registered for the event.

The Mountain Cup brings European-style trail/mountain racing to America, featuring ten trail races at select destinations around the country and $25,000 in prize money. The series is open to anyone who’d like to participate in any Mountain Cup event; participants may enter as few or as many events as they want. Overall scoring will be tabulated after each race and final results will be based on the participant’s best five events. In addition, each event will be scored for overall female and male, with each gender being broken down into two categories, open and master.

The 2009 La Sportiva Mountain Cup, presented by GORE-TEX® and Fleet Feet Boulder, will include the following venues:

• 05/29/09 • Rock2Rock Run (10 km) • Asheville, NC

• 06/06/09 • Mt Diablo (25 km) • Clayton, CA

• 06/20/09 • Mount Washington Road Race (7.6 mi) • Gorham, NH

• 07/12/09 • Barr Trail Mountain Race (12 mi) • Manitou Springs, CO

• 08/01/09 • Squaw Valley Mountain Run (3.6 mi) • Squaw Valley, CA

• 08/01/09 • La Sportiva Eldora Trail 10k (10 km) • Nederland, CO

• 08/08/09 • Jupiter Peak Steeplechase (16 mi) • Park City, UT

• 08/09/09 • Haulin’Aspen Trail Half Marathon (13.1 mi) • Bend, OR

• 08/16/09 • Half Wit Half (13.1 mi) • Reading, PA

• 08/22/09 • Shop to the Top (6 mi) • Ketchum, ID

After the Rock2Rock, the Mountain Cup’s next stop is in Clayton, CA, ultimately finishing at the end of August in Ketchum, Idaho. For additional information on the La Sportiva Mountain Cup, presented by GORE-TEX® and Fleet Feet Boulder, go to: <http://mountainrunning.com/mc/>.

With over 80 years of heritage, La Sportiva has unrivaled experience in building the world’s finest performance mountain footwear. Creating innovation through passion, La Sportiva offers the most versatile technical climbing, mountaineering, Mountain Running® and hiking shoes on the market. For more information on La Sportiva visit www.sportiva.com or check out the new online interactive community, La Sportiva LIVE, at: http://www.sportiva.com/live.