Ultra Race of Champions selected as the Skyrunner World Ultra Final

Vail, Colorado and Biella, Italy, December 3rd, 2012, – J Russell Gill III and Dr. Francesca Conte of Bad to the Bone Endurance Sports, the organizers of the Ultra Race of Champions®, UROC®, the Championship event for the sport of Ultra Distance Running, announce today that UROC has been selected as the 2013 Skyrunner® World Series Ultra Final. This announcement is made in conjunction with Marino Giacometti and Lauri van Houten, President and Executive Director of the International
Skyrunning Federation, ISF. The date for the 2013 Ultra Race of Champions will be September 28th. Registration will open on January 15th, 2013.

“This is a huge honor,” says Gill, Ultra Race of Champions race director. “Choosing Vail as the 2013 venue for the Ultra Race of Champions was the right move. Vail is an iconic location and a name recognized around the globe for hosting World Championship events. We are ecstatic about hosting the Skyrunner® World Series Ultra Final, and to work more closely with Marino and Lauri during the planning process.”

“For me, this is perfect fit,” says Conte, Ultra Race of Champions President and native of Italy. “I was born and raised in the Italian Alps and UROC being named the 2013 Skyrunner World Ultra Final® is a true homecoming. The point to point course from Breckenridge, to Frisco, to Copper Mountain, to Minturn to Vail has all the qualifying elements of a skyrunning event, including scenic beauty, dramatic mountain passes, elevation gain and loss and an iconic finish location in Vail Village. “More sky – less cloud”®, the tagline of the International Skyrunning Federation, is certainly true for Vail.”

For the International Skyrunning Federation, this is also a homecoming. “We look forward to returning to Vail after 15 years, a perfect location for Skyrunning!,” says Marino Giacometti , ISF President. “We’re pleased to be working with professionals like Gill and Francesca and excited to hold the final of our World Ultra Series there with the participation of the world’s best runners.”

To the race, this means wide international exposure, and a guaranteed international field. “The Ultra Race of Champions already attracts the best runners from the USA and the World,” says Gill. “With UROC as the Skyrunner® World Series Ultra Final, the field lining up at the starting line will be unprecedented.”

The field will, without a doubt, also attract much media and sponsors attention. “Having the 2013 Ultra Race of Champions serve as the Skyrunner® World Series Ultra Final will be a momentous event,” says Brian Metzler, editor in chief of Competitor Magazine and Competitor.com., the presenting sponsor for the Ultra Race of Champions. “Having a competitive field of top-level U.S. and international runners competing on a unique and challenging course in the Rocky Mountains will be a significant event for the sport and great for the continued growth of trail running and ultrarunning in the U.S.A.” 

This is the first time that any Skyrunner® World Series final has taken place in the USA, bringing together all the best European and American runners.

About the Ultra Race of Champions
The Ultra Race of Champions is the Championship Event for the sport of Ultra Distance Running. Elite runners are invited based on the recommendation of the Ultra Race of Champions Elite Advisory Council and their performances at key events in the sport all over the world. The UROC Elite Advisory Council includes some of the best ultra runners from around the World: Geoff Roes, Dave Mackey, Ellie Greenwood, Michael Wardian, Devon Crosby-Helms and Ian Sharman. www.ultraroc.com

About Bad to the Bone Endurance Sports
By directing premiere road and trail events all over the United States, Bad to the Bone Endurance Sports strives to motivate runners of all backgrounds to challenge themselves. For over 11 years, Bad to the Bone Endurance Sports events have reflected owners Gill and Francesca’s decades-long knowledge and passion for running. www.badtothebone.biz

About the International Skyrunning Federation
Skyrunning, or high altitude running, is defined as the discipline of mountain running up to or exceeding 2,000m where the incline exceeds 30% and the climbing difficulty does not exceed II° grade. The governing body is the International Skyrunning Federation. The sport comprises a number of different disciplines from the short, steep Vertical Kilometer® to the more popular SkyRace® and Ultra SkyMarathon®.
The idea of creating a sports discipline was the brainchild of Italian mountaineer Marino Giacometti. Thanks to Giacometti, skyrunning races have taken place across the world’s mountain ranges reaching from the Alps to the Himalayas and to Mount Kenya to the Rocky Mountains. The principal aims of the International Skyrunning Federation are the direction, regulation, promotion, development and furtherance of skyrunning and similar multisport activities on a worldwide basis. The International Skyrunning Federation is also the organizer of the Skyrunner® World Series. www.skyrunning.com

About Competitor Magazine
Celebrating 25 years, Competitor magazine is the world’s leading voice of endurance athletics. Competitor engages active people from runners to cyclists and outdoors adventurers to fulfill one simple mission: to inspire a healthy, active lifestyle. Competitor empowers readers across the country, with world-class journalism and photography, to become community leaders through their adventurous lifestyle and courageous spirit. For more information about Competitor, including advertising rate cards and editorial calendar, visit CompetitorMediaKit.com. For the latest running news, training advice and more, visit Competitor.com.

Sponsors should contact Francesca Conte at francesca@badtothebone.biz