“After the end of 12. WMRA Grand Prix, 2010 mountain running’s year is coming to finish with next 2. African Mountain Running Championships that will be run on next 27 November in Nigeria, linked to 6. Obudu International Mountain race, the richest race in the world, taking in consideration the amount of prize money.

But it is also time for preparing next 2011 season.

During last Athletic European Convention on Saturday 16 October 2010, Philippe Llamblin, as Chairman of EA Mountain Running Commission, and Bruno Gozzelino, as member of the same Commission, conducted a presentation by the situation of mountain running in front of all the Officials (President and/or Secretary and/or General Director and/or National Coaches) of all the National Athletic Federations of the 50 European Nations present in Belgrade.

It was an important moment because the slides of this presentation – very well prepared by Ede Rutkovszky, EA Staff and Secretary of the Commission – were seen with great interest by all the present and comments were very positive: as result of the work inside the European National Athletic Federations, many Countries is staged at the National Mountain Running Championships in 2011.

WMRA thanks so much EA and specially its President, HansJorg Wirz, and all EA Council for this opportunity.
During EA Convention, Gozzelino had many contacts with a lot of different European Officials of the National Athletic Federation and he also took the opportunity for thanking officially PZLA and in particular its President, Jerzy Skucha, handing him one memorial medals for the organization of the 11th WMRA/WMA Master World Mountain Running Championships (see photo). Special thanks again to the LOC of this event and in particular to&nbsp,Miroslaw Dziergas (LOC President), Stefan Kalinowski (LOC Vice President) and Andrzej Puchacz (LOC General Secretary). “
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Always in Belgrade, during the Congress of ABAF, held in conjunction with the 2010 European Athletics Convention in the Serbian capital Belgrade, Bulgaria’s Athletic President, Dobromir Karamarinov has been unanimously elected as the new President of the Balkan Athletics Federations (ABAF), association that was founded in 1929 and has organised regional championships and major athletics events for over 80 years. All 10 member federations ABAF (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, FYR of Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Romania and Turkey) were present. WMRA congratulated Karamarimov for this election and thanked ABAF for great support to&nbsp, mountain running discipline.

On 2011, the following WMRA international mountain race are scheduled:

– June 18: 8. WMRA Long Distance Mountain Running Challenge at Petrovo Brdo (Slovenia, linked with 10. GM40&nbsp, – Gorski Maraton &Scaron,tirich Ob&#269,in),

– June 25: 6. WMRA International Youth Challenge (race&nbsp, for 16 – 17 years old) at Gorenja vas (Slovenia),

– September 11: 27. WMRA World Mountain Running Championships at Tirana (Albania),

– September 17: 11. WMRA/WMA Master World Mountain Running Championships at Paluzza (Italy),

Besides other international mountain races will be:

– June 12: 4. Balkan Mountain Running Championships at Dimitrovgrad (Serbia),

– September 23-25: 2. Commonwealth Mountain Running Championships at Snowdon – Gwynedd (Great Britain).
This last competition must be, of course, officially sanctioned by UK Athletics and the Commonwealth Association of Mountain and Ultra-distance running in the next time.
Full WMRA 2011 Calendar – with all the WMRA associated races – is available in the EA Calendar 2011 on EA webpage and very soon it will be published also in the WMRA webpage.

WMRA Council will discuss on next meeting – already staged in Monte Carlo on next 15 January 2011 – the situation regarding the 13. WMRA Grand Prix 2011, taking into consideration in many aspects in way to decide if this event will be still organised or not, and in positive case its format.

Dates (and some venues now missing) of the 8. NACAC Mountain Running Championships at Ajijic, Jalisco (Mexico), of the 6. CONSUDATLE Mountain Running Championships and of the 3. AAC Mountain Running Championships Cross River State must be fixed in next time, thanking always for their cooperation the Area Continental Athletic Association.

Instead the 10. EA Mountain Running Championships at Bursa (Turkey) will be held on 10 July 2011.

In preparation of this competition Salih Munir Yaras, EA Council Delegate, Bruno Gozzelino, EA Technical Delegate, and Ede Rutkovszky, EA Project Coordinator, visited on last two days (21 and 22 October) the city of&nbsp,Bursa (see photo: from left to right: Salih Munir Yaras, Bruno Gozzelino, Memhet Terzi, Turkish Athletic Federation President, Erhan Basoglu, TAF and WMRA Council member and Muharrem Or. LOC Technical Expert). Municipality and Government of Bursa will support fully the event. First important aspects were discussed during these days in way to prepare in the best way the most important European mountain race in 2011.

WMRA has in programme to discuss on next WMRA Council meeting any other possible news (gold, silver and bronze level for the races, or prize like &quot,mountain runner of the year&quot,, etcetera) with the prospect of further growth and development of the discipline, always counting on the support of the IAAF that WMRA thanks for this.

Bruno Gozzelino by WMRA

Photos by&nbsp,Bruno Gozzelino:
as written in the article.

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