World Cup 2021 Kicks Off At Tatra Race Run in Poland
Following a 2020 mountain running season highly effected by the global pandemic, excitement is high for the launch of the 2021 World Cup in Zakopane, Poland. It was impossible for a World Cup to take place in 2020, so we haven’t seen a World Cup race since Smarna Gora Race in 2019. But the organisers of the 16 stages are primed and ready, the athletes are itching to race and we at the WMRA can’t wait to bring you all the news, live action and results. Let us tell you about the race that will kick it all off on June 27th, Tatra Race Run.
Tatra Race Run takes place in the Tatra Mountains, an area with a rich history of mountain running. In fact, the Tatra Mountain Walk, which took place in 1925, was the first mountain run in the republic of Poland. Tatra Race Run is inspired by another historical event - Tatrzański Chod – so the organisers will be taking all the best historical features and combining them with the fast and furious world of contemporary mountain running.
The Tatra Mountain range is the highest mountain range in the Carpathian Mountains, which spans Poland and Slovakia. The area is renowned for skiing, mountaineering, walking and running and is a dream for those who love spending time in the mountains. Zakopane is in the south of Poland, approximately 85 kilometres south of Krakow.
Athletes will compete on a route of 24 kilometres with 1700 metres of positive elevation. The course will take the runners along the Tatra paths and ridges from Zakopane to Kościelisko. They will start at Kuźnice and run through the Kondracka Pass and Czerwone Wierchy to the Tomanowa Valley and the Hala Ornak, and then through the Iwaniacka Przełęcz, the Starorobociańska and Chochołowska Valley to the finish line at Siwa Polana.
As well as a stacked field of local mountain running talent, which we’re looking forward to seeing, international runners who will be among the favourites include: Sarah McCormack (current women's World Cup champion), Bernard Dematteis (4th in the 2019 World Cup), Martin Dematties (7th at the 2019 World Cup), Alice Gaggi (2013 World Mountain Running Champion), Lorenza Becaria (number 10 in the current WMRA World Ranking), Henri Aymonod (Italian VK Champion 2020), and exciting young talents Cecilia Basso and Raul Criado (Spanish national U23 champion).
Programme:
SATURDAY June 26, 2021
12.00-20.00 registration, Dynafit Store, Krupówki 40 Shopping Center, Zakopane
SUNDAY June 27, 2021
6:30 start, Kuźnice
13:00 finish line closes - Siwa Polana
15.00 award ceremony, Krupówki 40 Shopping Center, Góralski Browar - Zakopane, Krupówki 40
How to follow the action:
We will be bringing you the latest news and results on our social media:
www.instagram.com/wmramountainrun
www.facebook.com/worldmountainrunningassociation
www.twitter.com/wmramountainrun
#WMRAWorldCup