Two-time winner David Schneider on the Hochfellnberglauf course (© Organisers)
The WMRA World Cup will resume with the 43rd edition of the Hochfellnberglauf in the southern Bavarian city of Bergen, Germany, on Sunday (25).
One of the founding members of the Mountain Running Grand Prix, this year marks the first time that the Hochfellnberglauf is part of the WMRA World Cup series. In 2000 the venue hosted the WMRA World Championship.
Once again, Bergen will host some of the world's finest mountain runners on its 8.9km course with an elevation gain of 1074 metres.
The women's contest features a face-off between Austrian Andrea Mayr, the winner of world championship in Sapareva Banya, Bulgaria, earlier this month, and Emily Collinge of Great Britain, who raced to the European crown in Arco, Italy, in July.
Mayr currently leads the World Cup standings with 225 points, ahead of Frenchwoman Christel Dewalle and Sylvia Schwaiger of Slovakia, who have 190 and 155 respectively.
The men's race will feature Petro Mamu of Eritrea, the winner at World Cup stops in Kamnik Slovenia and Telfes im Stubai, Austria, in July, who also raced to the 2012 world title and the 2014 World Cup crown. Mamu won back-to-back wins in Bergen in 2013 and 2014 and leads this year's standings with 300 points, twice the tally of Kenyan Francis Wangari.
The field also includes Italian runners Francesco Puppi, Alex Baldacchini and Antonio Toninelli, and Andrew Douglas and Robbie Simpson of Great Britain.
Isaac Kosgei of Kenya, currently third in the World Cup standings, is also expected along with mountain running legend Jonathan Wyatt of New Zealand, a seven-time winner in Bergen who also claimed the 2000 world title in this alpine town 60 kilometres west of Salzburg.
Organisers and Bob Ramsak for the IAAF
