Slovenian mountain runner Nejc Kuhar
After the European and NACAC Mountain Running Championships, more than 200 runners from 12 countries have entered the 18th edition of the Grintovec Mountain running race – the second stage of the 2016 Mountain Running World Cup – on 24 July in the picturesque Slovenian town of Kamnik.
The course is a real mountain course, taking the normal trail from the Kamniska Valley (602m) to the Grintovec summit (2558m), almost 2000m elevation gain within 10km. The course records of 1:15:43 (Jonathan Wyatt) and 1:31:50 (Anna Pichrtova) seemed destined to last a long time.
Defending champion Nejc Kuhar will feel at home in the local surroundings, but he will face the likes of Kenya’s Isaac Toroitich Kosgei, the 2014 winner, and Eritrea’s Petro Mamu, one of the strongest mountain runners in the world at the moment.
Fresh from finishing second at the World Long Distance Championships five weeks ago, Italy’s Antonella Confortolla will attempt to go one better in Kamnik.
Local athlete Lucija Krkoc, who took bronze behind Confortolla at the World Long Distance Championships, will try to regain her title from 2011 when the course was shortened due to extreme weather conditions.
The weather forecast promises some storms in the afternoon but runner-friendly conditions in the morning.
Tomo Sarf (WMRA) for the IAAF
