The enthusiasm at the fun run was huge.

BOclassic Volkslauf: Almost 500 do it like the pros

Federico Polesana from Feltre and Greta Haselrieder from Bruneck won the BOclassic Ladurner Volkslauf on Wednesday, a race held as a prelude to the elite races of the international Bolzano New Year's Eve Run. 477 athletes competed in the 5km race, which also marked the opening of the 2026 Top7 running series.

01 January 2026

From: pm

Before the two elite races of the BOclassic South Tyrol, which also featured two local favorites, Andreas Reiterer from Hafling and the South Tyrolean resident Severine Petersen, the "stage" in Bolzano belonged to the nearly 500 amateur runners who turned the Ladurner Volkslauf into a true celebration. Like Nadia Battocletti and her fellow runners almost two hours later, they had to complete four loops through Bolzano's old town, covering a total of 5 kilometers.

The fastest athlete to achieve this feat was from the Veneto region. Federico Polesana from Feltre won the 22nd BOclassic Ladurner Volkslauf with a time of 15:19 minutes. After the first lap, the 31-year-old from the Trevisatletica club was in third place, but he worked his way to the front on the second lap and held onto the lead until the finish. "I participated as a junior in 2011 and won back then as well. So my return to Bolzano has paid off. It was another fantastic race, the atmosphere is incredible. I also really like the course. I'm very happy," said Polesana.

Federico Polesana celebrated his victory.

With a narrow gap of three seconds, German Julius Ott – who runs for the Austrian club Runningraz – took second place. Third place went to another athlete from Veneto, Mattia Scopel (ANA Atl. Feltre), whose time was 15:40. Fourth place went to Khalid Jbari (Athletci Club 96 Alperia) from Leifers, the winner of the 2025 Top7 running series. Lukas Engl from Puster Valley, representing SSV Bruneck, finished seventh.

Haselrieder with his second stroke

Greta Haselrieder of the South Tyrolean running club Sparkasse dominated the women's race. The 28-year-old from Bruneck immediately took the lead and celebrated a comfortable start-to-finish victory. With a time of 17:27 minutes, she was 22 seconds faster than in her winning race last year. This time would have placed her 16th in the elite women's race. "The atmosphere was fantastic once again. The crowd really motivated me. It was another magnificent race," Haselrieder explained after crossing the finish line in Waltherplatz.

Second place went to Germany's Tina Klement (LG Telis Finanz Regensburg), who completed the 5km in Bolzano in 17:48 minutes. Another German athlete, Chantal Buschung (LC Villach), finished third with a time of 17:54 minutes. Tanja Scrinzi (SG Eisacktal Raiffeisen) improved her position by one place compared to last year, finishing fourth and narrowly missing the podium.

The organizers are satisfied with the results

The organizers from the Bolzano Raiffeisen Runners Club drew a very positive conclusion on Wednesday evening, having managed a large number of races, including the elite races, the Pensplan Centrum Just For Fun, the Ladurner Volkslauf, and the Raiffeisen Youth Races. "I think we can be very satisfied with this 50th anniversary edition. Most importantly, there were no injuries, and all races ran smoothly. With over 1000 registered athletes, we set a new record. We are delighted with this tremendous response. The tightly scheduled program was also praised by many. Regarding the elite races, Yomif Kejelcha's course record and the overall very exciting men's race deserve special mention – as does the fact that two Italian athletes finished first and second in the women's race," concluded Christiane Warasin.

The Top7 race series continues in May. The next stop is Trentino, where the “10 Miglia del Teroldego 2026” race will take place on Saturday, May 9th.

Results BOclassic Ladurner Fun Run 2025

Men:
1. Federico Polesana ITA/Trevisatletica 15.19
2. Julius Ott GER/Runningraz 15.22
3. Mattia Scopel ITA/ANA Atl. Feltre 15.40
4. Khalid Jbari ITA/Athletic Club 96 Alperia 15.52 p.m
5. Marco Bonan ITA/US Quercia Trentingrana 15.53

Women:
1. Greta Haselrieder ITA/South Tyrolean LV Sparkasse 17.27
2. Tina Klement GER/LG Telis Finanz Regensburg 17.48
3. Chantal Buschung GER/LC Villach 17.54
4. Tanja Scrinzi ITA/SG Eisacktal Raiffeisen 18.07
5. Leila Colussi ITA/ANA Atl. Feltre 18.15