The mountain runners have to cover 17 kilometers and 1333 meters in altitude. © H. Wisthaler

Sexten is looking forward to a mountain running festival of superlatives

The 26th South Tyrol Drei Zinnen Alpine Run can begin! This Saturday, hundreds of enthusiastic mountain runners will once again tackle the 17-kilometer route with an altitude of 1333 meters from Sexten up to the Dreizinnenhütte at 2405 meters above sea level.

September 06, 2023

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The participants include numerous top athletes who will ensure plenty of excitement in the 3 Zinnen Dolomites region after the starting signal at 9 a.m.

In its almost 30-year history, the South Tyrol Drei Zinnen Alpine Run was a World Cup race only once. That was in 2019, when the entire elite of the mountain running scene took part in the “classic” in the 3 Zinnen Dolomites region. This year the Dreizinnenlauf is not part of the World Cup - but the field of participants still looks like it could be a World Cup event. Above all, the mountain running stars from the surrounding area don't want to miss one of the most beautiful events in the Alpine region.

Last year's winner Cesare Maestri is at the start for the men. The European mountain running champion and runner-up world champion from Trentino will start the race on Saturday with starting number 1, as befits his status, and is the top favorite to win the day. But the almost 30-year-old will once again face strong competition in Sexten. Filippo Barizza – he comes from Mira in the Veneto – is the third person registered last year. Hannes Perkmann from Sarner has been on the podium three times in the past and is now aiming for victory in the South Tyrolean autumn classic for the first time.

Two youngsters want to attack

But you can also expect a strong performance from two other young “Azzurri”. They are Marco Filosi and Alberto Vender, who together with Maestri and Xavier Chevrier won silver as a team at the Mountain Running World Championships in Innsbruck. Mauro Rasom, who also lives in Trentino, and the German Simon Eisele round off the top field of participants.

This year too, the winners are likely to be chosen in imperial weather. © Harald Wisthaler

The women's competition can also be expected to be extremely exciting. As defending champion, Sara Bottarelli travels from the province of Brescia to the mountaineering village of Sexten. The 33-year-old, who was also victorious in 2016, will wear starting number 1001. Her number one challenger is likely to be Dimitra Theocharis. She is also a former winner and won the South Tyrol Drei Zinnen Alpine Run 2020 - when the Sesto mountain running classic was one of very few running events that was successfully held despite the corona pandemic.

Tschurtschenthaler is aiming for a major coup

Of course, Agnes Tschurtschenthaler is also good for her first victory in her home race. The 41-year-old from Sesto has missed the coup several times in recent years - perhaps her big moment will come in 2023. In any case, the former “Azzurra” is in good form, as she won the South Tyrolean Erdäpflllauf for the seventh time ten days ago. Top cross-country skier Iris de Martin Pinter from Comelico Superiore, as well as Anna Hofer and her colleague Anna Lena Hofer, who have almost the same name, both of whom are at home in the Merano area, also have big plans. Not to be missed in Sexten is the grand dame of the South Tyrolean running scene, Edeltraud Thaler, who was on the podium in the past but was never able to win the race.

Around 750 mountain runners registered for the South Tyrol Drei Zinnen Alpine Run a few days before the big showdown. “We have a great field of participants and I am convinced that a few more athletes will join us in the next few days. The preparations have largely been completed, now it is important to find a quick solution to small problems. In any case, we are already ready for the 26th South Tyrol Drei Zinnen Alpine Run and I would like to thank our many helpers, but also our partners and sponsors, for their support in advance,” says OC boss Alfred Prenn from ALV Sextner Dolomiten.

As far as the weather is concerned, the organizers can expect sunshine and warm temperatures as of today - which is also a not insignificant factor for an outdoor event like the South Tyrol Drei Zinnen Alpine Run, which takes place on Sunday, September 10th with a run for children and... Young people – the Mini Drei Zinnen Alpine Run – is completed.