Marina Giotto and Andreas Reiterer won the fun run at this year's BOclassic edition. © Sportissimus (3)

BOclassic: The winners of the fun run have been chosen

The BOclassic Ladurner Volkslauf was the first highlight of the traditional Bolzano New Year's Eve run on Sunday lunchtime, which has been held in the valley town since 1975 on the last day of the year. With Andreas Reiterer (Hafling) and the Belluno native Marina Giotto, two favorites prevailed among almost 20 participants at the 500th edition.

31 December 2023

From: pm

As is well known, the Top7 running series begins in the old year and this year was no different. The popular running series kicked off on Sunday with the BOclassic Ladurner fun run.

No fewer than 458 athletes competed in the narrow streets of Bolzano under cloudy skies and temperatures just above freezing as part of the anniversary edition. After the starting signal at 12 p.m., a group of several people with Osvaldo Zanella (Atletica Brugnera), Davide Angilella (Atletica Franciacorta) and Andreas Reiterer (ASV Telmekom Team Südtirol) dictated the pace on the first 1,25 km loop. After the second lap Angilella had fallen back a little before Reiterer passed Zanella before the penultimate lap. In the end, the South Tyrolean Trail Vice World Champion won the 20th BOclassic Ladurner Volkslauf with a time of 15.25 minutes, only three seconds above the current course record for the elite women.

Over 450 athletes took part.

“The big difference is less the surface and more the length. Normally my races are 50 or more kilometers long. Everything is flat here, it's very fast. But I am very satisfied and am very happy that I was able to win here,” said Andreas Reiterer at the finish. Second place went to Osvaldo Zanella, who had a time of 15.30 minutes, while Davide Angilella came third in 15.50.

Start-to-finish victory for Marina Giotto

In the women's race, Marina Giotto celebrated a start-to-finish victory. The Belluno woman from Mel, who had already won the BOclassic Ladurner Volkslauf once in 2021, set the pace right from the start, gradually increased her lead and prevailed after 5 kilometers with a time of 17.45 minutes. This meant she was almost 30 seconds faster than when she triumphed two years ago. Giotto, who starts for Atletica Brugnera, relegated Greta Haselrieder from Pusteria (Südtiroler LV Sparkasse) to second place (18.01), while Tanja Scrinzi (SG Eisacktal Raiffeisen) reached third place - with a time of 18.17 minutes. The South Tyrolean thus retained the upper hand in the duel for the final podium place against Valentina Landuzzi (Podistica Pontelungo Bologna).

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“I felt pretty good during the race. After a knee operation that I had to undergo two years ago, I have been training again for a year and I also did this race as a training run. This victory today is the culmination of a lot of very hard work, so this success means a lot to me,” said Giotto. Lisa Leuprecht, the daughter of South Tyrolean running legend Christian Leuprecht, achieved a respectable success. The young hopeful, who competes for the Merano sports club, landed in a strong sixth place in 18.29 minutes - directly ahead of the current Top7 overall winner Sarah Giomi.

The Top7 running series 2024 will continue on Sunday, April 14th with the Kaltererseelauf in Tramin. There are a total of nine races on the program this year, with the seven best results counting for the overall ranking.

20th BOclassic Ladurner fun run, results

Men
1. Andreas Reiterer ITA/ASV Telmekom Team South Tyrol 15.25 minutes
2. Osvaldo Zanella ITA/Atl. Brugnera PN Friulintagli 15.30
3. Davide Angilella ITA/Atl. Franciacorta 15.50
4. Marco Corti ITA/Zerotrenta Triathlon Brescia 16.07
5. Stefan Wagger ITA/SSV Bruneck Brunico Volksbank 16.08

Women
1. Marina Giotto ITA/Atl. Brugnera PN Friulintagli 17.45
2. Greta Haselrieder ITA/South Tyrolean LV Sparkasse 18.01
3. Tanja Scrinzi ITA/SG Eisacktal Raiffeisen ASV 18.17
4. Valentina Landuzzi ITA/Podistica Pontelungo Bologna 18.19
5. Giulia Sommi ITA/CUS Pro Patria Milano 18.20

All dates of the Top7 running series 2024

Sunday, April 14, 2024: Kaltererseelauf
Saturday, May 11, 2024: Teroldego Events
Friday, May 31, 2024: Spring Night Run
Sunday, July 7, 2024: Seiser Alm Half Marathon
Saturday, July 13, 2024: Reschensee Run
Saturday, August 24, 2024: Erdäpflllauf
Sunday, September 22nd, 2024: Soltn mountain half marathon
Saturday, October 19, 2024: AgeFactor Run and Top7 award