Marathon running in the Valle d'Aosta

The first edition of Tor des Géants (from the local dialect widely spoken in the Valle d'Aosta meaning Tour of the Giants), will start at 10am on Sunday 12th September 2010.

This event, strongly supported by the Regional Government through the councillors responsible for Sport, Tourism, and Agriculture, will be the sporting event of the year for the alpine region.

The Tor des Géants is a Trail-Running race, is a non-stop ultra-marathon that is run in its entirety along the footpaths of the Alte Vie high mountain trails: 330km over 24,000 metres range in altitude, starting and finishing in Courmayeur.

The two high trails will be linked in an ideal circuit for the race, tracing an ideal alpine route through the most beautiful areas of the Valle d'Aosta.

The section on Col Lauzon (3,300 m.) is the highest point of the race. It is situated in the Gran Paradiso National Park, along the section between Valsavarenche and Cogne, which the athletes will cover over the first and second days of the race. In all the course will cover a total of 25 mounts of over 2,000 metres, skirt 30 alpine lakes and cross 2 nature parks (the Mont Avic Regional Park and the Gran Paradiso National Park. 34 municipalities will be involved (list follows).

Any enthusiasts over the age of 20 who wish to put themselves to the test can take part in this sporting event, which is the most arduous of its kind in the world. The time limit is 150 hours (the race closes at 16:00 on Saturday 18th September).

For the safety of the competitors, and so as not to debase the competitive spirit, time limits for the intermediate stages will prevent behind time competitors from continuing. Each competitor will decide on his own speed and relative race strategy and only, for reasons of safety, rest, eat, and sleep in the bases set up for these purposes.

With over 500 assistants spread out along the route, the organisers, (co-ordinated by ASD Courmayeur Trailer) guarantee 7 base-stations and 43 refreshment points for the competitors. In each of the 50 bases it will be possible to rest and stock-up on food and drink, but the 7 base-stations provide larger and more comfortable spaces for sleeping as well as being equipped to supply medical assistance and ambulance services whenever needed. Furthermore, in these bases the competitors will find their own bag and personal effects, brought there by the organisers during the race in order that the athletes are provided with changes of clothing and shoes, appropriate nutritional products, and everything else that they made need for the next stage of the race.

Every base will also act as a time checkpoint so that the progress of the race and position of each competitor can be followed at all times. The results obtained by the checkpoints will be shared through the race web-site tordesgeants.it so that whoever wants to may follow the progress of the competitors.

TOR DES GEANTS - THE ROUTE

The Tor des Géants is the first mountain endurance trail to consist of one route, a loop circuit that runs through the whole Valle d'Aosta region, covering the highest paths of the four-thousanders (Gran Paradiso, Monte Rosa, Matterhorn, and Mont Blanc), the highest mountains in Europe.