Cross della Vallagarina
Encyclopedia
The Cross della Vallagarina is an annual cross country running
competition that is held in mid-January in Rovereto
, Italy
. The competition derives its name from the Vallagarina
valley in which the city is located. It was first held in 1978 following the success of local runner Cristina Tomasini at the 1977 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
. She was the inaugural winner of the Cross della Vallagarina, which was unusual in being a women's competition only – the men's race was added later in 1981.
The Cross della Vallagarina is part of the European Athletics permit meeting series, and has also previously been part of the Italian national circuit. It hosted the Italian Cross Country Championships in 2005 and 2007. The race is organised by the local sports club
U.S. Quercia Rovereto, which also hosts the city's annual track and field
meeting (Palio Città della Quercia
) and Giro Podistico di Rovereto road race
.
The current elite men's and women's races are held over 8.8 km and 5.5 km, respectively. The women's competition in 1978 began as a contest over 5 km and has remained roughly this distance throughout its history, except for a brief period where it was extended from 2005 to 2007. The men's race started as an 8 km event, but it has been mostly between 9–10 km for the majority of editions. The competition's looped course features a number of uphill and downhill sections along the valley's edge, making it a difficult race for some athletes. In addition to the elite level races, there are also several races for fun run
ners and amateurs, ranging from youth competitions to races for masters athletes.
Past winners of the event include some of Italy's most successful runners, including Olympic marathon champion Gelindo Bordin
, 1987 World Champion
Francesco Panetta
, Gabriella Dorio
(Olympic gold medallist in the 1500 m) and two-time 5000 m global medallist Roberta Brunet
. Foreign winners of the event include multiple European Cross
champion Serhiy Lebid, world steeplechase
champions Wilson Boit Kipketer
and Dorcus Inzikuru
, and World Half Marathon
champion Wilson Kiprop
.
Key:
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
competition that is held in mid-January in Rovereto
Rovereto
Rovereto is a city and comune in Trentino in northern Italy, located in the Vallagarina valley of the Adige River.-History:Rovereto was an ancient fortress town standing at the frontier between the bishopric of Trento - an independent state until 1797 - and the republic of Venice, and later...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. The competition derives its name from the Vallagarina
Vallagarina
The Lagarina Valley is a valley in northern Italy, used to define the lower mountain course of the Adige River. It is mostly included in the province of Trentino, with the lower section being part of the province of Verona. The largest town is Rovereto....
valley in which the city is located. It was first held in 1978 following the success of local runner Cristina Tomasini at the 1977 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
1977 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
The 5th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held on March 20, 1977 in Düsseldorf, Germany.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- External links :*...
. She was the inaugural winner of the Cross della Vallagarina, which was unusual in being a women's competition only – the men's race was added later in 1981.
The Cross della Vallagarina is part of the European Athletics permit meeting series, and has also previously been part of the Italian national circuit. It hosted the Italian Cross Country Championships in 2005 and 2007. The race is organised by the local sports club
Sports club
A sports club or sport club, sometimes athletics club or sports association is a club for the purpose of playing one or more sports...
U.S. Quercia Rovereto, which also hosts the city's annual track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
meeting (Palio Città della Quercia
Palio Citta della Quercia
The Palio Citta della Quercia is an annual track and field meeting held at the Stade Quercia in Rovereto, Italy. Usually held in late August or early September, it is a European Athletics premier meeting...
) and Giro Podistico di Rovereto road race
Road running
Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road . These events would be classified as long distance according to athletics terminology, with distances typically ranging from 5 kilometers to 42.2 kilometers in the marathon. They may involve large numbers of runners...
.
The current elite men's and women's races are held over 8.8 km and 5.5 km, respectively. The women's competition in 1978 began as a contest over 5 km and has remained roughly this distance throughout its history, except for a brief period where it was extended from 2005 to 2007. The men's race started as an 8 km event, but it has been mostly between 9–10 km for the majority of editions. The competition's looped course features a number of uphill and downhill sections along the valley's edge, making it a difficult race for some athletes. In addition to the elite level races, there are also several races for fun run
Fun run
A fun run is a friendly race that involves either road running or cross country running with participants taking part for their own enjoyment rather than competition. A fun run will usually be held to raise funds for a charity, with sponsors providing the revenue to cover organisational costs...
ners and amateurs, ranging from youth competitions to races for masters athletes.
Past winners of the event include some of Italy's most successful runners, including Olympic marathon champion Gelindo Bordin
Gelindo Bordin
Gelindo Bordin is an Italian former athlete, winner of the marathon race at the 1988 Summer Olympics. Born at Vicenza, Bordin made his first breakthrough at the 1986 European Championships, where he won a gold medal....
, 1987 World Champion
1987 World Championships in Athletics
The 2nd World Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations were held in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy between August 28 and September 6, 1987.-Track:1983 | 1987 | 1991 | 1993 | 1995...
Francesco Panetta
Francesco Panetta
Francesco Panetta is a former Italian long-distance runner, who won several medals at international championships in the 1980s. His greatest achievement was the victory at the World Championships' final over 3000m steeplechase in Rome 1987...
, Gabriella Dorio
Gabriella Dorio
Gabriella Dorio is an Italian former athlete and Olympic gold winner. She first participated in the 1980 Summer Olympics, placing fourth in the 1500 metres race...
(Olympic gold medallist in the 1500 m) and two-time 5000 m global medallist Roberta Brunet
Roberta Brunet
Roberta Brunet is a former middle distance runner from Italy who first won a bronze medal in the European Championships in 3,000 metres in 1990 and then won a bronze medal in the 5,000 metres at the 1996 Summer Olympics, a silver medal in the same discipline at the 1997 World Championships and a...
. Foreign winners of the event include multiple European Cross
European Cross Country Championships
The European Cross Country Championships is an annual international cross country running competition. Organised by the European Athletic Association, it is the area championships for the region and is held in December each year...
champion Serhiy Lebid, world steeplechase
Steeplechase (athletics)
The steeplechase is an obstacle race in athletics, which derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing.-Rules:The length of the race is usually 3000 m; junior events are 2000 m, as women's events formerly were. The circuit has four ordinary barriers and one water jump. Over 3000 m, each...
champions Wilson Boit Kipketer
Wilson Boit Kipketer
Wilson Boit Kipketer is a middle and long distance athlete most widely known for running the 3000 m steeplechase. On August 13, 1997, at the Weltklasse Zürich, he set the world record in the steeplechase at 7:59.08, the third of three world records set in a 70 minute period of time...
and Dorcus Inzikuru
Dorcus Inzikuru
Dorcus Inzikuru is a Ugandan athlete competing in steeplechase. She won the inaugural World title in women's 3000 m steeplechase, as well as the first Commonwealth title in the event. Her coach is Renato Canova. Sometimes her name is spelt "Docus"...
, and World Half Marathon
IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
The IAAF World Half Marathon Championships is an annual half marathon competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations. It was contested from 1992 to 2005, and replaced by the IAAF World Road Running Championships, a 20 kilometres race which had its inaugural...
champion Wilson Kiprop
Wilson Kiprop
Wilson Kiprop is a Kenyan long-distance runner, who specializes in the 10,000 metres and half marathon. He was the world champion at the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 2010 and was the 10,000 m gold medalist at the 2010 African Championships in Athletics.He started competing at the...
.
Past senior race winners
| Edition | Year | Men's winner | Time (m Minute A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units... :s Second The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock.... ) |
Women's winner | Time (m Minute A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units... :s Second The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock.... ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1978 | Not held | 17:37.0 | ||
| 2nd | 1979 | ? | |||
| 3rd | 1980 | 16:08.5 | |||
| 4th | 1981 | 25:25.1 | 15:14.5 | ||
| 5th | 1982 | 25:32 | 16:16.5 | ||
| 6th | 1983 | 26:39.5 | 17:10.6 | ||
| 7th | 1984 | 25:59.2 | 16:10.0 | ||
| 8th | 1985 | 25:36.2 | 16:43.0 | ||
| 9th | 1986 | 25:24.0 | 15:35.0 | ||
| 10th | 1987 | ? | ? | ||
| 11th | 1988 | 28:07.5 | 15:42.9 | ||
| 12th | 1989 | 27:54.9 | 15:04.9 | ||
| 13th | 1990 | 28:25.9 | 15:46.7 | ||
| 14th | 1991 | 27:41.0 | 15:18.0 | ||
| 15th | 1992 | 28:28.9 | 15:40.9 | ||
| 16th | 1993 | 28:04.6 | 16:02.3 | ||
| 17th | 1994 | 29:10 | 16:14 | ||
| 18th | 1995 | 29:18 | 16:26 | ||
| 19th | 1996 | 28:37 | 15:40 | ||
| 20th | 1997 | 28:22 | 15:22 | ||
| 21st | 1998 | 28:43 | 15:48 | ||
| 22nd | 1999 | 27:38 | 15:02 | ||
| 23rd | 2000 | 28:00.1 | 15:47.3 | ||
| 24th | 2001 | 27:57.3 | 15:04.3 | ||
| 25th | 2002 | 29:58.1 | 17:29.5 | ||
| 26th | 2003 | 26:44.4 | 5:27.0 | ||
| 27th | 2004 | 29:24.3 | 19:02.7 | ||
| 28th | 2005 | 35:52 | 27:07 | ||
| 29th | 2006 | 28:37.1 | 22:02 | ||
| 30th | 2007 | 30:44 | 27:07 | ||
| 31st | 2008 | 26:11.5 | 19:26.3 | ||
| 32nd | 2009 | 25:25.1 | 19:17.1 | ||
| 33rd | 2010 | 25:52 | 18:37 | ||
| 34th | 2011 | 26:06.6 | 18:58.4 | ||