Giro al Sas
Encyclopedia
The Giro al Sas, also known as the Giro Podistico di Trento, is an annual 10-kilometre road running
competition for men which takes place in October in the city of Trento
, Italy
.
First held as a part of celebrations for Saint Vigilius of Trent in 1907, the competition was interrupted by World Wars but has been held virtually every year since 1945. This makes it one of Europe's longest-running competitions of its type. The race has been won by some of Italy's most successful long-distance runners, including Stefano Baldini
, as well as elite foreign athletes such as Paul Tergat
and Kenenisa Bekele
.
The race is held within the city centre and starts and finishes at Piazza del Duomo. The name of the race, roughly translated as the Sas Circuit, derives from the fact that the course features ten kilometre-long loops on the main city streets – which are locally referred to as al Sas.
The running event should not be confused with the similarly named Giro del Trentino
– a road cycling
competition which the city has hosted since 1963.
, was the first to cross the line but he was later disqualified for taking a short cut, leaving Isidoro Trenner (a member of the local sports club) as the winner of the inaugural race. The race became an annual tradition, although it ceased during World War I
.
It re-emerged in the post-war period and gained its current moniker of the Giro al Sas at this point – a name roughly meaning the Sas Circuit, which derived from the race's looped course on the city's main streets which were known as the Sas. The running competition was placed on hiatus from 1940–44 due to World War II
. The Giro al Sas returned to the streets in November 1945, just months after the Italy's surrender to the Allied Forces
.
After the wars, the race entered a new, uninterrupted era (with the exception of 1991 and 1996) and gradually became international in nature with elite athlete competition. Alongside other Italian races, such as the Giro di Castelbuono
, it is among the oldest road running competitions which continue to the present day. The current race director is Gianni Demadonna, a former athlete and athletics manager who won the race three times in his running career. Among the prominent competitors of the race's history is Stefano Baldini
, the 2004 Olympic
marathon champion, who competed in 18 editions and won on three occasions.Baldini says goodbye at the Giro al Sas. European Athletics (2010-10-06). Retrieved on 2010-11-05. He set the 2010 race as his final outing of his successful career, although an injury forced him to miss of the competition. Other significant winners include Franjo Mihalić
, Francesco Panetta
, Paul Tergat
, and Kenenisa Bekele
.
. Retrieved on 2010-11-05. The current course of ten 1 km laps features many twists and bends as it traces a circular loop around the central city streets, making fast times difficult to achieve in the Trento race.
Paul Kimaiyo Kimugul of Kenya
holds the fastest time for the 10 km distance via his winning run of 28:00 minutes from 2005. Over the 10.9 km circuit, another Kenyan – Paul Kosgei Malakwen – has the course record with 30:46 minutes. Although it has almost exclusively been a men's race only for its entire history, a women's competition was added to the programme for the 2005 edition – this 10 km race was won in 33:15 minutes by Bruna Genovese
, an Italian professional marathon
runner.
Key:
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...
competition for men which takes place in October in the city of Trento
Trento
Trento is an Italian city located in the Adige River valley in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. It is the capital of Trentino...
, 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...
.
First held as a part of celebrations for Saint Vigilius of Trent in 1907, the competition was interrupted by World Wars but has been held virtually every year since 1945. This makes it one of Europe's longest-running competitions of its type. The race has been won by some of Italy's most successful long-distance runners, including Stefano Baldini
Stefano Baldini
Stefano Baldini is a retired Italian athlete and the 2004 Olympic and former European champion in the marathon....
, as well as elite foreign athletes such as Paul Tergat
Paul Tergat
Paul Kibii Tergat is a Kenyan professional long distance runner. He held the world record in the marathon from 2003 to 2007, with a time of 2:04:55, and is regarded as one of the most accomplished long-distance runners of all time.Now concentrating exclusively on the marathon, Tergat won many...
and Kenenisa Bekele
Kenenisa Bekele
Kenenisa Bekele is an Ethiopian long-distance runner, who holds the world record and Olympic record in both the 5000 metres and 10,000 metres events...
.
The race is held within the city centre and starts and finishes at Piazza del Duomo. The name of the race, roughly translated as the Sas Circuit, derives from the fact that the course features ten kilometre-long loops on the main city streets – which are locally referred to as al Sas.
The running event should not be confused with the similarly named Giro del Trentino
Giro del Trentino
The Giro del Trentino is an Italian cycle road race. It is run typically mid-to-late April over four stages in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region of Italy....
– a road cycling
Road cycling
Road cycling is the most widespread form of cycling. It includes recreational, racing, and utility cycling. Road cyclists are generally expected to obey the same rules and laws as other vehicle drivers or riders and may also be vehicular cyclists....
competition which the city has hosted since 1963.
History
The history of the competition can be traced back to 1907 when a community group organised a race on the city streets of roughly 6 km as part of the festival of Saint Vigilius of Trent. Domenico Gottin, a runner from VenetoVeneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
, was the first to cross the line but he was later disqualified for taking a short cut, leaving Isidoro Trenner (a member of the local sports club) as the winner of the inaugural race. The race became an annual tradition, although it ceased during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
It re-emerged in the post-war period and gained its current moniker of the Giro al Sas at this point – a name roughly meaning the Sas Circuit, which derived from the race's looped course on the city's main streets which were known as the Sas. The running competition was placed on hiatus from 1940–44 due to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The Giro al Sas returned to the streets in November 1945, just months after the Italy's surrender to the Allied Forces
Italian Campaign (World War II)
The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war in Europe. Joint Allied Forces Headquarters AFHQ was operationally responsible for all Allied land forces in the Mediterranean theatre, and it planned and commanded the...
.
After the wars, the race entered a new, uninterrupted era (with the exception of 1991 and 1996) and gradually became international in nature with elite athlete competition. Alongside other Italian races, such as the Giro di Castelbuono
Giro di Castelbuono
The Giro di Castelbuono is an annual road running competition over 10 kilometres which takes place in Castelbuono, on the island of Sicily, Italy...
, it is among the oldest road running competitions which continue to the present day. The current race director is Gianni Demadonna, a former athlete and athletics manager who won the race three times in his running career. Among the prominent competitors of the race's history is Stefano Baldini
Stefano Baldini
Stefano Baldini is a retired Italian athlete and the 2004 Olympic and former European champion in the marathon....
, the 2004 Olympic
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
marathon champion, who competed in 18 editions and won on three occasions.Baldini says goodbye at the Giro al Sas. European Athletics (2010-10-06). Retrieved on 2010-11-05. He set the 2010 race as his final outing of his successful career, although an injury forced him to miss of the competition. Other significant winners include Franjo Mihalić
Franjo Mihalic
Franjo Mihalić is a long-distance runner best known for his 1958 win at the Boston Marathon and his marathon silver medal in the 1956 Summer Olympics...
, 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...
, Paul Tergat
Paul Tergat
Paul Kibii Tergat is a Kenyan professional long distance runner. He held the world record in the marathon from 2003 to 2007, with a time of 2:04:55, and is regarded as one of the most accomplished long-distance runners of all time.Now concentrating exclusively on the marathon, Tergat won many...
, and Kenenisa Bekele
Kenenisa Bekele
Kenenisa Bekele is an Ethiopian long-distance runner, who holds the world record and Olympic record in both the 5000 metres and 10,000 metres events...
.
Course and records
The course of the race has varied through its history: it was a 15 km race in the 1960s, before existing as a 12 km circuit from 1970 to the mid 1990s. From 1997 to 2004, the race typically featured ten laps spanning 10.9 km. It has been a 10 km race from 2005 to present.Malcolm Heyworth et al (2010-10-12). Giro al Sas 10 km. Association of Road Racing StatisticiansAssociation of Road Racing Statisticians
The Association of Road Racing Statisticians is an independent, non-profit organization that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics regarding road running races. The primary purpose of the ARRS is to maintain a valid list of world road records for standard race distances and to establish...
. Retrieved on 2010-11-05. The current course of ten 1 km laps features many twists and bends as it traces a circular loop around the central city streets, making fast times difficult to achieve in the Trento race.
Paul Kimaiyo Kimugul of Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
holds the fastest time for the 10 km distance via his winning run of 28:00 minutes from 2005. Over the 10.9 km circuit, another Kenyan – Paul Kosgei Malakwen – has the course record with 30:46 minutes. Although it has almost exclusively been a men's race only for its entire history, a women's competition was added to the programme for the 2005 edition – this 10 km race was won in 33:15 minutes by Bruna Genovese
Bruna Genovese
Bruna Genovese is an Italian long-distance runner who specializes in the marathon race.-Achievements:Genovese won the Italian under 21 half-marathon championship in 1998...
, an Italian professional marathon
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
runner.
Past winners
Little information about the race (or its winners) in its early history is available and the modern competition regards its post-war rebirth in 1945 as the start of its modern, continuous lineage.| 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.... ) |
|---|---|---|
| 1945 | ? | |
| 1946 | ? | |
| 1947 | ? | |
| 1948 | ? | |
| 1949 | ? | |
| 1950 | ? | |
| 1951 | ? | |
| 1952 | ? | |
| 1953 | ? | |
| 1954 | ? | |
| 1955 | ? | |
| 1956 | ? | |
| 1957 | ? | |
| 1958 | ? | |
| 1959 | ? | |
| 1960 | ? | |
| 1961 | ? | |
| 1962 | ? | |
| 1963 | 48:0 (15 km) | |
| 1964 | ? | |
| 1965 | ? | |
| 1966 | ? | |
| 1967 | ? | |
| 1968 | ? | |
| 1969 | ? | |
| 1970 | 35:56 | |
| 1971 | 36:36.2 | |
| 1972 | 36:39.3 | |
| 1973 | ? | |
| 1974 | ? | |
| 1975 | 37:52.2 | |
| 1976 | 37:47 | |
| 1977 | ? | |
| 1978 | 36:47.9 | |
| 1979 | ? | |
| 1980 | 36:45.2 | |
| 1981 | 36:50.1 | |
| 1982 | 36:42.9 | |
| 1983 | 36:18.4 | |
| 1984 | 37:13.3 | |
| 1985 | 37:00.1 | |
| 1986 | 36:55.3 | |
| 1987 | 35:57.8 | |
| 1988 | 35:43.7 | |
| 1989 | 36:32.7 | |
| 1990 | 28:01.4 | |
| 1991 | Not held | |
| 1992 | 35:04 | |
| 1993 | 36:04 | |
| 1994 | 35:53.2 | |
| 1995 | 35:58.5 | |
| 1996 | Not held | |
| 1997 | 31:15 | |
| 1998 | ? | |
| 1999 | 31:05 | |
| 2000 | 30:46 | |
| 2001 | 30:49 | |
| 2002 | 30:50.6 | |
| 2003 | 28:34 | |
| 2004 | 31:21.1 | |
| 2005 | 28:00 | |
| 2006 | 28:43 | |
| 2007 | 29:59 (10.5 km) | |
| 2008 | 28:29 | |
| 2009 | 29:25 | |
| 2010 | 28:45.9 | |
| 2011 | 29:16 | |
Winners by country
| Country | Wins |
|---|---|
| 31 | |
| 13 | |
| 6 | |
| 3 | |
| 3 | |
| 2 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
| Totals | |
| 13 | 64 |
Multiple winners
| Athlete | Country | Wins | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antonio Ambu | 7 | 1961, 1964–1969 | |
| Giovanni Nocco | 3 | 1946, 1947, 1950 | |
| Franjo Mihalić Franjo Mihalic Franjo Mihalić is a long-distance runner best known for his 1958 win at the Boston Marathon and his marathon silver medal in the 1956 Summer Olympics... |
3 | 1957, 1959, 1960 | |
| Gianni Demadonna | 3 | 1980, 1983, 1985 | |
| Stefano Baldini Stefano Baldini Stefano Baldini is a retired Italian athlete and the 2004 Olympic and former European champion in the marathon.... |
3 | 2002, 2004, 2006 | |
| Edwin Soi Edwin Soi Edwin Cheruiyot Soi is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specializes in the 3000 and 5000 metres.His earliest honours were team gold medals with Kenya at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in 2006 and 2007... |
3 | 2009, 2010, 2011 | |
| Moses Mosop Moses Mosop Moses Cheruiyot Mosop is a Kenyan middle and long distance athlete. He competed for Kenya at the 2004 Olympic Games and went on to take 10,000 metres bronze at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics... |
2 | 2007, 2008 | |
| Andrew Masai | 2 | 1986, 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... |
2 | 1987, 1988 | |
| Luigi Zarcone | 2 | 1977, 1979 | |
| Primo Gretter | 2 | 1975, 1976 | |
| Werner Dössegger | 2 | 1972, 1973 | |
| Walter Konrad | 2 | 1953, 1955 | |