Skyrunning is defined as the discipline of mountain running up to or exceeding 2,000m where the incline exceeds 30% and the climbing difficulty does not exceed II° grade. The governing body is the International Skyrunning Federation.

The sport comprises a number of different disciplines from the short, steep Vertical Kilometer® to the more popular SkyRace® and SkyMarathon®. Ultra SkyMarathons are becoming increasingly popular as are short vertical SkySpeed races which includes skyscraper racing.

History

The idea of creating a sports discipline was the brainchild of Italian mountaineer Marino Giacometti, who, with a handful of fellow climbers, pioneered races on Mont Blanc and Monte Rosa in the Alps in the early ‘90’s. Just months later, with the support of an important sportswear company, skyrunning took off across the world’s mountain ranges reaching from the Alps to the Himalayas, to Mount Kenya and the Mexican volcanoes.

In 1995 the Federation for Sport at Altitude was founded to address the need for rules to govern the sport and generally manage this fast-growing discipline which today counts some 200 races worldwide with around 30,000 participants from 54 countries.

The FSA was responsible for an ongoing scientific research project, probably the only studies of their kind on athletes at altitude and in the laboratory.

International Skyrunning Federation

Today, the sport is managed by the International Skyrunning Federation, constituted in 2008 by the board and members of the FSA and founding nations. The principal aims of the ISF are the direction, regulation, promotion, development and furtherance of skyrunning and similar multisport activities on a worldwide basis. ISF is also the organizer of the Skyrunner World Series

Skyrunner World Series

The Skyrunner World Series is an annual international championship of high altitude endurance races organised by the Federation for Sport at Altitude . It has been sponsored by Buff, a Spanish headwear company, since 2003....

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