Teams from 27 countries will attend the 12th edition of the Skyrunning European Championships in Italy on July 3-5, 2025, at the iconic – and historic – SkyMarathon which will also be celebrating 30 years since the first race in 1995.
The challenge is on for the 27 medals at stake across three skyrunning disciplines. Coincidentally, the countries represented from right across Europe are also 27, with top stars and past champions lining up.
Two-time World and European Skyrunning Champion, Italy’s Cristian Minoggio, has a story to tell. “In 2006 this SkyMarathon was my first skyrunning race. I ran it wearing a red swimsuit and a pair of shoes I bought at Decathlon on my trip.
“I liked the course and ended up doing it another five times. It’s incredible to think that next year I’ll be celebrating 20 years since the first time I pinned on a race bib. Lately, I’ve been training a lot – both for speed and technical terrain. Being ready to know where to place your feet is really important as the course is quite technical. I’m very curious to see what time I’ll get on Saturday and, who knows, maybe there’ll be another medal!”
The events will kick off with the VERTICAL on Thursday, July 3 with the new, specially designed, Aprica Vertical, 4.5 km long with 950m vertical climb in the well-known Aprica-Corteno ski resort.
Friday will be a day of rest and team presentations parading with their country flags.
Saturday will see the SKY and SKYULTRA take off together in Corteno.
The SKY will be held on the Half Marathon course – 23 km long with a 1,864m vertical climb reaching the Salina Pass at 2,433m before descending to the finish in Santicolo.
The SKYULTRA retraces the historic course of the SkyMarathon, the “Maratona del Cielo”, 42 km long in a giant semi-circle along mountain crests, summiting Monte Sellero at 2,770m. The overall ascent and descent amount to a massive 5,470m vertical climb, classified as a 2+ Technical Level on the ISF Certified Course list – pure skyrunning.
Aiming to hold on to her 2023 European Champion title, Spaniard Gemma Arenas commented, “We’ll soon be leaving for Aprica and I’m ready, even though I know it’s getting harder and harder due to the strong competition. I’ll still give it my all. I’ve been preparing in the heat at home and I’m really looking forward to representing my country again. Above all, I’m looking forward to this new experience, whatever the outcome!”
Other strong runners on the Spanish team include Isabel Calero, Leire Fernandez, Laia Montoya, Patricia Pineda, Nicolas Molina and Marc Ollé.
From Sweden, Martin Nilsson who took the gold for the Combined title in the 2023 European Championships stated, “I’m very excited to participate in my fourth international Skyrunning Championship with many good memories from my debut in Montenegro two years ago! Training and racing have been good the last couple of months, so I hope to be in shape to fight for the top slots!
“I’m also pleased to be a part of the largest squad from Sweden so far, with participants in both the Combined and SkyUltra. We have a good mix of experienced runners and new rising stars with potential to reach a good team ranking together.”
Joining Nilsson will be two new Swedish stars, Louise Jernberg and Barbro Fjällstedt Oljans who clinched the gold and silver medals respectively at the 2024 Skyrunning World Championships in the SKY discipline.
Norwegian Stian Angermund, double gold medal winner in the 2016 Skyrunning World Championships and 2023 World Trail Running Champion, commented, “I’m excited to run a true SkyMarathon in the home country of skyrunning, Italy. I love races that take us to summits and along ridges. This is where skyrunning really comes alive. Norway has a strong team, and I’m looking forward to racing alongside them and athletes from other nations.”
On home ground, Cristian Minoggio will be accompanied by a strong Italian team including Luca Arrigoni, Danilo Brambilla, Gianluca Ghiano, Lorenzo Rota Martir, Daniel Thedy, Marcello Ugazio and Benedetta Broggi, Corinna Ghirardi and Anna Lena Hofer.
Set in a stunning mountain landscape in the Central Italian Alps, the courses offer views of the Adamello and the Bernese Alps in Switzerland. The SkyMarathon location is also birthplace of Marino Giacometti, inventor of the sport and President of the International Skyrunning Federation who will welcome athletes to this historic race.
Francesca Taddei, President of the Race Organising Committee, stated, “The SkyMarathon becomes a European stage with ridges, trails, and the land itself the players. Our mountains and valleys are ready to welcome Europe and its athletes.
A long-awaited moment that brings together sport and beauty and opens the doors of our stunning region to those who have yet to discover it.”
Local Adriano Salvadori, holder of the first record here 30 years ago, announced, “The courses are free of snow, cleaned of undergrowth and ready to guarantee an optimal performance for all the athletes!”
All medallists qualify for the SkyMasters, the final of the 2025 Skyrunner® World Series and participants will automatically be included in the ISF Ranking.
The 27 countries participating:
Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom.
