Skyrunner World Series

Launched in 2002, the Skyrunner World Series tour brings together the most famous and demanding skyrunning races on the planet. Designed by the International Skyrunning Federation, at the time, it aimed to promote this emerging discipline. This organization has made known the biggest names in trail running; Kilian Jornet made his debut in 2009 on the Skyrunner World Series and has since been crowned 11 times winner of the event. Beyond the difficulty of these races, it is a true epic spanning an entire season that awaits the participants 🌍.

But what exactly is Skyrunning? 🚀

Are you missing some info? No worries, we explain everything here: Skyrunning, as defined by the International Skyrunning Federation 📝, is an extreme sports discipline practiced on courses above 2,000 meters altitude, which must contain a slope of at least 30%, and a climbing ascent not exceeding 2 degrees... 😵 Yes yes, it's technical! The first ascents of this sport date back to the 90s; Marino Giacometti, president of the ISF, is himself one of the pioneers 🏃‍♀️.

Photo credit: Skyrunner World Series

Races to touch the sky: The SkyRaces 🌌

The Skyrunner World Series offers within a 12 month period, 24 races, in 16 countries, on 4 continents! 🗺️ No time to get bored. Among them, the most known, the hardest, those that stand as true legends! 📚 The most awaited are always the legendary ones: The SkyRace des Matheysins in France 🇫🇷, known to be one of the most technical races of the circuit. Its course combines 25 km for 1950 m D+ with peaks reaching 2,389 m altitude! 🏔️ The Matterhorn Ultraks Extreme, this giant in Switzerland 🇨🇭 takes place at the foot of the Matterhorn, the participants face 26 km and 3,066m D+.The Gorbeia Suzien, in Spain 🇪🇸 is also one of the most formidable races; with 32 km 2,400m D+ at the heart of the Basque country. Further across the globe, the Mount Kinabalu Climbathon in Malaysia 🇲🇾, is one of the oldest skyrunning races, this "climbathon" is characterized by a dizzying ascent of Mount Kinabalu, the highest summit in Malaysia.

The finale: the SkyMasters 🏆

The SkyMasters is not an ordinary race, it is the final stage of the tour, and to participate you must be among the best 💪. To qualify for the SkyMasters, you must achieve one of the two main options. You can qualify by being ranked among the top 20 athletes (men or women) in the general ranking of the Skyrunner World Series of the season 📋. In addition to this good ranking, you must have completed a minimum of 4 races of the same circuit 🔥. Otherwise, qualification is possible by ranking in the top 3 of certain secondary but prestigious competitions. This includes the final ranking of a Skyrunner National Series, a race of the same series, or a Continental or World Skyrunning Championship 🥉.

The U23 Circuit: "Trofeo Esteban Olivero" 🫶

This circuit is a ranking of athletes under 23 years old, independent of the Skyrunner World Series circuit. This tour was organized in memory of Esteban Olivero, a young French Skyrunner who tragically lost his life in 2023. The Trofeo Esteban Olivero U23 comprises 13 races, specially selected to highlight young athletes 🧡.

Photo credit: Skyrunner World Series

But then the ranking, how does it work? 🤔

The ranking system of the Skyrunner World Series is simple but nonetheless based on certain essential rules to promote performance ⚖️ like regularity 📈. First of all, points are awarded to the top 30 of each SkyRace 👑. Generally, the winner receives 100 points for a "classic" SkyRace, the 2nd receives 15% fewer points, or 85 points, from the 3rd to the 16th, the points decrease by 10% at each rank, from the 17th to the 20th, the decrease is 2 points, from the 21st to the 30th, it is 1 point 🧮. To earn a bonus point, the SkyMasters final is important. Indeed, it awards an even greater number of points (for example, 1.5 times the number of points of a classic race, or 150 points for the winner) 🎟️. To appear in the final ranking, 5 SkyRaces plus the SkyMasters will be counted 🎽.

For participants in the U23 circuit, at each race, points will be awarded to the top 20. The principle remains the same as for the Skyrunner World Series, but for these young people, only the 3 best performances plus their final will be taken into account 🦾.

After more than twenty years of existence, the Skyrunner World Series has largely succeeded in its goal; this competition has become a true stepping stone for athletes, essential to be among the world's greatest skyrunners 👏.