For a long weekend Radda in Chianti was transformed into the navel of the world with the Chianti Ultra Trail: 45 participating nations and all of Italy represented by over 2000 athletes who invaded the most famous wine production area in the world. Among the white roads, villages, castles and vineyards of the Chianti Classico area, a show was staged which, year after year, represents the best tourist and sporting showcase in the world for trail running, for the Italy of the outdoors and for Chianti. The 100 km record was pulverized with the victory of the Japanese Junsuke Mizuno who crosses the finish line with the amazing time of 10:47:44.
In its second edition, the Chianti Castles, the long race of 100 km and 4000 of elevation gain, offers many emotions. Two hundred and forty front torches that light up the night at the start of Radda in Chianti at 4:00 on Saturday. It’s a very long snake of lights that rises and falls from the hills and that at dawn, as the darkness and fog clears, reveals the postcard scenarios of Chianti to the athletes. The Austrian Sophia Schnabl dominated the women’s race, leading from start to finish finishing in 12:18:16, 2h and 33 minutes ahead of Alice Berti (14:51:05) and Antonia Rinaldi (14:55: 28). Arrived from Japan fascinated by the call of this race in the heart of Tuscany, Junsuke Mizuno, in his first 100km competition, shatters the record held by Andrea Caruso, with a surprising race finished in 10:47:44. Starting calmly, the Japanese recovers ground going from 28th (at the 9 km mark) to 1st position at the Vistarenni refreshment point at km 68, keeping his lead until the finish line, ahead of the Italian Giulio Piana (14:55:28) and to the Spanish Fernando Alvarez (11:09:08).
Many first times also in the 73 km, which started at 6:00 from Radda in Chianti and won by Massimo Delli Zotti, athlete of the ASD Podismo Buttrio, winner in a hard-fought race in 6:54:17, three minutes behind Marco’s second place Biondi, from Athletica Franciacorta Oxyburn and 10′ from the third from the Greek Alexandros Karykas. The British Jo Meek is the winner in the women’s race (7:36:14), who leads the race already from the 21st km, ahead of the ASD Podistica Torino athlete Chiara Bertino and the American Heidi Nadeau.
At 7:00 the 42 km started and just over three hours later the Turkish flag waving on the top step of the podium on which Irem Can Ayaz (3:18:04) climbs, on his first Chianti Ultra Trail. The athlete from Istanbul is the author of an flawless performance: only in the lead already from 1 km, he stretches in the last 10 on his pursuers, the Italian Giuseppe Marini, of Maciano Team Runners ASD, and the Greek Stamatis Chatzistavrou. Instead, Cinzia Martini (ASD Team Km Sport) and Elisabetta Pozza (TRI Schio ASD) arrive hand in hand at the finish line. After challenging each other head-to-head for 41 km, neither of the two pulled the final sprint by choosing to finish sportingly together with the time of 4:03:04, ahead of the athlete of Team Valtellina Raffaella Rossi.
After a very long day, which began at 4:00 on Saturday morning and closed at 2:00 on Sunday, with the arrival of the last athlete of the 100 km, the small square of Radda in Chianti comes alive again at 9:00 with the over 600 athletes at the start of the 20 km. It’s Matteo Pelizza, of the Asd Elite Athletes, who leads the escape in the last kilometer by detaching the group and signing the race with a time of 1:27:03. Behind him Massimo Mei, an experienced athlete on this distance at the Chianti Ultra Trail, and Marco Castelli of the Trail Running Project ASD. Among the women victory for the Base Running athlete Simona Cargnino (1:45:41), in second place Chiara Lelli of the GSA Cometa and Laura Burzi of the athletics Radio Centro Web completes the podium.