2014 Limone Extreme Skyrace Results

Eritrean Petro Mamu hit the front at a super-fast pace and never relinquished first place to win the final edition of the 2014 Skyrunner World Series Skyrace Series at the Limone Extreme Skyrace in 02:14:25.

Second place was Kilian Jornet, having done the VK the evening before his legs weren’t as fresh, but he closed in fast on Mamu in the final 10 kilometers and reduced his two-minute lead to 30 seconds by the finish.

In third place five minutes behind Jornet was David Schneider. But in some ways it was Jornet’s day, as this sealed the Skyrace Series and his third Skyrunner World Series title for 2014, having already won the VK and Ultra Series.

Maite Maiora worked her way steadily from an early fourth place to win in 2:47:05 two-minutes ahead of second-place Stevie Kremer. Third place was Elisa Desco, who fought hard and, literally, hit the deck at the finish. Kremer wraps up the season as the Skyrace Series champion.

As usual, we’ll be updating this article with links to Limone Extreme Skyrace-related articles, photo galleries, and race reports.

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2014 Limone Men’s and Women’s Races

Set amidst beautiful Italian lakes, the final edition of the 2014 Skyrace Series started and finished on the shores of Lake Garda in Limone.

Limone is relatively short in distance at 23.5k, but tough on elevation with 2,000 meters of vertical gain, traversing three mountains, Bocca dei Fortini (1,200 meters), Monte Traversole (1,441 meters), and Coma Vecchia (1,415 meters) before descending back to Limone. With a downpour the night before, humidity was high leaving it warm and sticky for race day with the race starting at 1:30 p.m. outside the line of restaurants, pizzerias, and pleasure-boat docks in Limone Centro.

Petro Mamu is not a well-known name, but he came into this race as the 2014 Mountain Running World Cup winner having also placed seventh at the 2014 World Mountain Running Championships last month. Also, he has a marathon PR of 2:25:37 set in his home country in May. So, take heed, this guy has mountain credentials as well as speed. His game plan was to lead from the gun and that is exactly what he did. The first two kilometers suited him as it undulates, but, boy, was he flying when he hit the first climb! By the time 10k had past, he had a two minutes lead on Jornet, Schneider, and Marco De Gasperi.

Petro Mamu - 2014 Limone Extreme Skyrace champion

Petro Mamu wins the 2014 Limone Extreme Skyrace. Photo: Ian Campbell

The women’s race appeared to be between Kremer and Laura Orgué as they swapped places between Checkpoint 1 and the 10k point, but Maiora was biding her time in third place. Desco and Limone VK winner Christel Dewalle were lying in fourth and fifth places, respectively.

Maite Maiora, 2014 Limone Extreme Skyrace Champion. Photo: Ian Campbell

At Monte Traversole (1,441 meters), there is a long and technical descent back to Limone, and it was here that Jornet made up 90 seconds to Mamu who was racing hard to maintain his well-fought lead. Mamu hung on and arrived at the beach to stride his way along amid applause from the crowds and then sprinted along the finishing funnel to hit the winner’s tape. Not once did he look back, but only 30 seconds later Jornet came to join him high-fiving the crowds, enjoying the moment that he had won the Skyrace Series and his third Skyrunner World Series title in one year. This has never been done before and, perhaps, it’s never to be done again.

Kilian Jornet - 2014 Limone Extreme Skyrace second place

Kilian Jornet on his way to second place and a win of the 2014 Skyrace Series. Photo: Ian Campbell

Schneider in third place, however, was looking over his shoulder as he had a muddy and bloodied De Gasperi hot on his heels only 17 seconds behind.

David Schneider - 2014 Limone Extreme Skyrace third place

David Schneider (left) after edging Marco De Gasperi for third place. Photo: Ian Campbell

The technical descent from Monte Traversole played an important part in the women’s race. Orgué had dropped down the field and Maiora had worked her way up past Kremer and stretched out her lead to two minutes by the finish. Kremer was not going to give in and toughed it out to take second place ahead of Desco by three minutes. Desco had worked hard all day and by the time she arrived at the finish line, she had nothing left, collapsing to the ground.