British runners face a Cortina challenge

THE BEAUTY of the mountains in the Italian Dolomites has been attracting tourists for many years, but on Thursday 21 June, 20 British athletes will be getting a different view of the surroundings when they take part in the gruelling Cortina Skyrace.

The race follows an extremely challenging 20km route through spectacular scenery, along UNESCO World Natural Heritage trails and involving a height gain of 1000-metres (3280-ft). This is the fourth year of the race, with 400 runners taking part and a maximum completion time of three hours 30 minutes.

The following day will see the 12th annual 120-km Lavaredo Ultra Trail Path race, an incredible event involving a maximum of 1,500 competitors from all over the world including a number of British runners. It also starts and ends in the centre of Cortina, and is partly run at night with the athletes wearing head torches. They have up to 30 hours to complete the course.

And on 23 June the seventh Cortina Trail race takes place, again with up to 1,500 runners, over a 48-km course with a 12-hour time limit.

Cortina d’Ampezzo is the spectacular setting for many sporting events and activities this summer – covering curling, mountain biking, climbing, via ferrata, yoga, gymnastics and hiking. Discover more about sports and events in the Queen of the Dolomites at: www.cortina.dolomiti.org