Marco De Gasperi braves the snow and wins Carrera Alto Sil

The Carrera Alto Sil, in the Spanish province of Leon, reached its fourth edition last Sunday 18th March and celebrated so with a superb field of trail runners coupled with true mountain conditions, including snow. The race was finally won by Marco De Gasperi (ITA) and Ohiana Kortazar (ESP), leading a peloton of up to 400 runners. 

After an unusually mild winter so far, it seemed as if the snow had chosen to arrive this Sunday 18th of March just in time to greet the trail runners visiting the mountains of Leon for this  ”Carrera Alto Sil” (29k/D+1515m).  Despite the harsh conditions, up to 400 runners chose to brave the snow upon and hit the trails to compete in one of the most prestigious mountain races in northern Spain, growing from year to year.

The competitive edge of the event was sharp, with world champion Italian Marco De Gasperi leading the field with a time of 2 hours and 20 minutes. Among the women, the level was just as high, with the Salomon Running athlete from Spain, Oihana Kortazar coming in first. 

“Despite the bad weather conditions, I managed the race quite well, and this is very strange, because I really do suffer when it’s cold and wet!” says Marco De Gasperi. “The Grip 2 is so comfortable this year, and the new more breathable upper makes the shoe very useful for a wide variety of athletes and on different tracks and courses.”