K-Way athlete Lucky Miya is in Switzerland for the 2015 WMRA Long Distance Mountain Running Championships, which is hosted this year by the Zermatt Marathon in Switzerland. Miya is one of five accomplished trail runners making up the South African contingent.
34-year old Miya, together with teammates Megan Mackenzie, Karine Bezuidenhout, Johardt van Heerden and Thabang Madiba make up Team South Africa. They were selected for the team based on their performances at a selection of South African mountain races held earlier in the year.
This is Miya’s third international race. Last year he competed in the Skyrunning World Champs in France but unfortunately picked up a groin injury near half-way that took him from seventh place to being out of the race. A few months later he ran a superb race at the 21-kilometre Pikes Peak Ascent (Colorado, USA), which hosted last year’s edition of the WMRA Long Distance Mountain Running Championships. Against a competitive and experienced field, Miya placed 19th overall and 4th in his age category.
With recent local wins at the 24-kilometre FNB Platinum Trail Run and the 37km Uitsoek Skymarathon®, Miya is race ready.
The Zermatt Marathon – now in its 14th year – begins in a river valley and climbs steadily upwards, gracing the runners with a breath-taking view of the Matterhorn, which towers over the route. The 42-kilometer race begins in the town of St Niklaus (1116m) and at half-way passes through the town after which the race is named, Zermatt. From here the runners ascend a winding alpine road to finish on Riffelberg (2,585m). Runners are advised to keep a little in the tank for the last stretch; they’ll climb 400 metres over the final few kilometres.
Miya is proudly sponsored by K-Way. The race starts at 08h30. on Saturday, 4 July 2015.
QUICK REFERENCE
Event: Zermatt Marathon (2015 WMRA Long Distance Mountain Running Championships)
Date: Saturday, 4 July 2015
Venue: Switzerland. The course starts in St. Niklaus, situated in the lowest-lying mountain valley in Switzerland, and ending on Riffelberg by Gornergrat, the highest-altitude finish line in Europe at 2,585m.
Start time: 08h30 (Switzerland is currently GMT +2, same as South Africa)
Distance: 42 kilometres
Vertical gain: 1,944 metres (descent is only 444m)
Course Records: Men: Michieka Maticha, 2:55:04; Women: Camboulives Aline, 3:29:36
- Event website: zermattmarathon.ch
- Lucky Miya (on Facebook): facebook.com/luckymiya
- K-Way (on Facebook): facebook.com/KWaySA
- Zermatt Marathon (on Facebook): facebook.com/zermattmarathon
- Trail Running South Africa (on Facebook): facebook.com/TrailRunSouthAfrica
- World Mountain Running Association: wmra.ch
ENDS
Photo credits
Photo of Lucky Miya by Terence Vrugtman | adventurelife.co.za
Photo of race numbers by Trail Run SA
The route map and profile from the event website at www.zermattmarathon.ch
AdventureLisa 