Monte Amaro and the 3 refuges

Sky Running according to wikipedia is running at an elevation above 6500 ft. at inclines over 30%.  It has been around since the 90s and now there are organized races all over.  You can race the vertical kilometer or run some crazy ass Ultra trail that goes for 100 miles crossing mountain peaks.  I have run a few of these races here in Europe and it is a wild experience.  

So in the interest of fun and to better prepare for the competition we headed up to the local mountains.  Danilo and Francesco are good strong runners with a good knowledge of the area.  I felt lucky to be able to tag along, and sometime thats how I felt, like I was hanging on.  

My lungs felt ok, but clearly a different group of muscles was being worked.  Even running the steep downhill trails was a killer.  and there was no way to just zone out like road running.  Focus was a must for every step, because one mistake and fall and you can get seriously hurt.

Its called sky running but in truth you are not always running, its almost impossible.  I have seen guys young and old running up shit that I was suffering just hiking. Then there are spots, breaks in the trail where its run-able but your heart is beating out your chest and your legs are on fire, but you switch gears into a run.  Exhilarating stuff.

here are some pictures of out outing.  we wwere gone about 7 hours, starting at sunrise we managed to cover a little more than 30k (19 miles) and climb im guessing a total of at least 6000, maybe 8000 feet.  We stopped for lunch, took some breaks, enjoyed the view, spent time in a beautiful setting doing something unique and pure.  Enjoy the fotos!