Amazing Venues Turn the La Sportiva Mountain Cup into a Race Series to Remember

Boulder, Colo. (August 21, 2008) – With only two races left in the La Sportiva Mountain Cup series, competition is getting fierce to claim a share in the coveted $25,000 cash purse.

The most recent race, the Jupiter Peak Steeplechase, was on a fun and varied 16-mile loop that crested the summit of the highest point of the Park City Ski Area. What makes this race even more notable is the "steeplechase" part. The final 500 meters to the top of Jupiter Peak is an off-trail scramble followed by a spectacular run along the ridge with commanding views in both directions. The mix of technical running at the top and relatively smooth single-track lower down is a fun combination. Bernie Boetcher, running out of Colorado in the Masters division, won the race.

The next race in the series will be the Shop to the Top. This race is named after the start and finish points – it starts a Sun Valley’s local outdoor shop, the Elephant's Perch, and ends at the top of the Sun Valley ski area. This classic hill climb is scheduled for August 23. This will be a race with a very high effort to fun ratio.

The grand finale this year will be the La Sportiva Vail Trophy Race on August 31. This is a new venue for 2008, with an absolutely outstanding course. It starts at the bottom of the beautiful Vail Village at 8,150 feet above sea level and climbs to the very highest point of the resort, Wildwood at 10,874 feet. The climb is the first 5.6 miles of the race. The final 1.6-mile section is a stunning ridgeline downhill to finish at Eagles Nest at 10,300 feet. That tallies up to a total of over 3,000 feet of elevation gain in 7.2 miles. The course is entirely single track Mountain Running, starting off in a deep forest, and finishing above the tree line with huge views to the north and south, with late season wildflowers blooming everywhere.

So far, the overall standings in the men’s division are pointing to a clear winner, with the North Carolinian Shiloh Mielke, in the lead with 40 points, twice the score of his nearest rival, Joe Gray, from Washington, who has 20 points. The race for second place will be close, with the Coloradan Mike Selig trailing Gray by only four points. Since Gray left for Europe to compete in the World Trophy Race, Selig only needs to place in the top three at either the Shop to the Top or the Vail Trophy Race to grab second place.

It seems like North Carolina is breeding some fast Mountain Runners. In the women’s division, North Carolinian Meadow Tarves is leading the series with 31 points. Tarves will still need to earn points at one of the last two races though, because Laura Haefeli, racing out of Colorado, is within striking distance to take the lead with 22 points.

With amazing venues and some of the best Mountain Running athletes in the country, the last two races of the La Sportiva Mountain Cup series are sure to be memorable, fast and fun for everyone.

ABOUT LA SPORTIVA
Celebrating their 80th anniversary, La Sportiva brings a strong alpine mountaineering and climbing heritage to their line of performance mountain footwear. This core experience enables La Sportiva to offer the most versatile technical climbing, mountaineering, Mountain Running® and hiking shoes on the market. For more information on La Sportiva visit www.sportiva.com. Register and get the latest Mountain Running® news, race highlights and training tips at mountainrunning.com.

Key links:

Venue listing: http://www.mountainrunning.com/mc/venues.php

Scoring/prizes: http://www.mountainrunning.com/mc/score.php

General info: http://www.mountainrunning.com/mc/index.php

Standings: http://www.mountainrunning.com/mc/results.php

Media Contact:

Kris Versteegen
Verde
Kris@Verdepr.com
704-962-9942
www.verdepr.com