Video: Italy’s Tor des Geants

One of the most scenic hikes in the world, tourism officials in Italy’s Valle d’Aosta turned the 330K around the region into an annual race: the Tor des Geants. Scheduled for mid-September in Northwestern Italy — starting and finishing in Courmayeur — the world’s longest trail race also has more than 24,000 metres of elevation change, including 25 peaks above 2,000 m.

Competitors must finish the course within six and a half days and you have to complete the entire route on foot only. With more than 1,200 volunteers and dozens of full-time organizers, there are very few hiccups, aside from the expected exhaustion, injuries and extreme mountain weather.

Volunteers serve hot meals at various food stations — along with gourmet cheese plates, box wine and beer. The locals say beer is a good carbohydrate replacement and alcohol can help numb the pain of aches and bruises.

Canadian Running’s Mihira Lakshman produced this video from the 2011 Tor des Geants, providing a sense of what to expect from start to finish.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwsB1t_wjLQ[/youtube]

The Tor des Geants offers many breathtaking views as it winds along the feet of the five highest peaks in the Alps: Mont Blanc (4,810 m), Rutor (3,486 m), Gran Paradiso (4,061 m), Monte Rosa Massif (4, 634 m) and the Matterhorn (4,478 m). A single-stage race, competitors must decide when to sleep and take breaks. At one point, officials found one of the top athletes asleep on the trail. This year’s winner, Switzerland’s Jules Henri Gabioud, said he slept only four and a half hours over four days — his winning time was a course record 79:58:26.

Canada had 12 competitors on the start line for the event. Unfortunately, two podium hopefuls Nikki Rehn and Simon Donato of Calgary were unable to finish — about half of the participants fail to reach the finish line in the gruelling trek. Both are experienced adventure racers, but Rehn became ill on the first day of the competition and Donato suffered a sprained ankle, pulling out around 170K. He spoke to Canadian Running about the experience.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgFaFsQsNsc&feature=youtube_gdata[/youtube]

At less than $500 (€350), the entry fee is reasonable compared to adventure races and other semi-supported events. Expect to pay about $100 per night for most three-star hotels and more than double for luxury options. A cursory knowledge of Italian or French is useful, as there isn’t much English spoken in the region. Although the website www.tordesgeants.it is difficult to navigate, it has registration information, which is capped at 500 and expected to sell out again next year.

For a complete photo album of the 2011 Tor des Geants, visit our Facebook page and pick up a copy of Canadian Running’s Travel issue, on newsstands in late October.