Almost 13,000 runners start the 54th Engadin Ski Marathon in Silvaplana on Sunday. In Silvaplana, a complete start-up infrastructure will be set up in the short term. The route will be 39 to 41 kilometers long. For the start phase, the road to Surlej must be closed from 6:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The favorites come from Switzerland, France and Great Britain.
With the construction of the new start area in Silvaplana, preparations for the Engadin Ski Marathon 2024 are entering their final round. The Engadin communities, numerous volunteers and contracted companies are dismantling the recently built launch site in Sils and rebuilding it in Silvaplana. The participants should have nothing to miss on Sunday.
The bus convoy will travel from St. Moritz to the “Mitte” roundabout (turnoff to Surlej/Corvatsch) and unload its passengers there. The effects transport trucks will be lined up on the cantonal road towards the campsite.
All runners walk past the truck to the “Camping” roundabout and to the starting area of the “Mulets” sports center. The entire infrastructure with heating tents, toilets, waxing services and medical services will be available there.
The start area is on the lakeside below Mulets. The schedule for the start of the 29 waves remains the same as in Maloja. According to the colors of their start number, the participants go through the entrances to the start area and then into the starting field for their wave. From the start, the route goes straight across the road to Surlej towards Lake Champfèrer.
The road to Surlej must therefore be closed from 6:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. To ensure that the total distance is not too short due to the start change, the organizers are still looking for ways to install additional track sections. The final route will be published on Saturday at 15:00 at the athlete presentation in the Marathon Village and on the Engadin Ski Marathon website. The route will be between 39 and 41 kilometers long. 12,800 runners from 67 nations have registered by Friday morning.
Favourites from France, Switzerland and Great Britain
Because of the predicted snowfalls, a fast race is not expected. As usual, the list of favorites at the Engadin Ski Marathon is wide and Switzerland and France are well represented in the second-largest cross-country race in the world.
There are two former winners from France: Last year's winner Arnaud Chautemps is one of the favorites. Christophe Perrillat won Capricorn horns 20 years ago and therefore has a certain legendary status. Of course, Dario Cologna, who won the Engadin Ski Marathon four times, most recently in 2019, also claims this for himself. It is unclear whether he will be able to join the lead field two years after retiring.
Roman Furger can also look back on four victories with the Engadin. The man from Uri last won in 2022 and finished sixth in the previous year. Should James Clugnet win the race, it would be the first British victory in Engadin. Like Janik Riebli (Giswil), he finished in the top ten sprint in the current World Cup. The candidates for the podium also include young Graubünden Fabrizio Albasini, Isai Näff, Jon-Fadri Nufer and Niclas Steiger.
Young locals are also among the favorites among women: If last year's winner Giuliana Werro (Zernez) wants to repeat her success, she must prevail against 20 km U23 World Champion Marina Kälin (St. Moritz). However, the battle for podium finishes is not only being fought among the Graubünden women. Flora Dolci, who appeared in the top ten four times in the World Cup this winter, has travelled from France. Not to forget the Polish woman Justyna Kowalczyk. The two-time Olympic champion won the Engadin night run on Thursday and finished second in the Engadin Women's Run.
Current information about the Engadin Ski Marathon: www.engadin-skimarathon.ch
Media release of the Engadin Ski Marathon dated March 8, 2024.
Christian Gartmann has been Communications and Media Officer at the Engadin Ski Marathon since 2014 and advises organizers on crisis management and crisis communication.