Fully Vertical KM

The “Vertical Kilometer” race format has been growing in popularity in recent years. A sanctioned trail race that originated via the International Skyrunning Federation’s series, a “VK” as it’s often known, is measured by its vertical distance rather than the length of the course. These runs are short, and very steep – and nowhere is that more true than at Fully, Switzerland, where the course reaches grades of up to 60%. Fully is internationally-known as the fastest VK course in the world, and racers come from many countries each year to test their steep-trail running mettle. The Fully VK course passes through vineyards, then gets down to business, climbing directly up an old funicular route. In 2014, Urban Zemmer set a new world record at Fully, bringing the VK time under 30 minutes, in a time of 29:42.  Here, Philip Götsch got to the top in an incredible 28min53. Swiss runner Remi Bonnet has run 28min37 on the course but this was not under race conditions. You can see a great video here. 

Interested in trying a VK? Fully is a great place to do it! Take a look at the Run the Alps Fully Vertical KM blog post.