Bruno Brunod (born 10 November 1962 in Aosta) is an Italian athlete, a bicyclist who began running late, when he was in his thirties. He is twice world champion of the

Skyrunner World Series The Skyrunner World Series is an annual international championship of skyrunning (high altitude endurance races) and the official International Skyrunning Federation (ISF) race circuit for mountain running. Each year the Skyrunner World Series pr ...

and holds numerous speed records for climbing and descending some of the highest mountains in the world, like the Matterhorn in 1995, broken only in 2013 by a professional 25 years younger than him,

Kílian Jornet Burgada Kílian Jornet (; born 27 October 1987) is a Spanish professional sky runner, trail runner, ski mountaineer and long-distance runner. He is a six-time champion of the long-distance running Skyrunner World Series and has won some of the most ...

. his speed records for the

Monte Rosa : , other_name = Monte Rosa massif , translation = Mount Rose , photo = Dufourspitze (Monte Rosa) and Monte Rosa Glacier as seen from Gornergrat, Wallis, Switzerland, 2012 August.jpg , photo_caption = Central Mon ...

in 1997 and the Aconcagua in Argentina in 2000 remained unbroken. Brunod produces results like a professional athlete, but has retained the spirit and humility of an amateur, for which he is widely admired especially amongst fellow mountain runners.

Biography

Brunod grew up in the Aosta Valley. When he was 16 years old, a tourist gave him a bicycling magazine and he began dreaming of

bicycle racing Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling s ...

wanting to emulate his fellow countrymen Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali. It was not until his military service, that Brunod could afford and start

bicycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, Physical exercise, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bike ...

. He entered an amateur team in Brianza. Thanks to his talents he was able to cycle with Claudio Chiappucci, double runner-up of Giro and Tour de France in the 1990s. Brunod left bike racing soon moving far away from the world of doping. He returned to his career as a mason, specialized in stone facings and roofs, and took up running in the mountains as a diversion. After 3 years of preparation, he set a record of climb and descent of the Matterhorn from Breuil-Cervinia in 1995 and continued to do so over the next 10 years. (see section "records") In 2005, he attempted a record ascent time of

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...

with a project named ''Everest Vitesse 2005'', but had to stop after about 16 hours, at camp 3 at about 8.200 meters. In 2012 he wrote the introduction to the book ''Perseverare è umano'' by Pietro Trabucchi. After a pause of about 7 years, dedicating himself to his family and job, he returned to running in 2013. In 2016, his autobiography was published with a foreword by

Kilian Jornet Burgada Killian or Kilian, as a given name, is an Anglicized version of the Irish name Cillian. The name Cillian was borne by several early Irish saints including missionaries to Artois and Franconia and the author of the life of St Brigid. The name is s ...

Personal life

Brunod is married and has five children. Kilian Jornet has noted his humility and said "To me and all the rest of mountain runners, he is God".

Records

* 1995 record of climb and descent of the Matterhorn from Breuil-Cervinia in 3 hours and 14 minutes "after a meticulous preparation, spanning 3 years and 34 climbs". In August 2013,

broke this record improving it by 22 minutes. Brunod awaited Burgada after his descent and said to the ''Aosta Sera'': "I expected that Kilian would beat my record, he is a professional athlete, as opposed to my times, in which this enterprise was a quasi hobby". * 1996

World Champion, world record in the "Vertical Kilometer" in the Val d'Isere (France)
Correre e vivere, skyrunning e scialpinismo raccontati da Bruno Brunod, Jean Pellissier e Xavier Chevrier – Issime (AO)
', ''La Stampa'', 4 January 2013. and record ascent time for Mount Elbert SkyMarathon in 1 hour and 54 minutes. * 1997 Record for the climb and descent of

(4.459 meters) starting from Gressoney in 4 hours and 45 minutes, unbroken *1998 Skyrunner World Series World Champion * 2000 Record for climb and descent of Aconcagua, Argentina, in 5 hours and 57 minutes * 2001 Record of ascending Kilimanjaro the long way via

Marangu Marangu is a town located in Kilimanjaro Region. it is divided into Marangu East and Marangu west each with its own village, its one of the famous places in Tanzania recognized as one of the main gate for climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. it is also ...

in 5 hours and 38 minutes. It was broken in 2010 by Kilian Jornet Burgada with 5 hours, 23 minutes and 50 seconds. *2002 winner of the

Becca di Nona Becca di Nona (french: Pic de Nona) is a peak in the Graian Alps of the Aosta Valley in north-western Italy. Together with Monte Emilius, it is one of the main mountains visible from Aosta looking southwards. History This mountain was known in ...

Skyrace in the Aosta Valley, "Alpine Sky Raid" and second place in the world circuit of Skyrunning. *2003 winner of the Becca di Nona Skyrace, course record on the Alta Via number 1 of Valle d'Aosta, 120 kilometres long and over 9,000 meters of vertical descent. *2004 winner of the Becca di Nona Skyrace in the Aosta Valley,Albo d'oro della Becca di Nona skyrace
beccadinonaskyrace.com/ winner of the

Canazei Canazei (Ladin: ''Cianacéi'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located in the upper part of the Val di Fassa, about northeast of Trento. Its name derives from the Latin wo ...

(Trento, Italy) race of the Vincitore della gara di Canazei "Skyrunning World Series" circuit and winner of the finals of the

Buff Skyrunner World Series The Skyrunner World Series is an annual international championship of skyrunning (high altitude endurance races) and the official International Skyrunning Federation (ISF) race circuit for mountain running. Each year the Skyrunner World Series pr ...

in Malaysia. * 2013

Tor des Géants Tor des Géants (meaning ''Tour of Giants'' in Valdôtain, the dialect of Arpitan spoken in Aosta Valley) is an endurance trail race which takes place in Aosta Valley, Italy, in September. Description The start and the finish are in Courma ...

36th place overall * 2016 First 4 K Alpine Endurance Trail of Valle d'Aosta, 2nd place

Bibliography

References

External links