The Giro di Castelbuono (officially Giro Podistico Internazionale Castelbuono) is an annual

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ru ...

competition over 10 kilometres which takes place in

Castelbuono Castelbuono ( Sicilian: ''Casteḍḍu-bonu'' or, locally, ''Castiḍḍubbuonu'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, Sicily (southern Italy). It is known for the castle from which its name derives, around which the ci ...

, on the island of

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. First held in 1912, the competition, which holds

IAAF Gold Label Road Race World Athletics Label Road Races are races that World Athletics (until 2019: ''IAAF'') designates as the "leading road races around the world." The classification was first introduced for the 2008 running season, upon the suggestion of the IAAF R ...

status, is one of the oldest road races in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, which is the inspiration for the event's nickname – ("The Oldest Race"). The race, typically held on (or around) July 26 to coincide with

Saint Anne According to apocrypha, as well as Christianity, Christian and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, the wife of Joachim and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the Bible's Gosp ...

's Day, has been held almost every year since its inauguration, although the two

World Wars A world war is an international conflict that involves most or all of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World War I (19 ...

interrupted the event over those periods. The race has been broadcast every year for a decade by Italian television channel

Rai Sport Più Rai Sport HD is an Italian sports TV channel, launched in 1999 by the state-owned RAI television network. It broadcasts Italian and international sports events in Italy on DTT channel 58 on ''Rai Mux A'' from HDTV. It is also available on Sky It ...

.Storia Del Giro
. Giro di Castelbuono. Retrieved on 2010-08-08. From 2011 onwards, the race departed from its long-standing original distance of 11.3 kilometres and switched to a certified 10 km circuit. From 1912 to 2010, the course of the race followed a looped pattern of ten laps of roughly 1.13 km around the historical centre of the town. The start and end point of the race was at Piazza Margherita. Beginning at the square, the route went south along Via Roma and into Via Mario Levante. It then went east along Via

Camillo Benso Conte Di Cavour Camillo Paolo Filippo Giulio Benso, Count of Cavour, Isolabella and Leri (; 10 August 1810 – 6 June 1861), generally known as the Count of Cavour ( ; ) or simply Cavour, was an Italian politician, statesman, businessman, economist, and nobl ...

before heading back north along Via

Vittorio Emanuele II Victor Emmanuel II (; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di House of Savoy, Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was King of Sardinia (also informally known as Piedmont–Sardinia) from 23 March 1849 u ...

. The course then followed Via

Umberto I Umberto I (; 14 March 1844 – 29 July 1900) was King of Italy from 9 January 1878 until his assassination in 1900. His reign saw Italy's expansion into the Horn of Africa, as well as the creation of the Triple Alliance among Italy, Germany an ...

in a north-westerly direction which arrives back at the starting point. The race is a challenging one for athletes as they must contend with a difficult uphill section on each lap. Over the history of the event, the Giro di Castelbuono has attracted many of the sport's top athletes. Among the past winners are former world record holders

Khalid Khannouchi Khalid Khannouchi () (born September 12, 1971) is a Moroccan-born American retired long-distance runner. He is the former world record holder for the marathon and held the former road world best for the 20 km distance. He is one of only five ...

and

Paul Tergat Paul Kibii Tergat (born 17 June 1969) is a Kenyan former professional long-distance runner. He became the first Kenyan man to set the world record in the marathon in 2003, with a time of 2:04:55, and is regarded as one of the most accomplished l ...

, three-time

London Marathon The London Marathon (also known as the TCS London Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon held in London, England. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held in April, although it moved to Oct ...

winner

Martin Lel Martin Kiptolo Lel (born 29 October 1978) is a Kenyan professional long distance and marathon runner. He won the London Marathon in 2005, 2007, and 2008, the New York City Marathon in 2003 and 2007 and the Great North Run in 2007 and 2009. His ...

, and four-time road running World Champion

Zersenay Tadese Zersenay Tadese Habtesilase ( Tigrinya: ዘርእሰናይ ታደሰ; born 8 February 1982) is an Eritrean former long-distance track and road running athlete. He held the men's half marathon world record from 2010 to 2018. His bronze medal i ...

. The pre-international era of the race also featured prominent runners, including

Gelindo Bordin Gelindo Bordin (born 2 April 1959) is an Italian former Long Distance Runner, winner of the marathon race at the 1988 Summer Olympics. He is the first Italian to have won an Olympic gold in the marathon and the only male to win both the Boston M ...

Orlando Pizzolato Orlando Pizzolato (born 30 July 1958) is a retired long-distance runner from Italy. Biography He represented his native country in the men's marathon at the 1988 Summer Olympics, finishing in 16th place (2:15:20). His biggest success was twice w ...

Venanzio Ortis Venanzio Ortis (born 29 January 1955) is an Italian retired long-distance runner who won two medals at the 1978 European Championships. Biography Ortis was born in Paluzza, province of Udine. He started racing in 1969 (for a period he also pra ...

Franco Fava Franco Fava (born 3 September 1952) is an Italian former long-distance runner. Biography Franco Fava participated at two editions of the Summer Olympics (1972, 1976), he has 29 caps in national team from 1968 to 1977. After his sporting career ...

, as well as Sicily's own

Luigi Zarcone Luigi Zarcone (18 June 1950, in Villabate – 9 June 2001, in Palermo) was an Italian middle and long distance runner. Biography Luigi Zarcone won two medals, at senior level, at the International athletics competitions. He has 32 caps in natio ...

. While the competition has principally been a men's race throughout its existence, a women's race was featured on the programme from 1995 to 2004. Winners of this short-lived race included

Rome Marathon The Rome Marathon is an annual marathon competition hosted by the city of Rome, Italy. History The competition has also doubled as the Italian Marathon championships on two occasions; in 1983 and 1986. The race date was shifted from the t ...

winner Gloria Marconi,

Florence Marathon The Florence Marathon () is an annual full-length marathon race held in late November in Florence, Italy, since 1984. History Established in 1984, the international competition has significantly grown in size since its inaugural edition of 462 ru ...

winner

Florence Barsosio Florence Jepkemoi Barsosio (born 11 August 1976 in Keiyo District) is a Kenyan athlete who specialises in long-distance running. Her sister, Sally Barsosio, is also a professional runner. She has competed at world championship finals in long-dis ...

and multiple Major Marathon champion

Margaret Okayo Margaret Okayo (born 30 May 1976) is a professional Kenyan marathon runner. She has won four World Marathon Majors with victories in the New York City Marathon (two times), the Boston Marathon and the London Marathon, setting three course record ...

.Monti, Dave & Civai, Franco (2010-07-27)
La Corsa Piu' Antica 11.2 km (M) and 5.6 km (F)

Association of Road Racing Statisticians The Association of Road Racing Statisticians is an independent, non-profit organization that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics regarding road running races. The primary purpose of the ARRS is to maintain a valid list of world road record ...

. Retrieved on 2010-08-08.

Past winners

National era

International era

*The course distances are 11.3 km for men and 5.6 km for women, unless stated otherwise Key:

References

;List of winners *Monti, Dave & Civai, Franco (2010-07-27)
La Corsa Piu' Antica 11.2 km (M) and 5.6 km (F)

. Retrieved on 2010-08-08.
Albo d'oro
. Giro di Castelbuono. Retrieved on 2010-08-08.

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giro Di Castelbuono 10K runs Athletics competitions in Italy Recurring events established in 1912 Sport in Sicily 1912 establishments in Italy Summer in Italy

Past winners

National era

International era

See also

References

Further reading

External links