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World
mountain running champion, Andrea Mayr, looks set to be the firm
favourite for the women’s event at upcoming Obudu International
Mountain Race judging by her form this season.

The Austrian-born
Mayr, who clocked 31 today, won the 2008 women’s race ahead of more
established runners, including Ethiopia’s Mestawet Tufa, setting in the
process a new course record of 51:14minutes. Mayr, who also competes in
marathon and cycling events, however failed to defend her title at last
year’s race after sustaining a fracture in a cycling accident in her
home town of Wels. In Mayr’s absence, Ethiopia’s Mamitu Daska won the
women’s race, shattering the course record with a run of 49:12 minutes.
But she has made known her intentions to reclaim the women’s title come
November 27 in Obudu, Cross River state after emerging winner of the
26th World Mountain Running Championship which came up last month in
Kanmik, Slovenia where she beat her nearest rival Italy’s Valentina
Belotti by over half a minute.

In addition to her
victory in Slovenia, Mayr added the World Mountain Running Association
(WMRA) Grand Prix title to her 2010 collections to further cement her
status as the world’s top female mountain runner with her most recent
success arriving at the start of October at the 31st Smarca Gora Race
in Ljubljana, the Slovenian capital. The Austrian, who has been
undefeated all through the season, led the field from the start to the
finish in Smarca and crossed the line in 48:48 minutes, about 2:31
minutes before second-place finisher, Antonella Confortola-Wyatt from
Italy (51:09). In the process, Mayr, who represented Austria in the
3000 metres steeplechase at both the 2005 and 2007 World Athletics
Championships, garnered 340 points to emerge the overall WMRA Grand
Prix winner for 2010 and showed once again why she is the overwhelming
favourite to reclaim the Obudu title.

Ready for Obudu

Mayr has already
confirmed her readiness to return for the sixth edition of the Obudu
International Mountain Race as she informed William Archibong, the
Chairman of the Local Organising Committee for the November 27 race, in
an e-mail, that the desire to make a big return for this year’s race
spurred her into giving a 100% performance in Kanmik and Ljubljana.

The Obudu
international mountain race is organized by the Cross River State
Government, in conjunction with the Athletic Federation of Nigeria
(AFN). It enjoys tremendous support from the African Athletics
Confederation (CAA), the WMRA, and the International Association of
Athletics Federations (IAAF). The race covers a distance of 11
kilometres uphill to an altitude of 1,575 metres above sea level and is
the richest mountain running event in the world.

The total prize money for this year’s edition has been increased
from $245,500 to $278,000 due to the addition of the African Nations
Championship for women. The prize money for the first to the 10th
position for this year’s race however remain the same with the winners
in each gender category going home with $50,000 each while $20,000 and
$9,000 respectively will go to the second and third placed finishers.
The prizes for 4th -10th placed finishers in each category also remains
at $4,500, $4,000, $3,000, $2,500, $2,000, $1,500 and $1,000
respectively.