Writing about the highs and lows of an ultra-extreme 330k run in the Alps has bagged Bristol Business News Travel Editor Anne Gorringe a nomination for a top journalistm award.
The Italian State Tourist Board short-listed Anne for her work highlighting the amazing Tor Des Giants (tour of the giants) endurance race, which starts and ends in Cormayeur each September.
The race involves 500 athletes from this pretty Italian town running through the Aosta valley on paths past the five highest mountains in the Alps – Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn, Monte Rosa, Gran Paradiso and Grand Combin.
In six days or less the runners have to complete the course and will climb a total of 24,000 metres over 25 mountain passes.
The judges were looking for original and interesting stories about Italy. In choosing Anne, they said they were impressed with her report of how she walked the last, tough 30k of the trail, and interviewed the athletes before they set off.
Anne also tracked down top female runner, Italian Anne Marie Gross, who held on to her title of being the first woman past the winning post. She persuaded the top runner to pose for a photo on the finish line with her brother Ulrich Gross – the previous year’s winner.
“In Cormayeur on the evening before the race started I got talking to 2 people – who turned out to be the Italian brother and sister who won the race in 2010!” Anne explains.
One of the team of judges Stefania Gatta told Bristol Business news that narrowing down the entries for the award had been tough. “It is very difficult because the standard and quality of the writing is very high.,” she said.
Anne is five nominees battling for a coveted trophy. The winner will be announced at a glittering ceremony at the exclusive Vanilla venue in London next Tuesday.
To read Anne’s preview report on the Italian race go to http://www.bath-business.net/?p=274
