msg Maraton Apuseni Turns Again into a European Trail Running Destination

Only 5 days left until the start of the most picturesque international mountain marathon in Romania – msg Maraton Apuseni 2024! About 2300 runners from different corners of the world are expected on June 8th at Buscat Ski & Summer Resort in the Apuseni Mountains for the 13th edition of the msg Apuseni Marathon!

With much enthusiasm, the organizer – the Romanian Alpine Club Cluj branch, together with the long-time sponsor msg systems Romania and the technical partner La Sportiva, are waiting for the runners and their supporters in a mountain beat, with preset competition trails, a sports expo in the base camp, DJ party, activities for the public and a super raffle for the runners!

Founded in 2011, the msg Maraton Apuseni is a major initiative to educate the community towards mountain running, a discipline widely accessible to the general public. The event stands out at European level because the ultra-marathon, marathon, half-marathon and mountain cross-country routes cross protected habitats of European Community interest, the Scarița-Belioara geo-botanical reserve, alpine hollows in the Monte Mare massif, sections flanked by molhașuri and rocky outcrops.

msg Maraton Apuseni 2024 Races

The 13th edition already includes the traditional trail running races, including three UTMB World Series qualifiers races, with ITRA points according to the difficulty of the event.

Ultramarathon (~89.2 km, D+ 4539m) – 4 ITRA points, UTMB 100K Qualifier
Marathon (~44.8 km, D+ 2531m) – 2 ITRA points, UTMB 40K Qualifier
Banca Transilvania Half Marathon (~23.7 km, D+ 1190m) – 1 ITRA point, UTMB 20K Qualifier
Garmin Cross Country (~10 km, D+ 500m)
Family Gerovital ( ~2 km)

Novelty: a new challenge has been launched to the runners msg Maraton Apuseni 2024: Queen & King of The Mountain Challenge. More precisely, between Stăuina Runcanilor and Pietrele Mărunte, over a distance of 3.1 km and 430 m+, all runners will compete for the title of King and Queen of The Mountain!

Main attractions: the Buscat area, the Scarița Belioara geo-botanical reserve, the traditional villages of Apuseni, the viewpoint on the Pietrele Mărunte.

Start times, awards, raffle and party:

00:00 START Ultramarathon
08:00 START Marathon
09:00 START Half Marathon Banca Transilvania
10:00 START Garmin Cross Country
12:30 START Family Gerovital
14:30 Family race Awards Ceremony
15:00 Gulyas Party by Buscat Ski Resort
17:00 Grand Awards Ceremony – Ultramarathon/Marathon/Semimarathon BT /Garmin Cross Country and Raffle for participants
20:00 Bonfire / DJ Party & Folk evening

We welcome supporters, supporters and media representatives to START on Saturday morning as per the above schedule.

The detailed programme can be found here : https://maratonapuseni.ro/en/msg-maraton-apuseni-2024-official-programme/

Educational activities implemented in preparation for the 13th edition of msg Maraton Apuseni:

Technical mountain running workshop by PhD Nicola Giovanelli – manager Team La Sportiva, on how running poles affect uphill performance, respectively on how to train your VO2max to improve your own performance.
A forestation in the Ierii Valley area, as part of the EcoSchool programme, to remind the public and the community of the importance of the principles promoted by Earth Day, together with our trusted partners – the “Mircea Luca” School in Băișoara, Life Education for All, Băișoara Town Hall and the Muntele Mare Forestry Office.
Practical workshop supported by high profile guests: Robert Hajnal – ultra-marathon runner and coach, Dr. Cătălin Colț – sports medicine and Istvan Szokolszky – ultra-marathon runner and coach.
Weekly training sessions for children, coordinated by Mister Nicu in Cluj-Napoca
Friendly running competition in Făget, coordinated by our colleague Laurențiu Vezentan
Trail reconnaissance, organized as effective mountain running training sessions coordinated by Răzvan Samoilă, Laurențiu Vezentan and Lenerat Denes.

The 13th edition of msg Maraton Apuseni 2024 is possible thanks to our partners and sponsors:

msg systems Romania – title partner
La Sportiva – tehcnical partner
Banca Transilvania – halfmarathon race partner
Garmin Romania – cross race partner
Farmec – Gerovital – Family Race partner
ITRA – International Trail Running Association – partner
Circuitul Carpatilor – speicalized partner
Pro Nutrition – nutrition partner
World Class Romania – fitness and warmups
Worwag Pharma, Clinica de Podiatrie / Zinkit – health & immunity partner
Buscat Ski&Summer Resort – venue partner
Mountex Romania, HAP de la Vlad Adrenalin Park ZuMont Alpin Expe Mountain Shop Munţii Noştri Izvorul Minunilor, Twin Motors, Allmountain and many more
cluj.com – Ghid Local, Radio Cluj, RockFM, Cluj Life, Ski&Outdoor Magazine, Transylvania Mountain Festival, MTB Odyssey – media partners