For 2026 World Cup Results press here
Between Friday, September 4, and Sunday, September 6, 2026, the Nasego weekend will be celebrated on the heights of the Savallese area. Three days of great sports with athletes from all over the world, almost 30 nations represented, and all 5 continents of the globe present for the 25th edition of the historic Trofeo Nasego, which will be preceded by the 11th edition of the always exciting and extremely tough Vertical Nasego. As the only Italian stage of the WMRA-World Athletics World Cup for 2026, the Nasego will see the strongest in the world challenge each other with world champion Nina Engelhard making her debut in Casto and seeking the record for both courses, challenging Andrea Mayr, Joyce Njeru, Kirsty Sky Dickson, Francesca Ghelfi, Arianna Dentis, Axelle Genoud. There will be the legendary Kenyan duo Philemon Kiriago and Patrick Kipngeno, both present at the start after dominating Sierre-Zinal; there will be, also highly anticipated, the reigning European Uphill Champion Jacob Adkin who will face Aymonod, Atuya, Elia, Rostan, and Moia in the Vertical, and then again in the trophy: the Eritrean Petro Mamu Shaku, the Swiss Jonas Soldini, the French Theo Klein, the Swede Martin Nilsson, the Mexican Brayan Rodriguez… and many, many other true champions. The event will also be the theater of the official Nations match dedicated to the Memory of Silvestro Niboli: 7 national representative teams challenging each other on the trails between Rifugio Nasego and Comero, where the entrepreneurial adventure of the Silmar group began.
Comero di Casto, August 31, 2026_ Nasego 2026: here we go! For an entire weekend, between Casto and its small mountain hamlets, great Mountain Running will take center stage along with the side festivities that have always characterized this event. Space and moments dedicated to everyone in a program that tells the story of a community famous for its industriousness and desire to be together. It starts on Friday, September 4, with the evening dedicated to Nasego Kids, training, and races dedicated to the very young, who will meet the great mountain running champions at the ABCF sports center in Famea. Then, everyone under the Nasego mega-tent for the official opening of the event with the parade of the “Seven Nations” invited for the Memorial Silvestro Niboli, and immediately after the introduction of the super-elites competing the next day in the Vertical Nasego. Saturday morning, September 5, the vertical climb to Corna di Savallo, the awards ceremonies in the afternoon, and a new exciting evening to discover the super elites for Sunday’s race, accompanied by an important moment of recognition for the Volunteer Associations of the town who will take the stage to receive a special award. Grand finale on Sunday, September 6, with the queen race: “the 25th Trofeo Nasego”, followed by the final ceremony that will then leave room for the 3rd half of Mountain Running.
The organizing committee is ready as always to showcase its proverbial hospitality, with three days of Sport but also excellent Brescian cuisine, with Spiedo and Casoncelli as the main protagonists!
The Races
Saturday, September 5, 2026, 11th Vertical Nasego
A race that, since its first edition in 2016, has had great success. From Casto Center to the Corna di Savallo, an iconic and wild finish, with the Brescian Prealps in the background. The race of the great uphill champions. Today the absolute record belongs to the Kenyan athlete Richard Omaya Atuya, who closed last year in 33’23”. Atuya subsequently became the uphill-only world vice-champion at the Canfranc World Championships, surrendering only to the extraterrestrial Remi Bonnet. And Atuya will be in his place, almost doing the honors of the house, but aware that this time he will likely face the strongest parterre ever at the Vertical Nasego. Meanwhile, there is Patrick Kipngeno, the captain of Run2Gether and two-time winner of the VK Nasego with the previous record attached. There is Phil Kiriago, who is the classic world champion and holder of the Trofeo Nasego, but who has already managed to get on the podium in the vertical. The number one challenger, however, answers to the name of the Scotsman Jacob Adkin, reigning European uphill champion after his masterpiece last June in Kamnik and then again an exceptional protagonist at Sierre Zinal, where for two hours he led the race, driving all his opponents crazy. Italy is present and believes in it, fielding all its best interpreters in this type of race: Henri Aymonod, Andrea Elia, Andrea Rostan, Tiziano Moia. The fantastic 4 joined for a full house of aces by Micheal Galassi, now stable in the top positions, and at his best alongside Elia and Aymonod in the tricolor challenges held at the Piz Tri Vertical and the Challenge Stellina. Other names to watch out for, net of possible sensational surprises, are certainly those of the Irishman Zak Hanna (who has the best European time of the Vertical Nasego and boasts two second places here), the captain of France, Theodore Klein, and the Mexican Brayan Rodriguez, all athletes who finished in the top 15 at Canfranc Uphill 2025, the race that awarded the world titles.
And there are also world titles in the women’s race, where this year the spotlight and attention are focused on the reigning world champion Nina Engelhard. The German literally dominated between 2024 and 2025, winning all available gold medals in the mountain running specialties both at the European Championships in Annecy (champion in both uphill and up&down) and at the World Championships in Canfranc (same script as Annecy, dominator of both races!!!). Is Andrea Mayr’s record trembling? Hard to say, because the 38’06 written in 2023 by the legendary Austrian remains an amazing time and history says that only Mayr and Kisang went under 39’, and only Scout Adkin is added under 40’. And so seeing Nina Engelhard at work on the Nasego trails becomes more than a challenge, it is a great anticipation, it will be an unmissable show. Especially because welcoming Engelhard will be Andrea Mayr, 5 times queen on the Corna di Savallo, there will be Kirsty Skye Dickson, the last winner of the KV lagunc, there will be Francesca Ghelfi who led Italy to team gold at Canfranc Uphill and who recently put on a real show at the Vauban Uphill in the world cup. And then again the Kenyans Ruth Gitonga (who dominates the world cup for now) and Joyce Njeru, the Swiss Burch and Aebi, the stratospheric French climber Christel Dewalle who finally makes her debut at Nasego, the Italian Benedetta Broggi, the Spanish Ana Hernandez, Spanish uphill champion in 2026.
Women’s race start at 10.00 am, at 10.45 am the men start. A great crowd is expected at the summit, for a weekend opening race that is already in history even before being run.
Sunday, September 6, 2026, 25th Trofeo Nasego
The Trofeo Nasego, the “Great Classic of the Savallese”, has built this title in 25 years of investments, work, courage, initiative, enthusiasm and above all, in a word, CHAMPIONS.
Because “At Nasego” interpreters of crystalline class have always landed to inflame the hearts of the organizing committee, which at the beginning believed in it a bit alone, but then along the way gathered enthusiasts, volunteers, technicians and dragged the entire community to become one of the cathedrals of this sport. It has woven relationships, it has earned the national coat of arms first from FIDAL and then international from WMRA World Athletics.
Carved in the roll of honor of the Trofeo Nasego are the names of authentic legends of the specialty: from the 6-time world champion from Bormio Marco de Gasperi to the other Italians Xavier Chevrier and Cesare Maestri, but also the Scotsman Andy Douglas, the Frenchman Sylvain Cachard, the Eritrean Petro Mamu to get to the dominators of today’s scene, such as the Kenyans Patrick Kipngeno, course record holder (1h30’46”), and the current reigning world champion Philemon Kiriago, who also holds the crown of the last Trofeo Nasego. Same music for the women, the best have passed through here: Alice Gaggi and Sara Bottarelli when the Nasego was still an “Italian affair” but then the spaceships arrived, and then away with the double of the Austrian Andrea Mayr, perhaps the greatest female mountain running athlete ever, but also the signatures of the Irish Sarah McCormack, the Kenyans Lucy Murigi, Joyce Njeru and Philaries Kisang, to finish with the American Grayson Murphy, holder of the women’s course record (1h45’56”), which many say is destined to be unassailable.
The spotlight for the 2026 edition for the men cannot shift from the Philemon Kiriago-Patrick Kipngeno duo. World dominators, authors at Sierre Zinal 2026 of a one-two finish that definitively launches their team, Run2Gether On Trail, into orbit, leading the rankings of both the world cup and other prestigious circuits like the Golden Trail Series. Two victories each at Nasego, they seek the third but bring with them a real dream team completed by the very strong Maasai Michael Saoli, by the fresh winner of the FlettaTrail of Malonno, Eljia Kamau Kariuki, the young Ephantus Njeri. Still Kenya favored, even if he runs in the Atletica Saluzzo shirt, this time the name is Paul Machoka. A mountain running legend then returns to Casto: Petro Mamu Shaku, who put on a show here in the 2021 edition.
Other favorites are again the Scotsman Jacob Adkin, and it could not be otherwise after the great performance at Sierre Zinal, but also his captain Andrew Douglas, already capable of triumphing here in 2019, then the Italians Michael Galassi and Alberto Vender, the Englishman Matthew Knowles star of Vanoni 2025, the Scotsman Finlay Todd already in the top 10 at FlettaTrail, the Mexican Brayan Rodriguez world exploit in Canfranc, the Frenchman Theo Klein a certainty like the Swede Martin Nilsson (already in the top 5 at Zinal 2025), and again the Swiss Jonas Soldini, the Austrian Hans Peter Innerhofer, the British talents Subuh Symons and Tom Hilton.
Trofeo Nasego women: all strongly in the name of the “world” challenge between Joyce Njeru, Ruth Gitonga and Nina Engelhard. Them more than anyone, with the German world champion winking at Grayson’s record, a monument around here, which however this time wavers in the face of such an assault. Because in addition to them there are the Swiss Celine Aebi and Axelle Genoud, the Italians Arianna Dentis, Francesca Ghelfi and Arianna del Pino, the American Oakley Olson, the Kenyans Chebet and Chepkirui. Just some of the over 20 seeded athletes who can play for access to the top-10 of the Nasego, with a catwalk on the magic stage of Famea on Sunday afternoon that is worth a lot.
Mass start, men and women, from the center of Casto at 9.30 am. Arrival in Famea after 21 km and 1300 D+ passing through the GPM of Rifugio Nasego.
NASEGO 2026 IN A WORLD CUP KEY
The WMRA Mountain Running world cup for the Nasego is more than a title. The Savallese race tries once again to be the referee and pivot race to decide the fate of the top open world mountain running circuit recognized by World Athletics. Hence all the efforts to bring the top of the current ranking to the starting line.
11 of the top 20 women in the current ranking will be at Nasego, with the entire top 4 represented, given that Gitonga, Njeru, Broggi and Dickson will be there.
For the men even better, the entire current world cup top-10 will be at the start, and the slogan “The World Cup is decided here” is not advertising, it is real… !
Here are the two updated rankings on the eve of the Vertical Nasego, before the two world cup stages staged on the heights of Savallo:
NATIONS MATCH
The “Seven Nations – Memorial Silvestro Niboli” marks the 3rd edition of the experiment launched a few years ago by the organizers: Three nations in 2024, Six in 2025, one more for this 2026 edition which confirm the great success of this initiative. There is also the eighth nation, Austria, invited as an observer for a possible expansion to 9 nations in the future (the matter is under consideration).
The 7 nations is a race within a race that will compare some of the schools of excellence of this discipline, the official representative teams of Italy, Wales, Scotland, England, France, Ireland and Switzerland. The format will see four men and four women for each national team compete in the two races, Vertical and Trofeo, with a special points ranking and a dedicated final prize pool, all in the name and memory of Silvestro Niboli, the patron of the SILMAR group of which VALSIR, the main sponsor of the Nasego, is a part.
The Seven Nations is an international match that promises spectacle and rivalry, in an exciting competition that allows many emerging talents to wear the official jersey of their country for the first time and to have a great international experience.
Friday evening, September 4, 2026, the opening ceremony will see the 7 flags flying inside the ABCF sports center in Famea. It is a challenge between mountain running schools, a comparison between traditions and racing styles, an opportunity for confrontation but also for meeting and brotherhood.
YOUTH AND TEAM SPIRIT
There are also moments for the very young, with the Nasego Kids taking place on Friday evening opening the event and the Super Team memorial Damiano Guerra trophy, a special classification dedicated to sports clubs affiliated with FIDAL, the most numerous access a cash prize pool that becomes a support from the organization to the clubs that continue to work and build the future of mountain running.
IT IS TIME FOR NASEGO, AND FOR GREAT MOUNTAIN RUNNING
The appointment is therefore set, and the countdown has started. We run in the mountains and we run fast, in the wake of the great Italian tradition of this discipline that here has found a natural stage and a unique enthusiasm to put on a great show.
Over 150 accredited elite athletes, with some of the best in the world, reigning world and European champions, record holders, the legends of this sport. Everything is there, now let the curtain rise…
NASEGO: THE TWO RACES, ROUTES, AND LOGISTICS
Vertical and Trofeo Nasego are international mountain running competitions registered on the WORLD ATHLETICS / WMRA international calendar and the FIDAL national calendar.
They have repeatedly been selected as official stages of the Mountain Running World Cup and, since 2023, have hosted an invitational national team competition.
Vertical Nasego Route: Starts in the center of Casto and ascends to the area’s iconic summit, Corna di Savallo (1,436 m above sea level), covering 1,000 meters of vertical gain over a 3.7 km course along roads, mule tracks, and mountain trails. High-altitude aid station, changing facilities, showers, lunch, and awards are located at the Famea Sports Center. A dedicated gear transportation service ensures athletes can send a small drop bag with dry clothes directly to the finish area.
Trofeo Nasego Route: Spans approximately 21.4 km with 1,330 meters of positive elevation gain. The start mirrors the Vertical course with a parade through Casto’s main street, followed by a fast section of rolling terrain along dirt roads and wide trails past Ferrate, Alone, and the Vrenda Bridge. At approximately km 10.6, the nature of the race changes dramatically as a long ascent begins through Valgrande and Piazze toward the Mountain Pass at Rifugio Nasego—the iconic midpoint of the event (where the finish line was situated in the original race format until 2014). From 1,300 meters at Nasego, runners undertake a demanding descent of less than 4 km leading directly to the finish line in Famea, where all event facilities and closing ceremonies are hosted.
“La Nasego” is a relatively young event compared to other classic Italian mountain races. However, through exceptional organizational standards and strong backing from the business community in Casto and surrounding areas, it has rapidly earned international prestige. Top athletes from across Europe and around the world aspire to compete here, while Italy’s finest runners test themselves on this course.
Nasego is more than a race; it is a sports spectacle with established traditions for both amateur runners challenging themselves alongside world champions, and spectators enjoying two days of athletics, culture, and community celebration.
| year | Men’s winner | time | Women’s winner | time |
| 2015 | Isaac Kiprop (UGA) | 1h31’03” | Francesca Iachemet (ITA) | 1h54’04” |
| 2016 | Xavier Chevrier (ITA) | 1h36’36” | Sara Bottarelli (ITA) | 1h54’44” |
| 2017 | Cesare Maestri (ITA) | 1h35’58” | Alice Gaggi (ITA) | 1h58’28” |
| 2018 | Alessandro Rambaldini (ITA) | 1h37’01” | Alice Gaggi (ITA) | 1h55’15” |
| 2019 | Andrew Douglas (SCO) | 1h35’37” | Lucy Wambui Murigi (KEN) | 1h52’23” |
| 2020 | Sylvain Cachard (FRA) | 1h34’11” | Sarah McCormack (IRL) | 1h52’32” |
| 2021 | Petro mamu Shaku (ERI) | 1H32’55” | Grayson Murphy (USA) *RECORD* | 1H45’56” |
| 2022 | Patrick Kipngeno (KEN) *RECORD* | 1H30’46” | Andrea Mayr (AUT) | 1H47’32” |
| 2023 | Philemon Kiriago (KEN) | 1H31’00” | Andrea Mayr (AUT) | 1H46’06” |
| 2024 | Patrick Kipngeno (KEN) | 1H31’26” | Joyce Njeru (KEN) | 1H51’33” |
| 2025 | Philemon Kiriago (KEN) | 1H31’43” | Philaries Kisang (KEN) | 1H46’16” |
| *The current official course format was introduced in 2016 | ||||
| year | Men’s winner | time | Women’s winner | time |
| 2016 | Nicola Pedergnana (ITA) | 34’45” | Valentina Belotti (ITA) | 39’23” |
| 2017 | Patrick Facchini (ITA) | 35’31” | Valentina Belotti (ITA) | 43’09” |
| 2018 | Patrick Facchini (ITA) | 36’14” | Denisa Dragomir (ROU) | 45’10” |
| 2019 | Davide Magnini (ITA) | 35’17” | Andrea Mayr (AUT) | 38’39” |
| 2020 | Henri Aymonod (ITA) | 35’47” | Valentina Belotti (ITA) | 43’12” |
| 2021 | Henri Aymonod (ITA) | 35’38” | Andrea Mayr (AUT) | 38’51” |
| 2022 | Patrick Kipngeno (KEN) | 33’47” | Andrea Mayr (AUT) | 38’48” |
| 2023 | Patrick Kipngeno (KEN) | 34’25” | Andrea Mayr (AUT) *RECORD* | 38’06” |
| 2024 | Patrick Kipngeno (KEN) | 34’28” | Andrea Mayr (AUT) | 40’51” |
| 2025 | Richard O. Atuya (KEN) *RECORD* | 33’23” | Philaries Kisang (KEN) | 38’55” |
| *The current official course format was introduced in 2017. |