The Course
The
"city" course of the 25th
IAAF-Pirelli World Cross Country Championships,
traced in the Parco del Valentino, comprises a
circuit of 1.911 metres, mostly on a grass
surface which will be prepared just a few days
before the start of the Championships.
Final
preparations of the course in the Valentino Park,
Turin. 25m long carpets of turf are laid on a bed
of sand, clay and lime on top of the tarmac
surfaces.
The start is
positioned alongside the famous "Fontana
luminosa" - illuminated fountain - on the
largest lawn of the whole park and is made up of
a metal grille some 60 metres long which will be
the starting point for runners from some 80
participating nations. After around 200m on the
lawn, the athletes will pass on to the artificial
circuit composed of a substrata made up a mixture
of clay sand and lime covered with turves up to
25 metres in length, which will be laid with a
machine imported specially from Canada for the
occasion.
Run your
mouse around the course and discover the
treasures of the Parco del Valentino.
The course will
have an average width of five metres, but for
safety reasons the grass surface will extend to
seven metres.
The starting grid of the 6th IAAF - Pirelli
World Cross Country Championships
In the background, Italian athlete Roberta Brunet
discusses the course with journalists - 16 March
1993
Despite its
relative linearity, the course is of a
technically high level as it includes a large
number of natural obstacles, including: a long
incline up the Viale Crivelli of around 250m with
an inclination of 5-8%, a second incline in the
meadow of the Fontana luminosa contrary to the
starting direction, a run down from the same
meadow to Viale Cagni and a further steep incline
which will take the athletes up to the Viale
Virgilio. Running around all of the main avenues
of the park, they will arrive at the cross-roads
of the Viale Crivelli and the Viale Virgilio,
alongside the medieval "Borgo".
This area will
house stands for around 220 journalists, seating
for VIPs and guests, a giant TV screen and the
finish grid with stands for judges, time-keepers
and the organisers.
Behind this area
is a large "mixed zone" covered by
three gazebos of around 100m² each, offering
further space for the organisational and
logistics aspects of the competition.
400m² of
prefabricated offices will be provided for press
facilities.
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