The world is running out of superlatives to describe Finlay Wild’s continued feats of speed and endurance on the most technical mountain terrain. After reclaiming the Tranter Round record from Jack Kuenzle earlier this year, Finlay one-upped the American once again at this year’s Trofeo Kima. Not only that – he also beat Kilian Jornet’s course record by four minutes!
Finlay is a long-time advocate of overland travel, having not flown for the last five years. His trip to the Trofeo Kima was no exception. We caught Finlay for a chat about his race as well as his tips for travelling overland to race.
Q: Finlay – what have you been up to recently?
I was in the Val Masino region of Italy which is up a side valley from the Sondrio valley, just east of Lake Como in Italy. We went there on a 10-day trip from the UK for the Trofeo Kima race. It is a 48km technical mountain race traversing seven cols at around 2500m altitude and climbing almost 4000m.
I’ve been to this area four times now and really love the place. It’s a collection of valleys all draining from the frontier ridge with Switzerland. Down low there are thick woods and crystal clear rivers. Higher up the landscape is a stunning mix of alpine meadows, thinning out to rough granite boulder fields, smooth glaciated slabs, and a profusion of impressive peaks.
The Kima route traverses these boulder fields, crossing technical cols with chains and even a few snowfields, before diving down into the forest and a final hot section along the valley bottom. My partner Rosie and I spent three nights staying in Italian Alpine Club huts along the route – which is also taken by walkers on the famous Sentiero di Roma walk. This allowed us to acclimatise and to take in the surroundings at a more relaxed pace, in preparation for the race. There is also a 28km version of the race called Kima Extreme Skyrace, which Rosie competed in, and which shares some of the route and the final descent with Trofeo Kima – so it was also an ideal recce for both of us.
Q: You’ve got a history with Trofeo Kima – can you just lay out that history and why you love the race?
Kima is definitely my favourite European race. It feels like a race made for me to be honest. The road section to start with is uphill and done early in the cool morning air, when runners are warming up and not pushing the pace too crazily. You then reach Refugio Ponti and the boulder hopping starts, bringing you abruptly to the steep descent from Bochetta Roma, down exposed chains to a snowy glissade. From there the fun continues, traversing boulder fields, up and down a further six unique cols.
It’s rough in a sustained way that really no other race has. The final descent takes you down winding singletrack with rocks and grass, then steep forest, then a hot tarmac road into town, before a final flat and fast section of road to the finish field. It’s a brutal, fast finish in the midday heat after all that ascent and technical stuff.
The race is held every two years and this year was part of the World Skyrunning Series. In 2022 I got a last-minute entry after winning Matterhorn Ultraks Extreme the week before. I managed to take a surprise first-place, missing out on Kilian Jornet’s 2018 record by less than a minute.
Q: Tell me about this year’s race – how did you feel during the race? What was it like racing Jack so closely? What were the final kilometers like?
This year there was again a stacked field, with the toughest competition likely taking the form of Frenchman Louison Coiffet, Spaniard Manu Merillas, and American Jack Kuenzle.
I’d raced and been beaten by the first two last year at nearby Grigne Skymarathon, but I was most interested in how things would play out with Jack. We’d never raced each other, but have had quite a ding-dong since he appeared in the UK in 2022 – he took my record for Tranter’s Round in Lochaber before going on to get the Bob Graham Round record later that summer. Earlier this year I managed to better the Tranter’s Round record and with Jack at large in the Alps I was excited for this head to head, in which I thought on paper he probably had the edge.
Then again, I had the knowledge and fire from the 2022 win, and went into the race feeling reasonably prepared – but anything could happen.
After the initial long road climb and first hut (Refugio Ponti) we started on the more technical running. From the first col (Bochetta Roma) the pace was pretty crazy and I fell off the back of the lead three or four for a short while on the way up to the second (and highest) col, Passo Cameraccio. Descending from here on chains and then snow, I caught up to the others and unfortunately Manu and then Louison had to pull out due to injuries.
Local runner Daniel Antonioli was leading at this point, however myself and Jack were now glued together as we slowly reeled him in. At Refugio Allievi we overtook Daniel but, despite each’s efforts, neither of us could lose the other.
The pace just seemed to keep getting faster and it was a unique experience to be racing such technical terrain so fast and so closely with another runner. Normally, gaps open up quickly as one runner performs better on the ascents or descents. We were very evenly matched.
From the final col I got a bit of a gap and sensed that this was my best chance: on the slightly different more grassy terrain here, past Refugio Omio and down into the technical woods. I felt the gap grow but had no idea how big it was. On the road in first place I pushed on and tried to will some good form. It would be hard to take being passed by Jack on the final road section.
Eventually I was into the finishing straight and done. I won in a new record time, beating Kilian’s record by over 4 minutes to give 6h5m4s. Jack powered in three minutes later and collapsed into a hug. Italians really know how to do a race finish – in the sun with the big banners, loudspeaker and music, the crowd shouting and champagne being sprayed over me. It was really intense and a great moment to cherish.
Q: How did it feel to break Kilian’s record? What do you think gave you that edge this year?
Undoubtedly that is my best European / skyracing performance, and one of my top three racing performances ever. Pushing each other for hours over the boulders was really tough but also strangely enjoyable – and it strengthened the bonds between us for sure, a friendship-rivalry. I thought I could possibly challenge Kilian’s record if all went well, but also don’t think I could have pushed that hard without the battle with Jack.
Q: You took overland travel to the race – why did you do this? What was your journey?
Rosie and I travelled out on the train – Oxenholme to London, London to Paris, Paris to Milan (currently with a 30min rerouting via bus journey to get around a large landslide in the Maurienne valley) and then a night in Milan before a few hours of train and bus up to Val Masino itself.
On the way back we took a different route as it worked better for timings: bus and train back to Milan in the evening, a night in Milan, then Milan to Zurich, Zurich to Paris, Paris to London and a night with a friend in London. Then we took the train back to Oxenholme (Rosie) and Glasgow (Finlay) before I took a final bus back to Fort William.
We wanted to take public transport and to avoid flying. The reasons for this include wanting to enjoy the travel part of the trip, rather than just being stressed at an airport or in the car, as well as the obvious green factor – public transport has by far the lowest emissions. I’ve driven out to the Alps earlier this year on a different trip, but when it fits with a trip and if at all possible I am keen to take the train. It takes a bit more planning and usually costs more, but despite taking longer I do genuinely prefer travelling by train. I’m a big reader so it gives lots of reading time, as well as sleeping and eating time! Aside from occasional delays it is usually a less stressful experience than driving or flying.
This time we used an Interrail 4-day pass. It saved us some money and gave a bit of flexibility, but is a little bit fiddly to use, requiring you to check availability on specific trains and book separate seat reservations. I’ll include a few other useful websites for planning:
Travel through Europe by Train | 33 Countries with 1 Rail Pass (interrail.eu)
The Man in Seat 61 | The train travel guide
Rome2Rio: discover how to get anywhere
Q: What would you say to people considering their travel to their next race? How can they do it more sustainably?
I’m no saint and I think it’s important that people don’t guilt themselves into pessimism or unrealistically restrictive attitudes. But I do think that many trips can be made more enjoyable by making the public transport journey part of the trip. We really looked forward to our chill time and meals on the train, and had brief but fun outings in central Milan (rooftop hotel breakfast overlooking the impressive Milano Centrale station), and Zurich (riverside lunch in a park with ice cream), as well as Paris (ok, just the metro!). It’s nice to just sit back and watch the world go by, seeing the landscape change.
