Monte Santo Lussari
1,790 metres where three borders meet: the summit that Lussari 24 and Montasio 55 reach at a run, not by cable car.
01 A mountain at three borders
Monte Santo Lussari rises to 1,790 metres, at the point where the borders of Italy, Austria and Slovenia meet. On its summit stands the Sanctuary of the Three Peoples: a 16th-century convent, built in Carinthian style, a pilgrimage site for the Germanic, Romance and Slavic peoples of the surrounding valleys — three languages, one summit.
For holidaymakers, Monte Santo Lussari is reached by cable car from Camporosso: fifteen minutes, and you're at the top. For those running Lussari 24 or Montasio 55, the summit is earned differently — at a run, from the bottom, on your own two legs.
02 The climb: almost all runnable
The first stretch towards Monte Santo Lussari is almost road-like: it runs mostly on gravel, forest roads and stretches of paved military road. Anyone with the legs and lungs for it can run from start to finish, tackling almost all of the climb at a run — this isn't a mountaineering ascent, it's a climb you can run.
03 The descent: like torpedoes through pistes and woods
Once you reach the summit, the descent crosses ski pistes and woods: a stretch that demands attention and focus, one only the most experienced can tackle at high speed. It isn't a rocky or particularly technical descent, but soft, stable ground that still tests the reflexes of anyone wanting to run it fast — like a torpedo, not a stroll.
«A race built around speed and views, with the sight from Monte Santo Lussari and the panorama opening onto all of Val Saisera.»
04 The races that reach the summit
Lussari 24 is a loop race, starting and finishing at Kile Alpine Resort: it climbs to Monte Santo Lussari, descends through pistes and woods to Valbruna, then climbs gently for 4 kilometres to the finish. 24.37 km, 1,203 m D+.
Montasio 55 combines two souls in a single point-to-point race: the first part on the Jôf, technical and alpine, the second part on Monte Santo Lussari. The course's only life base, at km 30.6, is Kile Alpine Resort.