Sidney McIntosh of Truckee established herself as one of the premier female youth skyrunners in the world this summer.

McIntosh swapped training on the trails in the high sierras for racing in the mountains of Europe.

“I had an amazing summer filled with new experiences, meaningful friendships, and the chance to race against some of the best youth trail runners in the world. I’m proud of my performance at the Youth Skyrunning World Championships, where I placed 3rd overall, and at the UTMB YCC, where I earned 2nd place in both the 15k and ‘The Revenge’ race the following day,” said McIntosh.

According to the International Skyrunning Federation, the sport is defined as, “running in the mountains above 2,000m [about 6561 ft] altitude where the climbing difficulty does not exceed a level II grade and the incline is over 30%.”

From July 23 – 29, the 19-year-old Cal Poly incoming freshman attended the first annual USA Youth Skyrunning camp in Maiella, Italy. The youth camp was organized by USA Skyrunning Coach Ryan Kerrigan and his wife Hanni Guinn. The training camp took place near the beautiful but challenging trails on both Monte Morrone and Monte Amaro within the Abruzzo National Park.

The skyrunning required at the Youth Championships is much different than the trail running of the UTMB. Although trail running in the mountains offers diverse landscapes, skyrunning takes one to soaring altitudes. It challenges you with steep inclines, precipitous descents and technical sections, you are rewarded with breath-taking vistas while requiring a blending of physical endurance with mental fortitude. To observers from the elevations below the summits, it appears that runners were dropped from the sky. Hence the name skyrunning.

“Trail racing, as in the Ultra–Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB), is mostly a physical experience, skyrunning is both a physical and spiritual experience, it literally and figuratively puts you on the stairway to heaven,” said McIntosh.

“Skyrunning involves technical running on steep descents littered with rocks and scree. Bloody appendages, fractures and head wounds are not uncommon. The finishers of a skyrace look like the survivors of an apocalyptic disaster,” said John Kerrigan USA coach and ISF referee.

The seven attendees at the Maiella Camp included elite high school runners from across the USA. Several were State XC champions like McIntosh, who led her team, the Truckee Wolverines, to the 2024 Nevada- NIAA 3A State XC Championship.

“In Abruzzo, I got to live like a local running hidden trails into valleys and mountains. The small community there was incredibly welcoming and the peaceful atmosphere made it a perfect training environment,” said McIntosh. “That camp helped me develop skills I hadn’t focused on much back home like steep climbing, descending, power hiking, and scrambling.”

“Being part of the U.S. Junior Team was such a cool experience. I met trail runners with similar goals and passions, which meant a lot to me since I don’t have much of a youth trail running scene in my hometown. I’m still in touch with teammates and plan to keep those friendships going!”

The following week, McIntosh took the short trip over the Apennines to compete in the World Youth Skyrunning Championships near Fonte Cerreto. McIntosh placed third in both the Skyrace and the combined (Vertical kilometer or VK and Skyrunning results) categories. She quite literally followed in the exact footsteps of another Lake Tahoe area female youth runner. Sophia Sanchez of Kings Beach won both the VK and combined titles at the 2018 and 2019 Youth Skyrunning Championships on the same Apennine mountain (Gran Sasso).

Still riding high from her impressive first-time skyrunning results in the Italian Apennines, McIntosh traveled to Chamonix, France to compete at the UTMB where she was awarded silver medals in both the 15K and “The Revenge” race.

“These races challenged me in new ways and taught me how to dig deep and keep pushing, even when things get tough. One of the hardest parts was racing the UTMB YCC alone,” said McIntosh.

“At first, I signed up just to participate but after doing well at Skyrunning, I decided to compete seriously. Not having a coach or teammates with me added pressure but it taught me how to stay calm, focused, and independent in stressful situations,” continued McIntosh. “At the start of summer, I wasn’t sure where I wanted to take my trail running career. But now, after racing some of the biggest events in the world I know this is just the beginning. I’m excited to keep pushing myself and competing at the highest-level I can!”

‘When I go to the mountains, I love exploring new places and seeing things I wouldn’t get to otherwise. Running makes it even better because it lets me go farther and experience nature in a whole new way. I love being surrounded by different landscapes and just taking it all in. Skyrunning is such an exciting opportunity because it gives me the chance to travel, discover new trails, and meet people who love running as much as I do,” said McIntosh.