Deemed the World’s Toughest Mountain Race, the Mount Kinabalu International Climbathon is the ultimate challenge to take for those who are game enough to test their endurance by running up and down Mount Kinabalu for a total distance of 21 kilometres.
The first climbathon was inaugurated in 1987 when Sabah Parks decided to scout for people to be in the rapid rescue squad, who are a team of rangers who are able to bring down injured climbers in minimal time especially during times of bad weather or when helicopters are not available.
The participation for the climbathon was restricted to Malaysians only, until a year later when it was then opened for international participation. Starting 1995, the Sabah Tourism Board took over to organize this annual event.
The Mount Kinabalu International Climbathon is now very popular among the European mountain runners. The Climbathon Organising Committee has been working closely with the International Skyrunning Federation since 2004 to promote and expand professional mountain running together with the tourism destinations. Through the years, the Climbathon was a part of the Skyrunning World Series but this year it has become the Skyrunner Supercup.
Skyrunner® SuperCup 
A new sports title has been introduced by the International Skyrunning Federation, where the world’s top skyrunners will contend for the prestigious Skyrunner® SuperCup. The competition will be held every two years as the final event of the year in which the European Championships are held.
The title this year has been awarded to the Mount Kinabalu International Climbathon in Borneo, Malaysia, which celebrates its 25th anniversary on October 22 and 23.
This extraordinary 21 km race up and down the 4, 095m of Mount Kinabalu, boasts a gruelling vertical climb of 2,300m over a mere eight and a half kilometres. Mount Kinabalu is South East Asia’s second tallest mountain and is set in the splendid tropical Kinabalu Park, a World Heritage site.
The world’s top athletes will participate, including the Championship winners, those of the Skyrunner® World Series and past Climbathon winners and record holders. The outright male and female winners - the “champion of champions” - will be awarded the prestigious Skyrunner® SuperCup.
