Trail Running

Official website: International Trail Running Association
Official website: World Mountain Running Association

How it works

Mountain and trail running is a form of endurance running where athletes race each other to record the fastest time over a set course. In the shorter events women and men race separately and in the longer ones they run together.

The discipline takes place on various types of natural terrain (sand, dirt, forest paths, single track footpaths, snow trails, etc) and in various kinds of environment (mountains, forests, plains, deserts, etc). While some races call themselves mountain races and some trail races, there is often considerable overlap.

Races take place mostly on off-road surfaces, however sections of paved surfaces (e.g. asphalt, concrete, macadam, etc) are acceptable as a way to reach or link the trails of the course but should be kept to a minimum and not exceed 25% of the total length. Preferably existing roads and trails should be used. 

Courses must be laid out and marked in such a way that no navigation skills will be required from the athletes or require the use of specific equipment, such as mountaineering equipment. The use of hiking poles is permitted at the discretion of the race organiser, especially in longer races. Again, especially in longer races, the race organiser may recommend or impose mandatory equipment, such as minimum clothing, windjackets, headlamps, water and food, due to the conditions expected to be encountered during the event.

Courses must be designed to ensure the safety of athletes and officials. Specific conditions, such as high altitude, changing weather conditions and available infrastructure, should be respected. Importantly, they should be designed to both showcase the natural environment of the host venue and fully respect the natural environment within which the events take place.

For the World Championships, races are held over the distances stated in the table below, and all courses must be measured in such a way as to create an accurate GPX track file that provides distance and elevation (gain and loss).

History

Mountain and trail running have a long history. Distance runners have long run on trails to train and have done so in the mountains to prepare for other events. Formally the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) was born in 1984 as the International Committee of Mountain Running (ICMR). In 1985, it first staged ‘the World Trophy’, attracting entries from more than 30 countries. In 2002, the IAAF (now World Athletics) Congress officially recognised it as an International Competition and in 2009 the name was changed to the Mountain Running World Championships.

It is difficult to pinpoint the first formal trail running races. Perhaps the earliest known is the Dipsea Trail Race dating from 1905. Other well-known events started in the 1970s, including the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run (1974) and Sierre Zinal (1977).

Trail running experienced a boom in the 2000s, with the first edition of the UTMB® in 2003. The International Trail Running Association (ITRA) was founded in 2013, with the aim to promote trail running around the world and give voice to all parties involved in the sport, and the first World Trail Running Championships was held in 2007. 

In 2017, recognising the similarities and overlap between mountain running and trail running, World Athletics, WMRA and ITRA worked together to create one definition, Rule 57 of the World Athletics rule book, and in 2021 the first ever combined world championships was held – the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships (WMTRC) in Thailand.

This event, delayed one year by Covid, was part of the realigned global calendar, with the WMTRC being held in even years, and regional championships in odd years (the European championships is called the European Athletics Off Road Running Championship).

Did you know

As well as the world and regional championships, mountain and trail runners are able to take part in a number of annual global series such as the WMRA World Cup, the World Trail Majors, the Golden Trail Series and the UTMB series.

Runners’ performances are ranked both by ITRA’s Performance Index (which evaluates the performance of each runner and can be used to compare the speed of all runners, at all levels, from all around the world, even of athletes who have never run the in same race) and the WMRA World Ranking (based on race performances).