Tag: WMRA

The 2024 Valsir Mountain Running World Cup Opens at Broken Arrow

Written by Hector Rubio on 18/06/2024. Posted in Latest News, Latest News - Feature Home Slide.

The 2024 Valsir Mountain Running World Cup kicks off in style on Friday 21^st June at Broken Arrow in Palisades Tahoe, California. We will launch this year’s competition with the Broken Arrow VK, our first short uphill gold label race, then follow that up swiftly with the 23k Broken Arrow Skyrace, our first long gold label race, on Sunday 23^rd.

It’s a fitting venue to set the standard for this year’s World Cup, the 25^th edition, as it’s an area rich in sporting history. Primarily known as a ski resort, it hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics, and in recent years Broken Arrow has grown both in size and reputation and is a hugely prestigious event, attracting elite runners from around the world across its five races. With a base elevation of 1,890 metres and stunning peaks all around, including the prominent 2,700 metre Washeshu Peak, it has the perfect credentials for mountain racing.

Broken Arrow has previously been a highlight of the World Cup in 2019, 2021 and 2023, and every edition gets more and more competitive. And while it takes place in the US, the event very much adheres to strong traditions of European mountain running, with steep terrain, scrambling and huge amounts of vertical gain and loss at altitude.

THE COURSES

First up is our short uphill race, the Broken Arrow VK on Friday 21^st June at 9.30am local time (UTC -7). The race starts on the valley floor and climbs its way up 914m (3,000 feet) over 4.8km (3 miles) to the summit of Washeshu Peak at 2708m (8885 feet). Despite some changes to the course this year, along the way it still takes in some brutally steep terrain, leading up to the iconic Headwall Ridge and the ‘stairway to heaven’ bolted ladder to the summit of Washeshu Peak. Runners will experience steep rock slabs, snow and scree, which is guaranteed to deliver an exciting race.

On Sunday 23^rd at 8am it’s time for the long mountain race, the Broken Arrow Skyrace. This is a loop which climbs 1,533m over the course of 23km (or 5,033 feet over 14.25 miles). It starts in Palisades Tahoe Village and most of the race takes place above the tree line on technical and demanding trails. Runners will be treated to views of Granite Chief Wilderness and they will experience Emigrant Pass, KT-22 and, like the VK runners, the ‘stairway to heaven’ ladder to Washeshu Peak.

Please note that the courses are liable to slight changes each year depending on snow conditions.

THE FAVOURITES

With registration still open for elites, there could still be changes to the final start lists, but there’s no doubt at all that we’ll see some highly competitive racing. Many of the runners from last year’s podiums are back this year, along with others who could well challenge them.

In the women’s VK last year’s winner, Anna Gibson (Brooks), will be back to defend her title. 2023 runner up, Jade Belzberg (Topo), will also be back, as will Annie Dube and Anna Mae Flynn (Mountain Endurance Team), who finished fourth and fifth respectively last year. But they will face stiff competition in the form of Allie McLaughlin (HOKA), Tabor Hemming (Adidas Terrex) and others.

The men’s VK is also looking incredibly competitive. Darren Thomas (Salomon), second last year, is back, as is last year’s fifth place finisher, Abraham Hernandez Cruz. Joining them will be some big names to watch, including Philemon Ombogo Kiriago (Run2gether), Jim Walmsley (HOKA), Eli Hemming (Adidas Terrex) and Christian Allen.

Many of the runners are racing both the VK and the Skyrace, with a day in between to recover. Last year the Skyrace was severely affected by snow but we understand the snowline isn’t as low this year. Memorably Allie McLaughlin battled with Anna Gibson last year, taking the lead and stretching it out to win. McLaughlin is doing the double here, as are Tabor Hemming, who was third last year, and Annie Dube. Janelle Lincks, fourth last year, also returns. Sophia Laukli (Salomon), a breakout star in last year’s World Cup, also looks to be toeing the line and will be one to watch.

In the men’s Skyrace defending champion, Eli Hemming, returns, along with the rest of last year’s podium, Chad Hall and Meikael Beaudoin-Rousseau (Brooks). Allen, Kipngeno and Thomas will double up, which should make things interesting. To shake things up even further former world champion Joe Gray (HOKA) is on the start list. Zak Hanna (New Balance), who finished fourth in last year’s VK here, is just taking on the Skyrace this year.

Follow all the action on our on Facebook and Instagram and via Broken Arrow’s Livestream.

THE WMRA AND ITS COMMITMENT TO CLEAN SPORTMANSHIP

Since its inception, the WMRA has adhered to strict anti-doping regulations, complying with World Athletics protocols. The 2024 series will feature WADA-accredited anti-doping measures in every race, continuing the tradition of rigorous testing implemented since 2007.

In 2023 alone, 70 tests were conducted in the 18 races of the Valsir Mountain Running World Cup series, with more than 72 planned for this season and its 12 races, all of them by independent and accredited local entities, always recognized by the respective athletics local federation and the WADA.

First WMRA Virtual Congress

Written by Tomo Sarf on 28/11/2020. Posted in Latest News.

In the first ever virtual WMRA Congress there was a very pleasing turnout of 25 delegates and participation from honorary president and council members Bruno Gozzelino and Pierre Weiss. Also present was World Athletics Road Competitions Manager Alessio Punzi, who informed the Congress about developments of the first edition of the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships due to take place in November 2021, with an announcement on the venue to be made in the next 2-3 weeks.

News about the current year and future competitions was well received by the delegates including the launch of the 2021 World Cup venues with a record number of applications and the World Mountain Running Ranking due to be launched before the end of the year.

Also unveiled was the 4 year strategic plan for mountain running taking into account a new vision by the WMRA to have more people from all backgrounds positively benefiting from running in the mountains in an environmentally responsible way.

We established 3 key strategic directions. The first is enhancing the athlete experience through competition events, the Mountain Running World ranking, social media and high quality news items as well as delivering the World Championships in partnership with World Athletics. The second is to make education and promotion to further develop the sport and increase knowledge about Mountain Running a priority. And the third is to use our technical expertise to add value to race events.

It was a very productive session and the WMRA members were able to both interact and learn about these and other future plans for Mountain Running. A pleasing result in a year of difficult times!

Jonathan Wyatt

here is a list of the participants today…

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WMRA World Cup 2020 Announcement

Written by Tomo Sarf on 09/01/2020. Posted in Latest News.

The World Mountain Running Association is proud to present its 22^nd edition of the original and most prestigious mountain running circuit in the world, which now expands to 12 races held at 9 iconic venues spread across Austria, the Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland, Spain and the USA.

(Spanish language version of news article below this one)

WMRA MOUNTAIN RACES HISTORY: 1985-2020

WMRA created the first Mountain Running World Championship in the history of the sport, back in 1985 with the Vertical Mountain Race held at the Italian village of San Viglio di Marebbe over a 14k/D+1.080m route. Ever since, the WMRA World Champs have been the annual highlight for mountain runners with the 35^th edition held last November at the iconic k42 Patagonia. Haria Extreme Lanzarote will host the 2020 edition on November 14-15.

Following the World Championship development, the need for a circuit for the best mountain runners to race each other over the year became evident and thus in 1999 the WMRA WORLD CUP was born.

Ever since, the best mountain runners in the world have always been in the top echelons of the WMRA World Cup. From the legendary 8-time winner Jonathan Wyatt from New Zealand (current WMRA President) to icons such as Italians Marco de Gasperi, Kenyan Lucy Murigi, Austria’s Andrea Mayr or Eritrean Petro Mamu.

Highlights of the 2019 season included the World Cup wins from Scotland’s Andrew Douglas and Ireland’s Sarah McCormack, plus the historic duel at Sierre Zinal between Spaniard Kilian Jornet and Eritrean Petro Mamu, which resulted in victory for Kilian and a new record to replace Wyatt´s legendary mark from 2003.

Now, the 22^nd edition is growing further and wider than ever: Not only will Spain host WMRA world cup events for the first time in history, but there will now be three types of race to choose from: the vertical uphill, classic mountain race and long mountain race. Runners amass points to compete for the overall title.

THE 2020 CALENDAR:

After considering all the applications, we are proud to announce a unique combination of races which will make up the 2020 World Cup, allowing not only for the best mountain runners of the world to race together, but also for the popular runner to follow in their footsteps and enjoy some of the greatest mountain views and events in the world.

Zumaia Flysch (copyright Mayayo)

Spain kicks off the series in grand style, with the unique Basque passion for mountain running to welcome mountain runners from all over the world at Zumaia Flysch Trail Mendi Maratoia on the 3^rd of May. There will be a long mountain race, with 42k with 3000m of ascent, and also a classic mountain race of 14k with 425m of ascent. http://www.zumaiaflyschtrail.com/

Next we travel to northern Italy for Vertical Nasego and Trofeo Nasego. On the 16^th May the vertical uphill race will take place, over a distance of 4.2k and the following day the classic mountain race will be contested over a 21.5k course with 1336m of climbing. http://www.trofeonasegocorsainmontagna.com/

After making its debut in 2019 we will again return to the Broken Arrow Skyrace in Squaw Valley, California. The series of races span 3 days, from 19^th to 21^st June, but it’s the 26km race, with 1700m of ascent, which will form part of the World Cup Series as a long mountain race. The race describes itself as ‘European-inspired mountain running characterized by off-trail scrambling, steep terrain, and massive amounts of vertical gain and loss’ and the majority of it takes place at over 6000 feet. https://www.brokenarrowskyrace.com/

Grosslglockner

The next couple of races look quite familiar. We return to Grossglockner Berglauf in Heilenblut, Austria on the 12^th of July for the next classic mountain race. Runners will take on the 13k race with 1265m of uphill (no down) against the stunning backdrop. http://www.grossglocknerberglauf.at/berglauf.html Then it’s back to the iconic Sierre-Zinal in Switzerland, which provided such an incredible race in 2019. It takes place on the 9^th August in 2020 and consists of 31km, making it our next long mountain race, with 2200m of ascent. Will we see records tumble again? https://www.sierre-zinal.com/

Then it’s on to the most northern part of the Czech Republic for the Krkonossky Half Marathon. This race is just a week after Sierre-Zinal and it will be our next classic mountain race, at 21k with 1200m of climbing. http://www.maratonstav.cz/

The rugged Canfranc-Canfranc course (copyright Mayayo)

And for the final long mountain race in our series we go to Canfranc in north eastern Spain in the Pyrenees for Canfranc-Canfranc. This rugged race will take place on the 12^th and 13^th of September and the runners will have a choice between the 45k (and +3910m) long mountain race or the classic mountain distance with 1195m of ascent. https://canfranccanfranc.com/

Then just a week later the World Cup is off to Nordkette Vertical in Innsbruck, Austria, which is described as ‘the jewel in the Alps’. This vertical uphill race takes place on the 19^th of September and actually has 1400m of ascent over its 6k route.

Lastly, we round out the 2020 World Cup with one more vertical uphill race on the 4^th October – the Kilometro Verticale Chiavenna-Lagunac in Italy. This classic of Italian mountain running has already been a WMRA affiliated race and it’s known as the ‘vertical race of the records’. We’re sure it will live up to that name now it’s part of the World Cup! http://www.kilometroverticalelagunc.it/

So there are 9 events with 12 possible races to choose from – 3 vertical uphill, 5 classic mountain and 4 long mountain. We will update the World Cup website http://www.wmra.info/world-cup with full information so please keep checking back and follow our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts to keep up-to-date.

Spanish language version:

Copa del Mundo Carreras de Montaña WMRA 2020. (22ª edición)
España será protagonista, acogiendo 4 de sus 12 pruebas en Zumaia Flysch y Canfranc-Canfranc.

La World Mountain Running Association ha presentado hoy la 22ª edición del circuito original y más prestigioso de carreras de montaña del mundo. En 2020 la competición crece hasta acoger 12 carreras que se celebrarán en 9 lugares icónicos, sedes repartidas en Austria, la República Checa, Italia, Suiza, España y EE.UU. La Copa del Mundo WMRA 2020 cuenta con tres modalidades: Vertical Mountain Race (3 citas); Classic Mountain Race (5 citas) y Long Distance Mountain Race (4 citas)

HISTORIA CARRERAS DE MONTAÑA WMRA: 1985-2020

La WMRA creó el primer Mundial Carreras de Montaña en la historia del deporte. Fue en 1985, con la Vertical Mountain Race celebrada en el pueblo italiano de San Viglio di Marebbe sobre un trazado de 14k/D+1.080m. Desde entonces, cada Mundial WMRA ha supuesto el punto culminante anual para los corredores de montaña. La 35ª edición celebrada el pasado noviembre en la icónica K42 Patagonia supuso tambien el debut de la selección española RFEA que logró tres medallas en la modalidad Long Distance (22-42km), con oro para equipo masculino, plata para equipo femenino y bronce individual para Oriol Cardona. Para este 2020, España acogerá la sede del 36º Mundial, a celebrar en la Haria Extreme Lanzarote del 14 al 15 de noviembre con las modalidades Vertical y Long Distance.

A medida que avanzaba el desarrollo del Campeonato Mundial, se hizo evidente la necesidad de un circuito estable para que los mejores corredores de montaña compitieran entre sí durante el año. Para dar respuesta a esta necesidad nació en 1999 nació la Copa Mundial de la WMRA. Desde entonces, los mejores corredores de montaña del mundo siempre luchad por ganar esta competición. Desde el legendario Jonathan Wyatt de Nueva Zelanda, que sumó nada menos que 8 títulos (y es hoy día el actual presidente de WMRA) hasta íconos como los italianos Marco de Gasperi, la keniata Lucy Murigi, austríaca Andrea Mayr de Austria o el eritreo Petro Mamu.

Lo más destacado de la temporada 2019 incluyó las victorias en la Copa Mundial del escocés Andrew Douglas y la irlandesa Sarah McCormack, así como el histórico duelo en la prueba suiza de Sierre Zinal entre el español Kilian Jornet y Petro Mamu, que terminó en victoria de Kilian y nos dejó por fin un nuevo récord que mejoró la legendaria marca del propio Wyatt en 2003.

Esta 22ª edición de la Copa del Mundo llegará más lejos que nunca: Por primera vez tendrá parada en España. Y también por primera vez pondrá en juego títulos para las tres modalidades habituales del Mundial WMRA: Vertical Mountain Race, Classic Mountain Race y Long Distance Mountain Race. El gran título final será la Combinada, donde puntún los resultados logrados en las tres modalidades, con el fin de coronar al corredor de montaña más completo del mundo.

EL CALENDARIO COPA DEL MUNDO 2020:
Después de considerar todas las candidaturas, WMRA se siente orgullosa de lograr una combinación única de carreras de montaña que formarán la Copa Mundial 2020, permitiendo no solo que los mejores corredores de montaña del mundo compitan juntos, sino también que los corredores populares sigan sus pasos y disfruten de algunas de las mejores vistas y eventos de montaña del mundo.

España arranca la serie con la pasión vasca por las carreras de montaña por bandera. Así darña la bienvenida a los corredores de montaña de todo el mundo en Zumaia Flysch Trail Mendi Maratoia el 3 de mayo. Habrá una Long Distance con 42k/D+3000m, y también una Classic con 14k/D+425m de ascenso. http://www.zumaiaflyschtrail.com

Luego viajamos al norte de Italia para vivir la Vertical Nasego y Trofeo Nasego. El 16 de mayo tendrá lugar la carrera Vertical, sobre 4.2k/D+1000m y al día siguiente la Classic sobre 21.5k/D+1.336m. http://www.trofeonasegocorsainmontagna.com/

Después de hacer su debut en 2019, volveremos a Broken Arrow Skyrace en Squaw Valley, California. Un gran evento que abarca 3 días, del 19 al 21 de junio, pero es la carrera Long Distance 26k/D+1700 m de ascenso, que formará parte de la Serie de la Copa Mundial, a la vez que acogerá el Campeaonato Nacional de Estados Unidos. La carrera se describe a sí misma como “una carrera de montaña de inspiración alpina, caracterizada por una lucha fuera del sendero, por terreno técnico y grandes neveros”. La mayoría del trazado discurre a más de 2.000m de altitud en lo fuera la estación de esquí olímpica de Squaw Valley. https://www.brokenarrowskyrace.com

Las siguientes dos carreras son ya veteranas del circuito: Regresamos a Grossglockner Berglauf en Heilenblut, Austria, el 12 de julio para la próxima carrera Classic. Los corredores se enfrentarán a la carrera de 13 km con 1265 m de subida (sin descenso) contra el impresionante telón de fondo de la ascensión a la montaña más alta de Austria. http://www.grossglocknerberglauf.at/berglauf.html/

La carrera de montaña con más nivel del mundo será la siguiente cita: La icónico carrera de Sierre-Zinal en Suiza, celebra su 47 edición con más de 4.000 dorsales en juego. La edición 2019 será recordada muchos años por el doble record lografo por Jornet y Mahtys. Este 2020 se correrá el 9 de agosto de 2020 sobre su clásico trazado de 31k/D+2.200m. https://www.sierre-zinal.com

Luego viajaremos al norte de la República Checa para el Medio Maratón de Krkonossky. Esta carrera es solo una semana después de Sierre-Zinal y será la siguiente Classic, sobre una traza de 21k/D+1.200m http://www.maratonstav.cz

La última carrera de montaña Long Distance y Classic del circuito tendrán lugar de vuelta a Espàña, en el espectacular marco del Alto Aragón que ofrece la Canfranc Canfranc con sus dos pruebas trepando hasta casi tres mil metros de altitud en pleno Pirineo Central. Las pruebas tendrán lugar los días 12 y 13 de septiembre y los corredores podrán elegir entre la carrera de montaña Long Distance de 45k/D+3910m o la Classic sober 16k/D+1195m. https://canfranccanfranc.com

Tan solo una semana después, la Copa del Mundo se dirige a Nordkette Vertical en Innsbruck, Austria, que se describe como “la joya de los Alpes”. Esta carrera Vertical cuesta arriba se lleva a cabo el 19 de septiembre y en realidad tiene un espectacular ascenso de 6k/D+1400m

Por último, completamos la Copa Mundial 2020 con la prueba final Vertical el 4 de octubre: el Kilometro Verticale Chiavenna-Lagunac en Italia. Este clásico de las carreras de montaña italianas ya ha sido una carrera afiliada a WMRA y se conoce como la “carrera vertical de los récords” Con una traza de 3,2k/D+1.000m sus condiciones son perfectas para batir el mismísimo record del mundo. http://www.kilometroverticalelagunc.it

Por lo tanto, esta 22ª edición será más dura y amplia que nunca, con España cumpliendo un papel clave al acoger 4 de las 12 posibles carreras para elegir. Actualizaremos el sitio web de la Copa Mundial http://www.wmra.info/world-cup con información completa, así que por favor revise y siga nuestras cuentas de Facebook, Twitter e Instagram para mantenerse actualizado.

Italy nearly sweeps gold at Long Distance Mountain Running Championships

Written by Tomo Sarf on 06/08/2017. Posted in Latest News.

Of the four gold medals awarded at today’s 14^th World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships in Premana, Italy, the host country earned three along with one silver medal. The lone gold medal not awarded to Italy was earned by Giir di Mont course record holder Petro Mamu (ERI), who repeated his winning ways on the legendary 32-kilometer course finishing in a time of 3:12:52.

Second in the men’s field was Italy’s Francesco Puppi, followed by Pascal Egli (SUI).

With Puppi’s silver medal performance, and two more of his teammates finishing in the top ten, Italy was assured the senior men’s gold medal with a score of 14. USA followed for silver achieving a score of 39, led by Tayte Pollman in fourth, who at 21 was one of the younger athletes in the field. In bronze medal position was Czech Republic with 53 points just three points ahead of Romania.

This was the first year team place was used for scoring as opposed to cumulative finish time.

On the women’s side, it was a close competition between course record holder Kasie Enman (USA), who led through much of the race, and Italy’s Silvia Rampazzo. At the finish line, it was Rampazzo, who passed Enman after the 20-kilometer mark to take the lead and then broke the tape with a time of 3:56:45, less than one minute ahead of Enman. In third, Denisa Dragomir (ROM), posted a time of 3:59:34 to take the bronze.

With Italians Antonella Confortola and Stephanie Christel Jimenez finishing in 10^th and 11^th position respectively, Italy scored an impressive 22 points for gold. USA again saw silver on the podium with a score of 28, followed by Romania with 39 points.

In the few days leading up to the competition, the weather was incredibly hot for Premana, however, the preliminary weather forecast for Sunday indicated a storm was in the offing, thereby forcing organizers to create a plan B with a shortened course on race day if need be. The skies held for the 8:00 a.m. start, but the rains came less than 30 minutes into the race. Fortunately, the distant thunder and lightning never became a threat and the rains were intermittent, though sometimes heavy throughout the race.

The rain did not dampen the athlete’s spirits, or those of the spectators who could be found lining the course, not only at the finish line, but throughout the entire route.

At the awards ceremony, the top 10 men and women from the open race (which started five minutes after the World Championships division and included nearly 400 runners), received their prizes prior to the awarding of the World Championship medals and trophies. Following the prize giving, the WMRA flag was presented to next year’s host country, Poland, by WMRA president Jonathan Wyatt.

Complete results from the championships be found here.

The World returns to Premana this weekend for the Long Distance Championships

Written by Tomo Sarf on 04/08/2017. Posted in Latest News.

In an effort to highlight our sport in a unique way, this year Italy hosts the World Mountain Running Championships on back-to-back weekends. The first championship was held on July 30, over the traditional shorter distances of 6.5 kilometers for juniors and 13 kilometers for seniors. On August 6, the longer of the two championships will be held, and the competition is sure to be equally as exciting as that of last weekend.

The 14^th WMRA World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships will be hosted by the Giir Di Mont, a classic Italian race over a challenging 32-kilometer course. Nearly 150 athletes representing 23 countries will be on the start line Sunday morning. The field includes past winners and multi-time finishers of the race, the defending champions from last year’s World Long Distance Championships, and a host of talented first-timers on this course.

On the men’s side, the home team of Italy looks to be a favorite featuring Alessandro Rambaldini and Marco De Gasperi, first and second place respectively at last year’s long distance championships. Add to the mix a fit Francesco Puppi, Luca Cagnati, and Nicola Spada, and the team is solid. They will face a challenge from the experienced Robert Krupicka (CZE), course record holder Petro Mamu (ERI), veteran of the course Tom Owens (GBR), the young and promising Luka Mihelic (SLO), Julie Rancon (FRA) and Andy Wacker (USA) who both ran strong at last weekend’s championships. Expected to give the Italians the biggest challenge on the team podium are France, USA, Great Britain and the Czech Republic.

On the women’s side, course record holder Kasie Enman (USA) will be on the start line after running last weekend’s championships along with her teammate Addie Bracy. The pair was part of the gold-medal winning senior women’s squad. Team USA could again be on the podium at these championships, but will face a field equally talented as that of the men. Last year’s long distance champion Annie Conway (GBR) will hope to defend her title, and runner-up from last year Antonella Confortola (ITA) will also be in the hunt for a repeat medal. Denisa Dragomir (ROU) a past winner at Giir Di Mont, knows the course and will be a formidable competitor along with her teammate and last year’s winner at Giir Di Mont Ingrid Mutter. Italy, Great Britain, Romania and USA look to be the top teams in the hunt for a team podium position.

In his first official duties as the recently elected president of the WMRA, Jonathan Wyatt (NZL) will be on hand to welcome all of the teams to Premana at the opening ceremony on Saturday, August 5. In advance of the competition, Wyatt says, “It’s great to be back in Premana at the legendary Giir Di Mont. It’s going to be a true test of mountain running ability on this awesome and challenging course. I look forward to a successful competition and wish all of the athletes good luck.”

Competition gets underway at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, August 6 and will be followed by an open race over the same course.

Written by Nancy Hobbs for the WMRA

WORLD MOUNTAIN RUNNING ASSOCIATION