The third edition of the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships (WMTRC) will take place in Canfranc-Pirineos, in Spain, between September 25-28, 2025.
This year’s WMTRC is being held in Innsbruck, Austria, on June 6-10, 2023. The WMTRC is overseen by event partners – the International Association of Ultrarunners, the International Trail Running Association and the World Mountain Running Association, alongside World Athletics.
The awarding of the event to Canfranc in the Pyrenees follows a successful bid by the Government of Aragon, Canfranc Town Council, the Huesca Provincial Council, the Higher Sports Council and the Royal Spanish Athletics Federation (RFEA).
As well as the four-day elite race programme, the event will include a summer-long cultural and leisure festival to promote the Pyrenees mountain range.
Around 1,700 athletes from 70 countries are expected to meet in September 2025 in Canfranc-Pirineos. The 2025 event takes over from Innsbruck & Stubai in Austria. It will be the first time that Spain will hold a world championships of this kind, where the total economic return is estimated to be around €30 million.
The race programme is set to feature U20 6km, uphill 4km, classic 12km, marathon 45km and ultra 75km races.
“On behalf of the local organising committee (LOC), we are thrilled to be hosting the 2025 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in our country and look forward to welcoming the best mountain and trail runners from all corners of the globe,” said RFEA President Raul Chapado.
“As a team, we express our deep satisfaction and appreciation to World Athletics and its partners WMRA, IAU and ITRA for choosing our beautiful region of Canfranc and the stunning Aragonese Pyrenees as the venue for this world-class event.
“The championships offer a unique opportunity for fans to witness the best mountain and trail runners from around the world compete in an unparalleled natural environment. We are excited to collaborate with the public administrations, sponsors and volunteers to leave a permanent legacy and create an unforgettable experience for all participants.”
The Aragonese Pyrenees proposal was backed by experience in the organisation of sporting events such as the Canfranc-Canfranc, an annual event that features two gold level Valsir Mountain Running World Cup races.
In 2024, the Canfranc-Canfranc will host the World Masters Championships, before the region welcomes athletes for the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in 2025.
‘Events due to take place as part of the associated festival include a series of awareness days, with emphasis on respectful use of the environment, and a natural running congress on the technical history and future convergence between the disciplines of athletics in nature: cross country, mountain running and trail running.’
“It is our great pleasure to see the joint initiative to organise the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships continue its great momentum; and we are excited that the third WMTRC will take place in Canfranc, Spain, in 2025 in the beautiful Pyrenees – a paradise for mountain and trail running,” said ITRA President Janet Ng, IAU President Nadeem Khan and WMRA President Tomo Šarf in a joint statement.
“It will be the second time that the championships have been held in Europe. The initial event took place in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and was a huge success. We are confident that the second edition in Innsbruck and Stubai will build on that, and that the third edition in Canfranc will reach even greater heights.
“We would like to thank the bidding committee, the Spanish athletics federation and World Athletics for all the cooperation and support during the application process to host the championships. The bidding committee worked extremely hard to prepare a compelling and impressive bid and we are all very much looking forward to being in Canfranc with the world’s best athletes in 2025.”
www.worldathletics.org
www.innsbruck-stubai2023.com
www.itra.run
