European Athletics has awarded the 2028 European Trail Running Championships to Villars in Switzerland. The 2028 edition represents a notable shift for the event. It will be the first time the championships are staged under the new title, the European Trail Running Championships. Previously, between 2022 and 2026, the event was known as the European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships.
Organised by the Villars Ultraks association in conjunction with European Athletics, the 2028 event will be held against the Alpine backdrop of the canton of Vaud. The championships aim to unite elite athletes and amateur runners, placing a specific emphasis on mass participation alongside top-tier competition.
European Athletics is the continental governing body for the sport of athletics, responsible for the development, promotion, and regulation of the discipline across Europe.
Dobromir Karamarinov, President of European Athletics, said “We are delighted to award the 2028 European Trail Running Championships to Villars in Switzerland, a nation with a rich and proven heritage in hosting off-road running events, including the 2019 European Mountain Running Championships. Importantly, the bid’s strong emphasis on mass participation aligns closely with our strategic vision to grow trail and mountain running across all levels. This will also ensure that the event has a wide reach locally.”
Villars Ultraks has been active in the region for over five years. The organisation has played a central role in growing the discipline of trail running within the canton and establishing Villars as a destination for off-road running in Switzerland.
André Duvillard, President of the Villars Ultraks association, said “We are honoured to have been entrusted by European Athletics with the organisation of the 2028 European Trail Running Championships. We are delighted to take on this wonderful challenge, which aims to make this event much more than just a competition for the elite. We want this event to become a major public gathering that brings together spectators, competitors and local residents around an innovative project. Our ambition is to position the 2028 European Trail Running Championships as a catalyst for the sustainable development of trail running throughout the canton of Vaud.”
The competition format will include both mountain and trail running disciplines. Individual and team medals will be contested by elite athletes, while mass participation races will run alongside.
The mountain running programme consists of an uphill race and a classic uphill and downhill race. The trail running schedule features three distinct events: the ‘Sprint Trail’ for non-elites, the ‘Euro Trail’ which is open to both elite and non-elite runners, and the ‘Enduro Trail’ for non-elites.
Christoph Seiler, President of Swiss Athletics, said “Switzerland has a great tradition in trail and mountain running – in terms of our outstanding runners as well as in terms of excellently organised events that inspire both top athletes and recreational runners. Just a few weeks ago, we launched the Swiss Athletics Junior Trail Series to further promote young talent in conjunction with our numerous events. The European Trail Running Championships will give the growing trail running movement another boost.”
Sergei Aschwanden, Director of Villars Tourism, noted that the championships fulfill a mission to bring high-level sporting events to the area. Scheduled for the beginning of June, the event is expected to attract thousands of runners from Switzerland and across Europe at the start of the summer season.
Before the 2028 event in Switzerland, the next edition of the championships under the previous format will take place in Ljubljana–Kamnik, Slovenia, on June 5–7, 2026.
www.european-athletics.com
www.alpesvaudoises.ch/en/Z12/villars/destination-villars
