40th WMRA Congress Takes Place at WMTRC Innsbruck
Innsbruck, 9.15am CET 6th June 2023, WMRA Council and delegates meet to discuss the last year in mountain running and make important plans for the future. Ahead of a packed week of events at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Innsbruck the WMRA held their 40th Congress at the venue’s conference centre this morning.
Delegates from 20 countries, including France, Belgium, Hong Kong, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, USA, Canada, Switzerland, Slovakia and Italy, came together with the WMRA Council members (Tomo Sarf, Nancy Hobbs, Sarah Rowell, Giorgio Bianchi, John Bowden, Sergio Mayayo, Marcel Matanin and Julius Rupitsch) as well as Alessio Punzi, Head of Running at World Athletics, to discuss a packed agenda.
International U18 Mountain Running Cup
This event, which took place at the MaXi-Race in Annecy on 27th May, was huge success. It was the 16th edition of the U18 event, which has proved to be so important for showcasing the best young mountain runners in the world. It saw 100 athletes from 15 countries take part on a stunning route from Le Semnoz, with Spain taking the individual wins in both the women’s and men’s races, and Spain and USA winning the women’s and men’s team competitions respectively.
VALSIR World Cup
Also discussed was the VALSIR Mountain Running World Cup 2023, which is set to begin in just 11 days. It will bring together elite athletes from around the world to compete in 17 challenging races at 11 events in 8 countries. The first stage of the competition will be at the Broken Arrow Skyrace in the USA on 17th and 18th June. This year's competition promises to be one of the most exciting yet, with top runners vying for the coveted World Cup title.
Jonathan Wyatt, former President of the WMRA, was appointed as the World Cup Manager for 2023. VALSIR remains the sponsor of this prestigious competition.
World Masters Mountain Running Championships
This event will be held in Madeira on 16th and 17th September. There will be classic and long distance races.
World Mountain and Trail Running Championships at CanfrancPirineos 2025
This event will take place in September 2025. It will be the 27th edition of the CanfrancCanfran Race, which in recent years has hosted the World Cup with great success, attracting top athletes from all over the world. The venue is right in the heart of the Pyrenees and is easily accessible from several Spanish Airports.
Ranking project
The current World Mountain Running Ranking System was discussed, to see if is the most effective approaching to ranking athletes. There were ideas put forward about how to develop it in the future.
CONSTITUTION CHANGE
The annual congress will be moved to a bi-annual congress. This change was approved by all delegates. Therefore the 41st WMRA congress will take place in 2025 in Canfranc.
WMRA team
Héctor Rubio is the new Media Manager for the WMRA.