17th International U18 Mountain Running Cup Montaña Palentina, Spain, June 2024
The World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) recently visited the venue for the 17th International U18 Mountain Running Cup, which will take place from June 19th to 23rd, 2024 in Aguilar de Campoo, Spain, as preparations are underway to ensure everything is ready.
The WMRA members were accompanied by members of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC), the Sport Coordinator of the Palencia Region, Sport Councillor of Aguilar de Campoo and the Royal Spanish Athletics Federation (RFEA).
The International U18 Mountain Running Cup is an annual event bringing together the best under 18 runners from a broad range of countries, and as such it is an important steppingstone for many in the sport. The first edition of the event was held in Susa, Italy in 2006, and since then, it has been held in various countries around the world.
Next year’s event will be hosted in June 2024, with the accreditation for teams starting by Wednesday 19th and the races taking place on Saturday 22nd in Aguilar de Campoo and Barruelo de Santullán, both situated within the Palencia region. The Local Organizing Committee (LOC) has designated these two primary sites: Aguilar de Campoo will host all institutional events, while Barruelo de Santullán has been chosen as the race venue.
Both locations are part of the area known as “Montaña Palentina”, with its deep-rooted history and breathtaking scenery, promises to offer participants and visitors an unforgettable experience beyond the race itself.
Athletes from many countries are expected like Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Slovenia, Hungary, England, and USA. Each country can field four women and four men and the first three finishers for each country will count towards the team competition. So there are individual and team podiums up for grabs and over 100 athletes will contest them.
Full regulations about the U18 Cup can be found here
The course for the race will be approximately 5.4km long with an elevation gain of around 250m
The website for the event will be available in the coming weeks under U18Cup2024.ESP.
The WMRA and the LOC are working hard to ensure that the event is a success and that all participants have a memorable experience. We look forward to welcoming the world's best youth mountain runners to Aguilar de Campoo in June 2024.