The World Mountain and Trail Running Championships

World Athletics assists the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA), the International Trail Running Association (ITRA) and the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) in organising the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships (WMTRC) on a biennial basis. The WMTRC is where the world’s best off-road runners are released into the wild. Held over three days, elite international athletes compete in a total of 10 official world championships across four competition formats, as well as other open or promotional races for mass participation athletes. The WMTRC celebrates the force of nature, capturing new frontiers or re-purposing off-season resorts.

 Next Edition: Chiang Mai, Thailand – (11-13 February 2022) (originally scheduled for 11-14 November 2021)

Hosting Opportunity: To be held before 15 June or after 15 September 2023.

Competition Formats (please refer to World Athletics Rule 57 for more details on race formats):

(1) The "Classic up and down” Mountain Race (ca. 12km or a ca. 6km loop to be repeated twice, 300-450m elevation gain per loop) - Four world championship races (including Senior Men, Senior Women, U20 Men and U20 Women)

(2) The “Vertical” Mountain Race (4-7km, 700-1,000m total elevation gain) - Two world championship races (including Senior Men and Women)

(3) The Long Trail (ca. 80km, 3,500-6,000m total elevation gain, ITRA category “L”) – One race (with Senior Men's and Women's world championship rankings)

(4) The Short Trail (ca. 40km, 2,000-3,000m total elevation gain, ITRA category “S”) – One race (with Senior Men's and Women's world championship rankings)

Hosting Rights: Full commercial rights are granted to the local organising committee (including Title Sponsorships, Partnerships, Media and Broadcasting Rights, Expo sales, as well as Mass Participation Entry Fees etc.)

Hosting Fee: USD $150,000

Hosting Requirements:

• Ready access to both mountainous terrain and suitably challenging trails to facilitate the competition format courses listed above, as well as additional running trails for training
• International airport within a 3-hour bus ride
• Event transportation system provided between hotels, venues, city centre, airports, main train stations and event-related social functions
• Full board accommodation in a 3* hotel (or superior) for athletes, officials, World Athletics Family and Media for a period of 4-5 nights:
  • Athletes and Team Officials: 1300 beds (575 twins, 150 single)
  • World Athletics Family (World Athletics, WMRA, ITRA and IAU,): 65 beds (single rooms)
  • Media: 35 beds (single rooms)

Bid Procedure Timeline: