Written by USATF Mountain, Ultra & Trail (MUT) Running Executive Committee members Richard Bolt, Nancy Hobbs, Jason Bryant, Maria Dalzot, Eric Blake and Howard Nippert and approved by the MUT Council.
The World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships is regulated by the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) under the patronage of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The U.S. Long Distance Mountain Running Team consists of 5 women and 5 men with the top 3 men and top 3 women (cumulative times from the top three runners) scoring for the team.
The 2017 WMRA World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships will be hosted in Premana, Italy at the 25th Giir Di Mont on August 6. The 32km course contains 7874 feet of ascent. A course profile and elevations at points along the course can be found on the race website.
2017 Team Selection Standards & Procedures
A Standard: The top US finisher at the Gorski Marathon (the 2016 WMRA Long Distance Mountain Running Championships), receives an automatic spot on the 2017 team. The 2017 automatic selectees are Megan Kimmel (8th place) and Mario Mendoza (11th place). If the top automatically selected athletes do not accept their spots on the team, the second US finisher will receive a spot on the team provided they are within 10% of the overall race winner.
B Standard: 2016 Selection Races – The top U.S. male and top U.S. female finisher at:
- October 1, 2016 – Flagstaff Sky Race (39K) – Flagstaff, AZ – (U.S. Skyrunning Finale) – race winners Alicia (Shay) Vargo and Joseph Gray earn automatic team selection.
- November 5, 2016 – Moab Trail Marathon – Moab, UT – (USATF Trail Marathon Championships) – race winners Sage Canaday and Addie Bracy earn automatic team selection.
C Standard: Remaining team members will be selected based on resume with strong consideration given to results in the 2016 Gorski Marathon and team selection races at Flagstaff & Moab. The selection committee will consider athletes percentage back from the winning time in any races mentioned above or listed on resumes submitted.
Athletes named to the team must be U.S. citizens and have a current USATF membership.
Team uniforms will be provided by USATF. (If an athlete qualifies for the team but can’t make the trip due to injury or any other circumstance, the uniform must be returned to USATF). Mountain team members will receive partial funding from USA Track & Field (exact amount TBA).
Running resumes should be sent to Richard Bolt, [email protected] & Nancy Hobbs, [email protected]. Resumes must be received by April 15, 2017. Current auto select athletes must confirm their spot not later than April 1, 2017.
Team Announced: by May 1, 2017.
The first World Long Distance Mountain Running Challenge was held at Sierre-Zinal in Switzerland in 2004. The first team competition took place in 2009 in Austria. The U.S. Women have won the team title three times and the individual title three times. The U.S. Men have two gold and one silver team medal, along with three individual titles.
The 2016 selection process was published here: https://trailrunner.com/trail-news/2016-world-long-distance-mountain-running-championships-u-s-team-qualification/
