Written by USATF Mountain, Ultra & Trail (MUT) Running Executive Committee members Richard Bolt, Nancy Hobbs and Jason Bryant 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 places from the top three runners) scoring for the team.
The 2018 WMRA World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships will be hosted in Karpacz, Poland at the Ultramarathon Gorski on June 24. The 36 km course contains 6890 feet of ascent & descent. The high point on the course is Mt. ŚNIEŻKA (5250 feet above sea level). A course profile and elevations at points along the course can be found on the race website.
Kasie Enman finishes 2nd at the 2017 Giir Di Mont.
2018 Team Selection Standards & Procedures
A Standard: The top US finisher at the 2017 Giir Di Mont (the 2017 WMRA Long Distance Mountain Running Championships), receives an automatic spot on the 2017 team. The 2017 automatic selectees are Kasie Enman (2th place) and Tayte Pollmann (3rd 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: 2017 Selection Races – The top U.S. male and top U.S. female finisher at:
- October 7, 2017 – Flagstaff Sky Race (39K) – Flagstaff, AZ – (U.S. Skyrunning Finale). Kathryn Ross and David Sinclair earn team spots.
- November 4, 2017 – Moab Trail Marathon – Moab, UT – (USATF Trail Marathon Championships). Renee Metivier and Mario Mendoza earn team spots.
C Standard: Remaining team members will be selected based on running resumes with strong consideration given to results in the 2017 Giir Di Mont and the 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. Good performances in highly competitive races are more important than wins in uncompetitive races.
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).
Question or resumes should be sent to Jason Bryant, [email protected] and Richard Bolt, [email protected]. Resumes must be received by April 15, 2018. Athletes who win selection races must confirm their acceptance of a team spot not later than April 1, 2018.
Team Announced: by May 1, 2018.
Tayte Pollmann finishes 4th at the 2017 Giir Di Mont.
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, as well as team silver once and team bronze once. Additionally, three individual titles and a silver individual medal. The U.S. Men have two gold and two silver team medals, a bronze 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/
The 2017 selection process was published here: https://trailrunner.com/trail-news/2017-world-long-distance-mountain-running-championships-team-usa-selection-standards/
Mt. ŚNIEŻKA (5250 feet above sea level).
