Press release from the World Mountain Running Association.
Monaco, 26th May 2023 – The third edition of the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships (WMTRC) will take place in Canfranc-Pirineos, Spain, between 25-28 September 2025. The event includes five races, as well as a leisure and cultural festival, which will last all summer, to promote the mountain range.
The awarding of the event to Canfranc in the Pyrenees follows a successful bid by the Government of Aragon, the Canfranc Town Council, the Huesca Provincial Council, the Higher Sports Council and the Royal Spanish Athletics Federation (RFEA) to event partners the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU), the International Trail Running Association (ITRA) and the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA), alongside World Athletics.
The Aragonese proposal has been approved based on the confidence and solidity of a project that is backed by substantial experience of organizing sporting events such as CanfrancCanfranc, with 16 editions already behind it. This has been assessed by the committee made up of World Athletics, the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU), the International Trail Running Association (ITRA) and the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA).
Photo: ©@memphismadrid_2_Canfranc2022
Around 1,700 athletes from 70 countries are expected to gather in September 2025 at the CANFRANCPYRENEES World Championships, which will take over from Innsbruck (Austria), the city that will host the World Championships from June 6 to 10 this year. It will be the first time that Spain has hosted a unified World Championships like this, where the total economic return is expected to be around 30 million euros.
The celebration of this race in Aragón will also be a historic occasion, as it will coincide with the celebration of the 40th anniversary of this competition, born in 1985 from the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) and brought together with World Athletics, the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) and the International Trail Running Association (ITRA) in the new unified edition of the World Mountain and Trail Running Championship that started in 2022 in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
The candidacy proposal not only includes the competition aspect with the five races (Junior U20, uphill, classic, short trail and long trail), but the Pyrenees will also host a mountain festival with multiple activities to enjoy and discover the best of nature, history and traditions of the Pyrenees mountain range.
©@yhabril_Canfranc2022
CANFRANC-PIRINEOS 2025
It aims to create an environment where each athlete can perform to the best of their ability as well as creating a complete, competitive experience for athletes as well as for teams, federations and international associations. This is proven by the long list of World Champions who have raced and triumphed in CanfrancCanfranc; from the Kenyan Joyce Njeru to the American Grayson Murphy, or the British Charlotte Morgan, without forgetting the Spanish Oihana Kortazar, Manuel Merillas or the Jacetan Luis Alberto Hernando and Daniel Osanz.
Canfranc had already applied for this year’s World Championship, finishing second in the process, only behind Innsbruck (Austria), a city that has hosted the Olympics twice. “On behalf of the LOC, we are thrilled to be hosting the 2025 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in our country and look forward to welcoming the best mountain and trail runners from all corners of the globe,” said RFEA President Raul Chapado.
“It is our great pleasure to see the joint initiative to organise the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships continue its great momentum and we are excited that the third WMTRC will take place in Canfranc, Spain, in 2025 in the beautiful Pyrenees – a paradise for mountain and trail running,” said ITRA President Janet Ng, IAU President Nadeem Khan and WMRA President Tomo Šarf in a joint statement.
CANFRANC PIRINEOS 2025: THE RACES
The Aragonese proposal was bolstered by their experience in the organisation of sporting events such as CanfrancCanfranc, an annual event that features two gold level Valsir Mountain Running World Cup races.
The 2025 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships will feature the following races:
U20
Uphill
Classic
Short Trail
Long Trail
RUNNING IN A UNIQUE AND PRIVILEGED ENVIRONMENT
The organisers of Canfranc Pirineos 2025 are fully aware that technical excellence is an essential requirement to organize an international competition such as the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships.
The routes have been carefully planned, taking international requirements into account, while offering the experience of running in a unique and privileged environment. Sustainable development recommendations will also be rigorously applied.
Canfranc, a mountain paradise. Photo: Sergio Mayayo
CANFRANC MOUNTAIN PARADISE & TRAIL RUNNING
The CanfrancCanfranc race has been a pioneer among mountain races around the world in financing and implementing the highest sports standards, including WADA anti-doping controls, with the same protocols as World Championships or Olympic Games.
In 2021, the WMRA World Cup landed for the first time in Canfranc, returning in 2022, the year in which CanfrancCanfranc was proclaimed “Best Mountain Race 2021” by the RFEA. This year it will once again host two events in the WMRA World Cup, with uphill and classic races.
In 2024, CanfrancCanfranc will host the World Masters Mountain Running Championships, which will serve as a dress rehearsal for the 2025 Mountain and Trail Running World Championships.
