This article first appeared in the summer 2024 issue of ATRA’s Trail Times newsletter and features the topic, “Why isn’t trail running in the Olympics?”
“Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational value of good example, social responsibility and respect for internationally recognised human rights and universal fundamental ethical principles within the remit of the Olympic Movement.” —excerpt from the International Olympic Committee Olympic Charter
Paris landscape. Photo: Chris Molloy
With the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games drawing closer, there’s one question on many trail runners’ minds. “Why isn’t trail running in the Olympics?” Trail running, most simply defined as the act of running off-road, most often in natural settings such as mountains, forests or desert terrains, has achieved a level of professionalization as a sport that has many in the community wondering why it isn’t included in the world’s most celebrated sporting event. Trail running is one of the fastest growing sports in the world, and with increasing brand and media involvement in the past decade that only continues to rise, there’s more potential than ever before for trail running to be seriously considered as an Olympic sport in the coming decade.
How can trail running qualify as an Olympic sport? What forces have been and are currently advocating for trail running in the Olympics? What would be the specific race format(s) if trail running was included in the Olympics? In the following article, these questions are considered as well as the major reasons why trail running is not currently in the Olympics, and explore both sides of those advocating for and against trail running in the Olympics.
Photo: Stuart Siegfried w/ Winding Trails Photography
Trail running by the numbers
According to the International Trail Running Association (ITRA), there are an estimated twenty million trail runners worldwide. Trail running is practiced in over 195 different countries, on all continents (yes, even Antarctica!), and has over 2 million registered race competitors worldwide. In the World Athletics sanctioned World Mountain and Trail Running Championships (WMTRC), held in 2022 (rescheduled from 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic) and 2023, there were 49 and 68 participating countries respectively. There are already over 70 countries projected to compete in the 2025 WTMRC in Canfranc, Spain.
These numbers show global investment in the sport, as well as a major validation by sports federations around the world who take the sport seriously and host regular national teams and championships for trail/mountain running such as the US, Spain, Italy and France (read about my sneak peak into the French national mountain running team camp training here). But participation numbers, national championships, and world renowned international competitions alone do not secure a sport’s place in the Olympics.
Allie McLaughlin – 2022 World Champion – Uphill Mountain Running Race. Photo: WMTRC 2021.
Trail running Olympic checklist
For trail running to be considered as an Olympic sport (let alone be approved), the sport must conform to the International Olympic Committee Charter, a 113-page document outlining guidelines for the sport that ensure it follows the same protocols for management and approval as other Olympic sports. The sport must also conform to the related IOC Code of Ethics and IOC Code of Prevention of Manipulation of Competition. Below are a few major requirements from the IOC Olympic Committee Charter that trail running has and has not currently met:
Has an International Federation (IF) — Yes. The discipline falls under the purview of World Athletics, which is the IF for all events in the athletics portfolio. ITRA, International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU), and World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) are all technical partner organizations of World Athletics.
Complies with the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) code — Yes and No. The trail running community has pushed strongly in recent years to have WADA-compliant testing at races, but several of the most popular and competitive races in trail running do not offer WADA-compliant testing. The WMTRC in 2022 and 2023 did conduct WADA-compliant testing. Clean sport is one of the major missions of the Pro Trail Runners Association (PTRA) which has assisted in bringing more conversation to regular athlete drug testing in and out of competition.
Is widely practiced by women in no fewer than 40 countries and three continents — Yes. Thankfully, due to many game changing, hardcore female ultrarunners such as Courtney Dauwalter or Ann Trason (and countless others) some of the most renowned trail running figures are female, which continues to encourage female participation in the sport.
There are also several requirements that are less fact based. This would include requirements such as, “It increases the value and attractiveness of the Olympic Games.” There is no clear factual answer to this question. Therefore, pushing for trail running in the Olympics is not as simple as checking all of the boxes on the IOC Charter. In order for trail running to be an Olympic sport there must be individuals and organizations forming educated opinions about the value of trail running as a global sport and advocating for specific strategies about how the sport will continue to develop and attract media and sponsor attention.
History of trail running in the Olympics
Spanish-based Penyagolosa Trails organization petitioned the IOC with a manifesto that included eight points about why trail running should be included in the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympic Games. Their attempts were unsuccessful. The manifesto can be read in Spanish and English here.
Interestingly, one hundred years ago in Paris 1924, the last off-road running competition was hosted in the Olympics in the form of a cross country race. For this 100 year anniversary, four UK-based runners ran 455 kilometers from London to Paris to advocate for the inclusion of off-road running back in the Olympics. The group received support from the Merrell shoe brand. Merrell went so far as to pen an open letter to the IOC and ITRA, pushing for trail running in the Olympics.
Simon Sweeney, Marketing Manager at Merrell, said in an interview about the reasons Merrell supported the run from London to Paris, “As trail running fans, we wanted to use our platform to help mobilize the international trail running community around a common cause. One that we firmly believe has been overlooked for too long – we’re calling on Olympic organizers to end the century of hurt and give trail running its rightful place within the Olympic schedule.” Read Merrell’s open letter in their blog post here.
Aside from Merrell’s open letter, major actions are being taken by Michael Duggan of The Trail Running Association of Queensland (TRAQ) in Australia. In 2022, this organization began their launch of a 10 year timeline with specific steps to be taken each year to achieve the goal of including trail running in the Brisbane 2032 Olympics (read about the specifics of the timeline here.). Duggan speaks on the goals of the organization in more detail, “Trail running still lacks a recognized International Federation. Our sport needs to develop a federated model structure that demonstrates maturity about the process of selecting athletes, anti doping controls, and presenting itself in the most professional light possible. Will trail running become a mature enough sport in the time frame we have before the 2032 Olympics, that is the question we want to figure out.”
Duggan, who is also on the International Trail Running Association Board, has pitched his ideas to ITRA who is receptive to trail running in the Olympics. President of ITRA, Janet Ng shares the official position of the ITRA steering committee on trail running in the Brisbane Olympics and beyond, “ITRA supports the inclusion of trail running as one of the disciplines in the Olympics and would like to see this become a reality as soon as practicable. We believe that the 2032 Brisbane Olympics would be a good time for this to take place…the increasing popularity, the unique challenges and beauty of trail running deserve recognition on the world stage. ITRA is committed to working collaboratively with relevant parties to uphold the integrity of the sport in the Olympics and, at the same time, align with the principles and objectives of the Olympic movement. Together we can ensure that trail running in the Olympics exemplifies not only the spirit of competition and athleticism, but also respect for nature, for others and for oneself that are so central to our sport.”
Janet Ng speaks at the Gran Canaria World Trail Majors announcement. Photo credit
Wait…do we want trail running to be an Olympic sport?
As trail running has increased in professionalization in terms of more professional athlete contracts, increased media involvement, larger races and more brand participation, there has been pushback from those who prefer the more grassroots, low-key nature that the sport has always had. In essence, what has drawn some athletes to trail running over road, track or even cross country running disciplines, is that it has a more laid-back, less-competitive atmosphere that’s about connecting to nature, being outside and overcoming large physical/mental challenges—not so much competing with other athletes for large amounts of prize money and television coverage.
While larger, more competitive trail running events may be losing this laid back, grassroots character, it is likely that smaller, local events will retain this feel for years to come. There is a place for both the smaller, local trail events with little prize money and no international recognition, and also a place for the developing professional side to the sport that is already headed in that direction. Events such as UTMB, the World Trail Majors or World Mountain and Trail Running Championships are all examples of highly professional growth in the sport. The Olympics would be yet another sign of growth, however, some argue if it’s even necessary for trail running to join the Olympics when it is successfully growing through these other major events.
In a recent episode of the Singletrack Podcast, the hosts commented on this subject that perhaps trail running doesn’t need the Olympics to grow, stating, “The 2022 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Thailand sold me to this other format of international championship than the Olympics, which was further cemented in the following championship in Innsbruck. What I was hoping to get out of the Olympics one day is already being satisfied by the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships.”
Tollefson cheers on a runner at Mammoth Trail Fest.
Tim Tollefson, race director of the Mammoth Trail Fest and third place finisher at the 2017 UTMB, shares his thoughts about the potential to include trail running in the Olympics, “Unless we’re talking about cross country, I vote no. Fifteen-year-old me would’ve been enraptured, but currently the Olympics is a failing business model struggling to stay relevant in a fractured media landscape. I fear the soul of trail running would be stripped to fit some contrived IOC template at the exploitation of the athletes.”
Determining exactly what types/types of trail runners would be included in the Olympics is also another concern. Trail runners vary in specialty from short 5 kilometer or less trail races to 200-plus mile trail races! That’s arguably a greater spread of talents than track and field athletes that compete in ranges of events from 100 meters to 10 kilometers, as well as hurdling, throwing and jumping events (and the “longer” distance marathon which is also under the athletics umbrella). Considering exactly what type or types of trail running deserve their place in the Olympics would be difficult and could be divisive for the trail running community.
Rick Trujilo, trail running superstar of the 1970s and five-time winner of the Pikes Peak Marathon shares his opinion on trail running’s inclusion in the Olympics and several major logistical considerations, “I am surprised, amazed even, to learn that trail running is being considered for the Olympics, but it is an idea I think great and who’s time might finally have come. This is something I had never thought of at all, and certainly could not have been conceived of way back in the 1970s… A logistical complication that I can see is that not every host Olympic city may have a suitable course (a real trail, a steep winding road, etc.) for a trail/cross country event. Also, what would be the standard distance, a minimum vertical, the type and variance of tread, etc. The standard marathon is about as close to the true spirit of running as there is today for an Olympic event, but it is always flat and does not qualify as a trail run. Olympic competition in real trail running would be something to see.”
Rick Trujillo five-time winner of the Pikes Peak Marathon.
Is trail running viewer-friendly?
Another key point to whether trail running would be a good fit for the Olympics is its ability to be covered on television. With the increased ways to be a trail running fan (check out my article here) that includes trail running fantasy, live-streaming of events, and athlete documentaries, there are a growing number of ways to excite audiences about the major characters and challenges of the sport. Corinne Shalvoy, ATRA board member, Aravaipa racing team member and commentator for the Javelina 100, Hardrock 100, and Black Canyon 60 kilometer live stream, speaks on this point, “While I don’t necessarily agree with the promotion of trail and ultra running in the Olympics, I think that if it does find its way into the arena it would be important for us to maintain and emphasize the aspects of the sport that brought many of us to it in the first place as well as the dramatic moments that unfold along the way. The landscapes and terrain need to be celebrated. The falls while bombing down technical descents (or how impressive it is that one doesn’t fall). The aid station transitions and emotions seen at them. The passes, the surges, the heavy breathing (i.e Miller v Hawks – see video below) and the finish line passion should all be preserved and brought to us in high definition. The infrastructure to do this already exists. Perhaps the most important thing is to allow those who intimately know the sport to be the ones covering it, for that is the only way it will maintain its true essence.”
Olympic groundwork
Whether we do or don’t think trail running should be in the Olympics, the development plan by both ITRA and TRAQ for trail running’s place in Brisbane 2032 Summer Olympic Games is certainly on track. The Trail Running 2032 campaign is set to launch globally at the Paris Games by the Trail Running Association of Australia in July 2024, which Duggan hopes will promote the campaign on a new global scale.
Duggan shares his thoughts on his goals moving forward, “Everyone would agree, regardless of which side of the fence you’re on about trail running being included in the Olympics, that we should be managing the growth of the sport, maintenance of its values, new people brought into the sport and support of those already established in the sport on both the elite and recreational levels. We’re pushing for trail running in the Olympics in 2032, but that said, priority number one is laying down the groundwork for trail running to be in the Olympics in a way that promotes healthy growth for the sport. If that doesn’t feel right in 2032, we’ll course correct and come back stronger to make sure trail running doesn’t lose its character if it becomes an Olympic sport.”
Trail running’s connection to nature, preservation of natural landscapes, low-key atmosphere, and epic, challenging courses are several of its most essential characteristics that should be carried forward to future generations as the sport continues to grow and professionalize. Whether the Olympics is a part of this professionalization or not is yet to be seen, but it’s encouraging to know that major voices on both sides of this Olympic trail running debate all agree that preserving and celebrating the culture and character of trail running as it grows is the most important goal.
