Some call it trail running, others mountain running, even running in the mountains or skyrunning, or fellrunning. Whatever you call the action of running in a outdoor space in a natural surface it’s not a single discipline but a complete and complexe sport. For simplification of the matter, from now on, in this article I will use the term “trail running” to talk about the globality of those namings.
Discipline vs Sport: To make it easy, we all know that Usain Bolt and Eliud Kipchoge did athletics, they run, but we also understand that they don’t do the same discipline. In trail running is the same. Trail running is not a discipline of running but a sport in its hole, and to pretend that what Urban Zemmer and François d’Haene do is the same is to not have a real picture of the different disciplines of the sport.
That said, as a old sport who was not very popular profitable until the early 2000’s, the structure of the competitions is been changing constantly. New federations or private institutions have entered to be part of it and the disciplines has been blurry because of it. We often get confused because in a single year they’re several world champions and some times in the same distance but under different umbrellas. Here you can see an explanation of who is who in trail running today, to understand better the different disciplines, circuits and federations.
A few important concepts to start:
- Distance: Short distance: under 20km- middle distance: 20-50km – long distance: 50-100km – Ultra: over 100km
- Technicality: is the technical dificulty of the route, in this page we will use Easy (1) / Moderate (2-3) / Difficult (4-5). For more information you can read this article: trail running label
- Type of competition: a Circuit is a series of races where the addition of all or several races results determine the final rank. A Championship is when a single race is held to determine the rank. Sometimes to partipate in a Championship, is used a series of different races to determine who qualifies, but the result of those races don’t count for the Championship rank.
- History: It is important to know where we come from to understand why and how we are. Here a uncomplete history of competitions.
INTERNATIONAL CIRCUITS AND CHAMPIONSHIPS
List of International Circuits (4)
- WMRA World Cup (short distance non technical races)
- Golden Trail World Series (middle distance – from non technical to technical races)
- Skyrunner World Series (middle-long distance – technical races)
- Spartan Trail World Championship ( 2 circuits, middle and long distance)
List of International Championships (10)
MOUNTAIN & TRAIL RUNNING CHAMPIONSHIPS: (WMRA, ITRA, IAU, World Athletics) Participation by National federations.
- Classic Mountain Running ( ca.12km-600-1000m, non technical) categories: M, W, U20M, U20W
- Uphill Mountain Running ( ca.4-7km, 700-1,000m, non technical) categories: M, W
- Short Trail Running (ca. 40km, 2,000-3,000m) categories: M, W
- Long Trail Running (ca. 80km, 3,500-6,000m)
SKYRUNNING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: (ISF) Participation by National federations.
- Vertical Kilometer (ca 2-4km, 1000m) categories: M, W, U23, U20, U17
- Skyrace (20 to 49km, >1200m, technical) categories M, W // U23, U20 and U17 in shorter distances.
- Sky Ultra (50 to 99km > 3,000m, technical) categories: M, W
UTMB WORLD: (UTMB Series, Private) Participation by qualification in the series (open)
- 50K (OCC, 55km, 3500m ) categories: M, W,
- 100K (CCC, 100km, 6100m) categories M, W
- 100M (UTMB 170km 10.000m) categories: M, W
*UTMB World Series is not a Circuit but a series of events to qualify for a championship.
Others (Private)
- Ultra X world Championships (5 days stage race) categories M, W
- XTerra trail running world championships. (± 20km) categories M, W
- One Hundred World Series Finale (100km and 100 miles)
| Who? | Name | Type | Under | Dist. | Tech. | NºEvents | History | Participants | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Mountain Running World Cup | Cup | WMRA | Short | 1 | 15 races | 1985 | Open | https://www.wmra.info |
 | World Mountain & Trail Running Championships | Championship | WMRA+ITRA+World Athletics+IAU | Short, middle, Long | 1-2 | 4 (Short, Uphill, middle, long) | 1985/2012 | National teams | https://www.worldathletics.org/hosting/iaaf-events/world-mountain-and-trail-running-championships |
 | Skyrunner World Series | Cup | ISF- UIAA | Middle | 3-5 | 15 races | 1995 | Open | https://www.skyrunnerworldseries.com |
 | World Skyrunning Champs | Championships | ISF – UIAA | Short-Middle, long | 3-5 | 3 (Skyrace, Skyultra, VK) | 1995 | National teams | https://www.skyrunning.com |
 | UTMB World | Championships (series to qualify) | Private | Middle, Long, Ultra | 1-2 | +30 selection races and 3 finals (50-100-160k) | 2003/ 2022 | Open | https://utmbworld.com |
 | Golden Trail Series | Cup | Private | Middle | 1-3 | 5+final | 2018 | Open | https://www.goldentrailseries.com |
| Spartan Trail World Championship | Cup | Private | Middle and Long | 1-3 | 10 races. 2 circuits (trail <50k and Ultratrail >50k) | 2021 | Open | https://www.spartan.com/pages/trail-world-championship | |
| XTERRA Trail Running World Championship | Championship | Private | Short | 1-2 | 1 race | Open | https://www.xterraplanet.com/trailrunworlds | ||
| Ultra X World Championships | Championship (Series to qualify) | Private | Stage | 2-3 | 1 race | 2022 | Open | Ultra X world Championships | |
| One Hundred World Series Finale | Championship (series to qualify) | Private | 100k and 100miles | 2-3 | 2 races | 2022 | Open | One Hundred World Series Finale |
Thanks for sharing your opinion, Kilian. Most inreresting
As a sidenote, comingo from the WMRA, may I sguggest the current technical challengtes at several WMRA world cup (Giir di Mont. Canfranc and others) I would not rate as 1, neither the series as a whole.
Also, If you would like to know some of the reasons why Thailand World CHamps were not hled, yet Thailand by UTMB was, I would be happy to attend you.
Last, but not least, as for who has made the most efforts towards bringing unitty, I would also be happy to share with you several iniitiatives already taken, some with success, other not yet.
There is an “h” missing in the “trail running label” link 🙂