Mountain running is a sports discipline which takes place mainly

off-road Off-roading is the act of driving or riding in a vehicle on unpaved surfaces such as sand, dirt, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, or other natural terrain. Off-roading ranges from casual drives with regular vehicles to competitive events w ...

in mountainous terrain, but if there is significant elevation gain on the route, surfaced roads may be used. In this it differs from

fell running Fell running, also sometimes known as hill running, is the sport of running and racing, off-road, over upland country where the gradient climbed is a significant component of the difficulty. The name arises from the origins of the English sport o ...

; its courses are more clearly marked and avoid dangerous sections. It is a form of

trail running Trail running is a type of running that takes place on outdoor trails, often in mountainous terrain, and often includes significant ascents and descents. It is similar to both mountain running, mountain and fell running (also known as hill r ...

if it is run on unpaved surfaces. Mountain running is a combination of running,

jogging Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. The main intention is to increase physical fitness with less stress on the body than from faster running but more than walking, or to maintain a steady speed for longer periods ...

, and walking, depending on how steep the trail is. It is recognized by

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

and governed by the

World Mountain Running Association The World Mountain Running Association (WMRA), formerly the International Committee for Mountain Running, is the global governing body of mountain running. For World Athletics purposes, mountain running takes place on terrain that is mainly off-r ...

, which has been organising

world championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

since 1985.

What is Mountain Running?

The

(WMRA) is the global governing body of mountain running. For World Athletics purposes, mountain running takes place on terrain that is mainly

, but if there is significant elevation gain on the route, surfaced roads may be used. Courses involve considerable amounts of ascent (for mainly uphill races), or both ascent and descent (for up and down races with the start and finish at similar heights). The average incline is normally between five and twenty percent. Courses are clearly marked and should avoid dangerous sections.

World Championships

The

WMRA WMRA (90.7 FM) is a public-radio formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Harrisonburg, Virginia. It is the NPR member station for the central Shenandoah Valley. Combined with its full-power repeaters and low-power translators, it serv ...

co-organises a bi-annual world championships called the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships and was first held in

Chiang Mai Chiang Mai, sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the List of municipalities in Thailand#Largest cities by urban population, second largest city in Thailan ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

in 2022. Until 2019, there was a standalone

World Mountain Running Championships The World Mountain Running Championships (''World Mountain Running Trophy'' until 2008), is an international mountain running competition contested by athletes of the members of WMRA, World Mountain Running Association, the sport's global governi ...

, also known for a time as the World Mountain Running Trophy; the World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships was discontinued in 2019 after the adoption of the new combined event.

Mountain Running World Cup

The World Mountain Running Association runs an annual World Cup competition, which pulls together the best athletes in a series of the biggest and most prominent races in the sport. The Valsir Mountain Running World Cup usually takes place between July and October predominantly in Continental Europe. The series encompasses a variety of races in categories including; Classic (Up & Down), Vertical (Steep Uphill > 20%) and Long Distance Mountain Running with there usually being at least 3 races making up each category.

References

External links

World Mountain Running Association
official website {{Authority control

What is Mountain Running?

World Championships

Mountain Running World Cup

See also

References

External links