Action from the Grossglocknerlauf mountain race in Austria (© WMRA)
Seven exciting and unique races in seven different countries make up the 2019 Mountain Running World Cup calendar, which was launched on Monday (4) by the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA).
The seven races have a combined distance of 140km of mountain racing tracks with 9300 metres of elevation and 5600 metres of descent. Not only will the world’s best mountain runners be vying for the honour of the World Cup title, there is also a combined prize pool of €56,000 on offer across the series.
The first two fixtures on the 2019 World Cup calendar are new additions to the series. The Maxi Race in France
The World Mountain Running Association welcomes in some race events that for the first time are involved in Mountain Running (with the WMRA) including the two opening races. The Maxi Race in France is a 16km event overlooking the picturesque Lake Annecy. The Broken Arrow Sky Race, meanwhile, is the only World Cup race outside of Europe.
“Having a World Cup race outside of the traditional mountain running zone of Europe is really important,” said WMRA president Jonathan Wyatt. “Working with the Broken Arrow Skyrace in the USA is a way of supporting the mountain running community there. The location is fantastic and it will be great to work together with the skyrunning folks as well.”
The third race will take the World Cup to Austria for the classic Grossglockner, a 12.7km uphill race with Austria’s tallest mountain towering above the finish area. One week later the series heads to the Snowdon International, a 15.5km historic mountain race in the UK, a great addition which taps into the fell running scene there.
The WMRA is fortunate to be able to continue the work with the Sierre-Zinal race, an iconic 31km trail event under five of the 4000m high mountain peaks. The sixth stage will be held in Italy, home for mountain running in general and this year also to one of the most iconic mountains in the Italian Dolomiti Alps. The spectacular Drei-Zinnenlauf, which finishes beneath the amazing Dolomites background, is an uphill race that helps root the World Cup in the tradition of the sport.
The final stage has a familiar theme for the runners who will be finishing their World Cup season at the Smarna Gora in Slovenia. 10km of fast forest trails and a festival in 2019 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of this race are sure to make this year’s “race of the falling leaves” a memorable occasion.
2019 WMRA Mountain Running World Cup calendar
24 May: Salomon Gore-tex Maxi Race – Annecy, FRA
16.5km (945m+ / 990m-) point-to-point course
23 June: Broken Arrow Sky Race – Squaw Valley, USA
26km (1550m+ / 1550m-) loop course
14 July: Grossglocknerlauf – Heiligenblut, AUT
12.7km (1495m+ / 370m-) mainly uphill point-to-point course
20 July: Snowdon International Mountain Race – Llanberis, UK
15.5km (995m+ / 995m-) loop course
11 August: Sierre Zinal – Sierre, SUI
31km (2200m+ / 1100m-) mainly uphill point-to-point course
14 September: Drei-Zinnenlauf – Sexten/Sesto, ITA
17.5km (1350m+ / 250m-) mainly uphill point-to-point course
12 October: Smarna Gora – Ljubljana, SLO
10km (710m+ / 350m-) mainly uphill point-to-point course
