WMRA visits venue for the World Masters Mountain Running Championships 2024, Canfranc, Spain
The World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) recently visited the venue for the World Masters Mountain Running Championships, which will take place from September 13th to 15th, 2024 in Canfranc, Spain
The WMRA President, Tomo Sarf was accompanied by responsible member of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC), Alex Varela.
Next year’s event will be hosted in September 2024, with the accreditation and opening ceremony planned* for Thursday 12th and the races taking place on Friday 13th (Uphill race), Saturday 14th (Long Distance) and Sunday 15th(Classic), all of them starting in Canfranc, Huesca-Spain.
The Local Organizing Committee (LOC) has a vast experience organizing Mountain Running events, the annual race CanfrancCanfranc has been part of the WMRA Mountain Running World Cup for several years.
*Preliminary plan, subject to change.
THE CORSES
Uphill
The uphill course will be, in principle, the same as planned for the 2025 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships. The course will cover 6,5 km with 984 meters of gained elevation, starting at the Rte. St. Cristina at 1280 m characterized by its scenic appeal and finishing at La Raca 2277 m.The spacious starting area, positioned just 2 kilometers away from Canfranc center via a well-maintained road, can comfortably host many runners in the start area and at the moment, is it planned to have 2 aid stations at km 2,4 and km 4,3 and also at the finish line.
Classic
The classic course is a loop in an anti-clockwise direction starting and finishing in Canfranc, covering 16 km and ± 1960 meters with the first 750m on a road and slightly downhill. After that the course turns left to a good 4WD road, slightly uphill (1km), then enters the single-track trail, that takes the runners to the highest point (Buenavista Hut, 2130m- picture left) most of the time on zig-zag-s.
There are three refreshment stations planned – one in the middle of the ascent, another one at the hut on the top and third in the middle of the descent.
The Classic course wills serve also as the first half of the long-distance course.
Long Distance
It is planned to perform two loops on the 2 different sides of the valley that surrounds Canfranc. The first loop would be the same as the Classic course.
All courses are new designed for the WMMRC 2024 and they are different than the original CanfrancCanfranc routes.
Please note that all information related to the courses is preliminary and is subject to change.
Full regulations about the World Masters Mountain Running Championships can be found here .
The website for the event will be available by the end of December.
The WMRA and the LOC are working hard to ensure that the event is a success and that all participants have a memorable experience. We look forward to welcoming the world's best masters mountain runners to Canfranc in September 2024.
