The World Masters Mountain Running Championships burst into life today in Meduno with a pure uphill: roughly 5 km and 800 m of ascent from the historic town centre to the summit crest of Monte Valinis.

Heavy rain was forecast, the skies stayed steel-grey, and the rain never came—but heat and humidity did. With humidity hovering around 96% and temperatures swinging from 23°C at the start to 18°C near the summit, pacing and hydration were as decisive as leg strength. It was a day made for the brave—and the community showed up in force.

Meduno’s lanes, balconies and café corners framed a festival of masters mountain running, with athletes, families and volunteers filling the town from early morning. Conditions were sticky and energy-sapping: no rain fell during the races, yet the air felt saturated after the week’s showers.

The cloud base sat low over the ridge, giving the summit finish on Monte Valinis an amphitheatre feel—close, noisy, electric. The uphill race traditionally sets the tone for the weekend, and 2025 delivered: muddy, steep, and unmistakably mountain.

The race sprang from the heart of Meduno before, barely three hundred metres later, pitching left off the tarmac and onto the mountain.

Recent rains had left the opening trail greasy and unforgiving, a place where careful footwork saved seconds and energy. After 1.5 km the path widened and the rhythm finally found room to breathe, the climb continuing relentlessly to the 3 km mark.

There, a traverse through the forest offered short moments of relief while the profile still pointed skyward. The finale was unvarnished mountain running: a last kilometre packing almost 300 metres of vertical gain, straight up to the summit finish on Monte Valinis, where the cowbells were louder and the smiles wider.

The morning rolled out in waves: 09:30 for the men M35–M50, 10:00 for the men M50–M75, and 10:30 for all women together. Each start had its own music—clipped footsteps on cobbles, a murmur of nerves, then the collective exhale as the field tipped onto the mud and the race distilled into breath, legs and grit.

Mexico’s Justino Coronado (M35) mastered both mud and moisture to claim the men’s overall victory in 32:40, building pace as the gradients steepened and looking most at home when the mountain bit hardest. Italy’s Andrea Schweigkofler (F40) delivered a masterclass in restraint and power to win the women’s overall in 41:22, cresting the final ramp with the assurance of someone who had timed the day to perfection.

The depth behind the champions told its own story. Marina Paveglio (ITA) took F35 honours in 44:29, while Schweigkofler’s winning time also secured the F40 title. Margarita Fullana Riera (ESP) won F50 in 42:55, her engine unmistakable from a career that includes an Olympic bronze in mountain bike at Sydney 2000. In the upper echelons of endurance, Ulrike Hoffmann (AUT) claimed F75 in 1:04:00, a finish that drew one of the day’s loudest receptions.

The men’s categories were equally animated: Ian Conroy (IRL) stamped his authority on M40 with 34:50; Jacques Grillet Aubert (FRA) won his category in 35:54 with crisp, efficient climbing; Anton Johann Steiner (ITA) captured M60 in 39:32; and Pierino Barbonetti (ITA) topped M75 in 49:00, saluting the crowd as the ridge wind finally cooled the day.

Across age groups and jerseys the theme was constant: committed running and easy camaraderie. Finish-line hugs arrived as quickly as split times, and Monte Valinis felt less like a podium and more like a reunion—mud-streaked faces, tired legs, and the simple joy of sharing an uphill.

Full results: https://www.endu.net/en/events/mondiale-master-corsa-in-montagna-uphilll/results/2025

All pictures © WMRA by Marco Gulberti