WMTRC 2025: “The World Mountain & Trail Running Championships are a historic milestone for Aragón”
Canfranc / 24-08-2025 – With just one month to go before the opening of CanfrancPirineos 2025, the President of Aragón, Jorge Azcón, has stated that “it will be one of the most important sporting events of 2025, the result of many years of work and our clear commitment to attracting major international competitions.” The Mayor of Canfranc, Fernando Sánchez, added that the World Championships will put the town of Huesca “on the world map of trail running and will give us the opportunity to show our ability to host a truly global event.”
On September 24, the third unified edition of the World Mountain & Trail Running Championships will officially open in CanfrancPirineos, with 1,700 athletes from 80 countries—the highest participation number in the event’s history. The competition will feature five race formats: ‘Uphill’, ‘Classic’, ‘U20’, ‘Short Trail’, and ‘Long Trail’.
The final countdown has begun, and the organizing team is working hard to ensure everything is ready by the opening day. In the coming days, the deadline will close for international federations to submit their final list of participating athletes. Meanwhile, all key areas of the event are being finalized, including transportation, accommodation, safety, volunteer coordination, and the design of both the opening and closing ceremonies.
The President of the Government of Aragón, Jorge Azcón, emphasized that “this championship will place Aragón, Canfranc, and the entire Pyrenees on the global map for these disciplines, reinforcing our reputation as a benchmark in the organization of mountain and trail running events. Moreover, it serves as an inspiration for grassroots sport—we want our young people to have role models and to find in these athletes the motivation to push themselves further.”
The World Championships are organized under the supervision of World Athletics, with the collaboration of the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA), International Trail Running Association (ITRA), International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU), and the Royal Spanish Athletics Federation (RFEA). The event is also supported by the Spanish National Sports Council (CSD), Government of Aragón, Provincial Council of Huesca (DPH), and Canfranc City Council.
Raúl Chapado, President of the Royal Spanish Athletics Federation (RFEA) and Vice President of World Athletics, remarked in the weeks leading up to the opening, “Spain welcomes these World Championships with an open heart. As President of the RFEA and Vice President of World Athletics, I couldn’t be prouder. This event will be a tribute to nature, to human effort, and to the brotherhood between nations.”
President Azcón also noted that CanfrancPirineos 2025 “is not just about sport—it’s about development. It will take place in a protected natural area of our Pyrenees and will serve as a major boost for tourism, the economy, and the international visibility of our region.”
Along the same lines, Mayor Fernando Sánchez emphasized that the World Championships “will be an example of sustainability, respect for the environment, and recognition of the Pyrenean landscape as part of our identity.” He also highlighted the achievement it represents for a small town of just 600 inhabitants to take on the enormous challenge of organizing a World Championship— “even more so when we’ve just learned that the 2027 host city will be Cape Town, South Africa, with a population of over 5 million people. This really puts into perspective the significance and merit of what we’re accomplishing here with this World Championships.”