The format consists of 10 – 15 races held at locations around the World for male and female individual athletes.

There are three race categories – Uphill (3-9 km), Classic Up & Downhill (10-21 km), and Long Mountain (22 – 50 km). Each race in each category counts equally towards the overall result of the World Cup, where the absolute winners have their best race results counted towards the final World Cup ranking.

In the 2023 World Cup results, 12 different nations were represented in the top 12 places of the overall male and female final results, including the World Champions of the sport.  In 2024 the World Cup title was decided by a single point in the Women’s competition. In 2025, 30,000euro was provided in overall prize money plus 20,000euro was paid in travel support.

The World Cup is managed by the WMRA on behalf of World Athletics to support off-road racing, and as such, anti-doping controls are carried out at each World Cup race to ensure fair competition in the sport.

The World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) is proud to unveil the WMRA Mountain Running World Cup 2026: a truly 10-out-of-10 season, featuring 10 events across 10 countries, with 16 races, spanning three continents, and introducing four completely new events to the circuit.

The 2026 calendar celebrates both tradition and innovation, marking the WMRA’s 42nd anniversary and the 27th edition of the World Cup (formerly the Grand Prix). It brings together iconic classics and exciting new venues, reflecting the global reach and rapid growth of mountain running.