The Who What Where of the WMTRC

Ahead of the September 25 – 28, 2025 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships (WMRTC), Rundais spoke with Matthew Crehan to find out exactly what goes down. Matt (2021 Australian Male Ultra Runner of the Year), represented Australia at these championships the two previous years (2022 & 2023) and is also the Male Team Captain this year (2025).

The 2025 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships (WMRTC) will be held in Canfranc, Spain, later this month. This is the third iteration of the bi-annual WMTRC, which has sought to bring together the separate disciplines of Mountain Running and Trail Running into one cohesive World Championships.   

History 

2021

The first WMTRC took place in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Initially scheduled for 2021, they were delayed with Covid complications and didn’t actually take place until late 2022. This unfortunately led to some criticism in the lead up, with some advocating to have the event elsewhere, others claiming it was the wrong time of year and after the ‘season’ had finished. Obviously a bit of a northern hemisphere bias on that one. There were questions as to whether countries would actually be sending their strongest teams, but credit where credit is due: the organisers of WMTRC Chiang Mai put on a fantastic event, and the momentum was back up and running for this world championship event. 

2023

2023 saw Innsbruck as the host city. This is perhaps just what the WMTRC needed, a more ‘traditional’ mountain sports town hosting, bringing more eyes on to the event, and providing a spectacular backdrop to competitive racing. The whole city got behind the event, with a “Display Trail” established in the cobblestone streets of the Old Town. Timing of the event was interesting being in early June, rather than a traditional end of season championship. However one advantage that had was not clashing with other “championship” events later in the European summer. 

2025

This year the event will remain in Europe, but with the rocky and wild Pyrenees replacing the more picturesque high mountains of the Alps. Timing is once again interesting. They have opted for the traditional ‘end of season’ timeframe, typical for championship races. Although late September may have tipped over into the ‘out of season’ category. This could be to avoid some of the hotter weather typical of a Spanish summer, or perhaps to give a bit of space between themselves and UTMB.  

The Races

Within the event, there are five individual races, each of equal weighting. The mountain running disciplines of the ‘Uphill’ and ‘Classic’, the trail running disciplines of ‘Short Trail’  and ‘Long Trail’, as well as a junior (U20) race. The Pyrenees are known for their steep, rugged terrain, and the stats of the races reflect that, with even more vertical metres per kilometer than the previous event in Innsbruck. The championship starts with an Opening Ceremony on the 24th of September,  then runs through to Sunday the 28th.

Uphill 

The first race is the Uphill, taking place on the 25th September, and has 990m of elevation over 6.4km. Our Australian representatives are: Lara Hamilton, Jessica Ronan, Emily Bartlett for the women’s race; Fraser Darcy, Iain Best, Nathan Pearce, Michael Kernahan for the men.

Short Trail

The Short Trail is up next on the Friday. With 3650m over 45km, it is technically the steepest of the bunch. For Australia we have: Patricia McKibbin, Jess Jason, Sarah-Jayne Miller and Miah Noble for the women; and Billy Curtis, Blake Turner and Vlad Ixel for the men.   

Long Trail

The Long Trail is on Saturday. 82km with 5400m of elevation gain and loss, mostly above tree tree line on exposed and rocky ridges. Our Long Trail athletes are: Nicole Paton, Kellie Angel, Cecilia Mattas and Hannah McRae in the women’s race; Ben Burgess, myself (Matthew Crehan), Andrew Gaskell and Thomas Dade in the men’s.

Under 20s

Sunday morning we have the Under 20 8km, with 400m of elevation gain, where we will be cheering on Ruby Smith in the women’s;  Alec Franzke, Tadhg Nolan and Robert Shannon in the men’s.

Classic

Then finally on Sunday afternoon is the Classic mountain run, 14km with 775m of ascent and descent. Our representatives are: Jessica Ronan, Emily Bartlett and Lara Hamilton in the women’s race; Fraser Darcy, Nathan Pearce and Michael Kernahan in the men’s.

Qualification 

Selection for the Australian team is by a committee composed of members for Australian Athletics and Australian Ultra and Trail Running Association (AUTRA). This year there was no direct entry into the team for winners of national championships for any of the disciplines, so selection was through committee discretion based on applicants’ recent results. This is still an evolving process however, so watch this space for future selection guidelines. We are lucky this year to be sending such a strong team, led by Aaron Knight as Team Leader; Simone Hayes as Team Manager; and Kellie Angel and Matt Crehan as Team Captains.  A link to the full Australian team can be found here (2025-World-Mountain-and-Trail-Running-Championships-Team.pdf). 

WMTRC in context 

The World Mountain and Trail Running Championships provide an excellent opportunity for the best athletes from all over the world to compete together on a global stage. Trail running is a booming sport, and with that growth comes some inevitable growing pains. For us to move forward and become a more legitimate sport, one that has a chance of becoming an Olympic sport, it is important to have world championship events that are recognised by federations and governing bodies such as ITRA and World Athletics, not just private enterprises as self proclaimed world championships.

The WMTRC has been growing in popularity and competitiveness, with nations sending stronger and stronger teams, and some of the best trail athletes in the world prioritising the event. Races such as Western States and UTMB still remain without a doubt some of the most competitive races for long distance trail on the calendar. Similarly with races such as Sierra Zinal and Zegama in the Short Trail distance.

This is not unique to trail running, think the Hawaii Ironman for triathlon, or the Tour du France for cycling. But the very fact that it is a private organisation running them means they can never grow into the championship events we need in our sport. Luckily for us, there is plenty of room for both! So let’s get behind our Aussie team and cheer them on as they tackle the best of the best in the dramatic landscapes of Canfranc Pirineos! 

https://canfrancpirineos2025wmtrc.com/

Quick fire questions with Matthew

“How do you train for a race when you’ve never been to the location before? weather, terrain.. do you speak to people who have, look at maps, etc?”

I’ve been gathering whatever information I can about the terrain and environment from people who have already seen the course, but nothing beats getting out there and experiencing it myself. 

“How long before the race do you try to get there?”

I am heading to Europe at the start of September, but will actually arrive in the Canfranc valley two weeks before the race. 

“Which races and results have you had in the last 2 years that helped with your selection?”

I have competed in a number of big mountain ultras such as UTMB, and Lavaredo Ultra Trail, that the selection committee would have considered when putting the team together. 

“What events would you recommend people do if they wanted to make the team?”

Races appropriate to the distance and terrain of the event, but particularly those that have competitive fields. 5th at a competitive race may be better than 1st at a lower key event. 

“What are your favourite events in Australia?”

Buffalo Stampede, Alpine Challenge, 4Peaks 

Follow Matt on Strava here and Instagram here.

Written by Matt Crehan

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