lOver-forties skyrunners are heading to Portugal for the final event of the 2026 Skyrunning Masters Championships. The SKYULTRA will be hosted at the Pisão Extreme on October 4, 2026, in São Pedro do Sul in the northern part of the country where the demanding terrain rolls out a massive 6,500m vertical climb on the 65 km course.

Overall, Masters’ titles and 75 medals are awarded at the championships. The VERTICAL and SKY disciplines were held at the Pierra Menta Été events in France in July, where the first 48 medals were awarded. To date, Portugal, Japan and the United Kingdom lead the country ranking.

At the SKYULTRA, 27 medals and individual world titles are at stake across four age categories – over 40, over 45, over 50, and over 55. Medals will also be awarded to top three countries in the final ranking*. The oldest male runner is Briton Barry Hale, 68, while the oldest woman is Spaniard Encarnacion Del Valle, 67.

The second day of the 2026 Skyrunning World Championships on the island of La Gomera in Spain’s Canary Islands, saw Italian Cristian Minoggio and Norwegian Shangave Balendran take the gold.

The stunning wild terrain of the island was the perfect stage for the challenging 63 kilometres and 4,100m of vertical climb of the SKYULTRA where 87 athletes participated.

Minoggio, 2022 and 2024 SKYULTRA World Champion, crossed the finish line in 6h12’12” on the new, specially designed course. His race was well calculated and after taking the lead, he closed almost seven minutes ahead of second man, Spaniard Julen Calvo who led for most of the race.

World medallists and skyrunning superstars from across the globe are heading for the 2026 Skyrunning World Championships on the island of La Gomera in the Canary Islands, Spain, from September 18–20, 2026.

From sea to sky, this tiny gem of an island in the Atlantic Ocean, has everything to offer – under the auspices of the Gomera Paradise events.

World titles and 27 medals are at stake for Individuals and Official Teams, together with a Combined title based on the best results of the VERTICAL and SKY races.

The fourth edition of the Masters Skyrunning World Championships were celebrated in the French Alps at the Pierra Mentà Eté events in Arêches, Savoie, on 3-4 July 2026 where over-forties skyrunners from 25 countries participated in the VERTICAL and SKY disciplines.

Four age categories – over 40, over 45, over 50, and over 55 were awarded 48 medals across the two disciplines, while the country ranking will be calculated after the SKYULTRA, the Masters final in October.

The events kicked off on Friday, July 3 with the VERTICAL at the new Pierra Menta Verticale, specifically designed for the Championships – 3.8 km long with 870m vertical climb delivering stretches with a challenging 50-70% incline.

Today, the 10th edition of the Youth Skyrunning World Championships kicked off in Croatia with a lung-busting VERTICAL – a perfect VK with 980m vertical climb over 4.5 km reaching 1,264m altitude. Aged 15 to 23, these young skyrunners, including those new to the sport, showed their guts in the fight for the medals and their talent for this unique discipline.

Spain, Norway and Japan came out on top in the country ranking while Portugal took their first gold medal in the Youth Championships since they began in 2016. Close-on 200 athletes from countries as far afield as Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan and USA participated today, making for tough competition and, as usual, great camaraderie.

Fastest time on the course today was Swiss athlete Fiorillo Camesi in 37’37” – but his gold medal didn’t come easily after battling with Spaniard Lluis Puigvert over the last 100 metres to the summit. Puigvert closed just three seconds later for the silver, his tenth medal at the Youth Championships after five editions.