After yesterday’s uphill race gave us our first taste of Canadian racing, the 2026 WMRA World Cup came to its finale today in Quebec with the classic up-and-down race, marking the first time the World Cup final has taken place outside of Europe. Yesterday we saw Nina Engelhard (GER) dominate the women’s race from start to finish and Meikal Beaudoin Rousseau (USA) come out on top in a very competitive men’s race. Today’s event delivered even more dramatic racing, creating a fitting finale to this year’s competition, where we crowned our 2026 World Cup champions.

The World Cup competition was shaken up by the absence of some of the Kenyan runners due to visa issues. While the men’s leader, Philemon Kiriago (KEN), looked unreachable, the other podium places and the women’s competition were very much up for grabs in this World Cup final.

The classic race of approximately 16km with 1200m of ascent started at the base of Mont-Sainte-Anne, and the runners tackled three climbs and descents. Unlike yesterday’s fairly straightforward uphill-only race, today’s course was much more mixed with more technical terrain, such as the "L’Escarpée" grueling singletrack climb through the woods. Today’s course gave a lot more opportunity for runners to implement their race strategy in uphill or downhill sections that played to their strengths.

The decisive final weekend of the 2026 WMRA World Cup kicked off in style in Quebec at Defi des Couleurs today (Saturday, 10^th October). As hinted in our pre-event press release, visa problems prevented some of the Kenyan athletes from travelling to the event, with the men’s race in particular being affected by this issue, and both men’s and women’s overall World Cup rankings being unexpectedly shaken up. And Canada, a new country for the World Cup, certainly showed off its finery with the course’s autumnal colours in full bloom.

Despite beautiful sunshine, the runners had to contend with a cold wind, particularly at the finish line at the summit of Mont-Sainte-Anne at 800 metres. To get there the runners started in front of the magnificent Jean Larose Falls, ran a fast flat section to reach the resort, and then began a long climb of just over 3km up through the ski slopes. There were some more runnable sections and some hands-on-quads steeper sections, a great test for the uphill only race.

From 6 to 10 October 2027, Cape Town will welcome the world's best mountain and trail runners for the 2027 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships (WMTRC), a landmark event that will place Africa at the centre of the global off-road running community.

“With one year to go until the 4^th World Mountain and Trail Running Championship, it is clear that the excitement around the event continues to grow. Member Federations are planning their trials and athletes and their coaches their training for what will be stunning and competitive races set against the backdrop of Table Mountain. As event partners we have been impressed by the professionalism of the Local Organising Committee and we continue to work closely with them to deliver a successful event in October 2027”, say Sarah Rowell, Nadeem Khan and Janet Ng respective Presidents of the World Mountain Running Association, the International Association of Ultrarunners and the International Trail Running Association.

The 2026 WMRA World Cup will reach its decisive conclusion in Quebec, Canada, this weekend at Defi des Couleurs, completing its journey of 16 races across 10 countries, spanning four continents. From established mountain running destinations to new venues and communities, this year's World Cup has continued to expand its international reach while bringing together athletes from across the globe. And what a journey it’s been, providing thrilling finish line dramas like Anna Gibson (USA) overtaking Joyce Muthoni Njeru (KEN) in the last metres of Broken Arrow Ascent and a photo finish between Richard Omaya Atuya and Linus Hultegard at Transvulcania. The season has also provided a platform for a new generation of mountain running talent to emerge, with athletes such as Brayan Rodríguez (MEX), Arianna Dentis (ITA) and Ruth Gitonga (KEN) establishing themselves among the standout names of the year.

Εδώ και αρκετό καιρό, μέσα από τη συνεργασία μας με κορυφαίες παγκόσμιες διοργανώσεις, πρωταθλήματα και διεθνείς σειρές αγώνων ορεινού τρεξίματος, σας μεταφέρουμε με λεπτομέρεια τις σημαντικότερες εξελίξεις που διαμορφώνουν το άθλημα σε παγκόσμιο επίπεδο. GTWS, Skyrunning, WMRA, UTMB World Series και World Trail Majors. Διαφορετικές φιλοσοφίες, διαφορετικές αγωνιστικές προσεγγίσεις, διαφορετικά βουνά και σε μεγάλο βαθμό διαφορετικό κοινό.

Όλα αυτά συνθέτουν ένα εξαιρετικά ενδιαφέρον και πολυσύνθετο τοπίο, που γεννά ένα εύλογο ερώτημα, το οποίο θα μας απασχολήσει στα πλαίσια αυτού του editorial: Μήπως το ορεινό τρέξιμο δεν είναι πλέον απλά ένα άθλημα, αλλά έχει εξελιχθεί σε ένα ολόκληρο παγκόσμιο οικοσύστημα;