Photo Credit: Jamie Rutherford

Update (Sept 29): Sarah McCormack finished 41st in the women's World Mountain Running Champs Uphill race. A total of 107 runners from across the world took part, with Sarah reaching the finish line in 52:47. This was Sarah's 25th international race for Ireland, and her first since becoming a mum just six months ago. Impressive and inspiring. Congratulations, Sarah. Full results.

Sarah said: "The race went well. It was a really hard battle in amongst an incredible field of runners. You always had someone to chase in front and always someone breathing down your neck too. 

"I’m really pleased I was able to make it to the worlds six months after Eilidh arrived. There were definitely times when I didn't think it would be possible. I think focusing on the uphill-only race meant I could do quite a lot of my training by hiking and on the stair-stepper - I probably didn't do any flat running until July.

"It was also really nice to have Eilidh watch the start. It's nice to have that as a bit of story for her when she's growing up - we can tell her that she came to a world champs when she was six months old."

Jack Scott had a tough day out when making his international debut in the men's long-distance trail running race. As part of the Great Britain team, an unwell Jack gritted it out around the 81km course to place 90th. There were 147 finishers in the men's race, with a further 31 retiring. Big kudos for getting it done, Jack. Full results.

Jack said: "My race went pretty badly and turned into more of a run than a race. An experience of patience and tenacity. I couldn't show fitness or form and really had to hurt to finish. I was on my hands and knees at the end suffering. 

"A feeding pattern I'd followed in training up to six hours on the mountain and longer for the Cocodona training block let me down badly and I had to survive the race on next to no fuel. 

"Up to four hours on the course I was flowing, then vomiting and sickness started. It didn't subside. The remaining 7 hours were fuelled on next to nothing. I did the bare minimum to finish, which is sometimes how it needs to be done.

"To be part of the team setup and have this opportunity was special. We had some outstanding performances within the team. I feel the week as a whole was hugely beneficial for me. The experience, I believe, will make me a better runner and coach for what I've seen, felt and heard."

PRE-EVENT BLOG POST

The world’s best off-road runners have descended on The Pyrenees for the 2025 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships (WMRTC).

The Spanish mountain village of Canfranc will play host to five races between September 25-28, with runners from 50 countries set to battle it out over steep, technical, rugged courses. Amongst them will be INOV8 athletes Jack Scott and Sarah McCormack.

Championships Race Schedule

• World Mountain Running Champs Uphill – Thu Sep 25 (6km / 3,250ft)
• Trail World Champs Short Trail – Fri Sep 26 (45km / 12,000ft)
• Trail World Champs Long Trail – Sat Sep 27 (81km / 16,600ft)
• World Mountain Running Champs Up & Down – Sun Sep 28 (14km / 2,500ft)
• World Mountain Running Champs Up & Down (Under-20s) – Sun Sep 28 (8km / 1,300ft)

History of the Championships

Following the 2022 event in Thailand (which was delayed a year due to COVID-19) and the 2023 event in Austria, this is the third time that the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships will have been staged together as one merged force.

Prior to that the championships were staged separately. The World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) hosted the first World Trophy in 1985, which became an official world championship in 2009. Separately, the International Trail Running Association (ITRA) staged its first championship in 2007.

World Athletics led the merging of the two, creating a single, combined championship event held every two years.

The 2023 championships in Innsbruck-Stubaital, Austria, featured the same race schedule as is planned for 2025. With men’s and women’s medals awarded for both individual and team performances, it was France who topped the final table with 11 medals, followed by Kenya (9), Italy (7), Great Britain (6) and Switzerland (6).

The scene is set in the Canfranc mountains. Photo: Jamie Rutherford

2025 Championships Preview

As you would expect from a world championship event, the fields in all races are stacked with incredible talent.

The French, Kenyan, Italian and British teams once again contain athletes who will be pushing for medals, while many expect the Spanish to be super-strong on home soil. The Swiss, German and Ugandan athletes will also be amongst those in the mix for podium places.

The 2025 event also sees the US – who won 4 medals in 2023 – with arguably its best team in recent years. The likes of Jim Walmsley, Zach Miller, Caleb Olson and Katie Schide are set to race the long trail event.

As for the courses the athletes will race on, they look steep, technical and rugged.

INOV8 athlete Jack Scott visited Canfranc this summer to check out the course for the long trail race and says: “It’s a real mountain race with wild sections… no smooth tracks or areas to switch off. I think this course requires agility, strength and balance, as much as pure fitness and speed.”

Jack Scott – New Q&A

Jack will race the long trail event as part of the Great Britain men’s team alongside Hugh Chatfield, Alastair Graves, Luke Grenfell-Shaw, Andy Symonds and Keith Wigley.

It will be his first international vest following a second-place finish at the GB selection race in Wales. We caught up with Jack, who holds the 268-mile Winter Spine Race course record along the Pennine Way following his incredible win in 2024, as he makes his final preparations in Spain.

When I decided to pursue the Pennine Way, I had to turn my back on this goal/achievement. To be in prime shape for selection races or build a CV of European race results is hard when every January you demolish your health and fitness in the dark of northern England on the Spine Race! But this year was different and coming off the back of my DNF at Cocodona 250 in America I decided to let the chains go, not overthink it and see if I could turn my year around with a summer success.

I entered the selection races and am very grateful for the opportunity. I felt like I learnt an awful lot in the fast turnaround between the DNF and the two selection races. Not necessarily about my fitness but about race strategy, approach and outlook.

The course is very similar to big runs around Snowdonia, perhaps akin to combining three or four legs of the Paddy Buckley Round.

It’s hard and dangerous, a real mountain race with wild sections. Add 200 of the best trial/mountain runners from each country to that and you’ve got quite the mix.

Race the course, not the names.

Yes, I think the international concept is growing and so it should. I really like the different elements of racing. The uphill-only race fascinates me because that’s an area of fitness and skill that I’m always working on. Linear uphill races should be more common in my opinion.

There are no fancy lights in Canfranc (yet) like you get in Chamonix or similar and no huge prize money, but this is important, relevant and proper. I guess people are representing brands all the time, so we forget there’s competition between nations too. It’s an opportunity and it should mean a lot to everyone who gets to run under their national banner.

After running on the course earlier in the summer I realised what it’s going to take to complete it safely and perform well. The long course is very difficult, as mentioned above. Nothing comes free. No smooth tracks or areas to switch off. I’ve worked a lot on my mountain movements, not necessarily my mountain fitness. I think this course requires agility, strength and balance, as much as pure fitness and speed.

I think I’ve got the mix right and I’m intrigued to see how others fair going beyond 50k. I’ve decided to race without poles and have been working on my power-hiking, stride length and controlling my breathing better.

I have a time goal in mind which I think is achievable.

When you build a race picture in your head and visualise where you might finish, you naturally anticipate everyone else is going to have their best day. This never happens, and this time I’m planning on slipping through the net and executing quietly. I’m a ‘nobody’ on this start line and that’s fine by me.

Yes. I was a reserve for the short trail team and did the uphill selection race but DNFd after rolling my ankle. I’ve met a lot of the team.

I think we have some superb male runners on the roster, but I think our female contingent are the ones to watch. Scout Adkin and Naomi Lang have had superb seasons in Europe, and I suspect they will do extremely well.

Shoutout also to Lizzie Richardson who is the women’s FKT holder for the Paddy Buckley Round. She had a superb run at the selection race in Wales and is the solo female representative on the GB long trail team. The course should suit her.

The TRAILTALON ZERO. They give me a natural cadence and confidence in the mountains. I also like the protection and comfort I get when running downhill and how the toe-box doesn’t cause any issues for me. I love them.

Sarah McCormack will represent Ireland in the World Mountain Running Champs Uphill race. The experienced runner and coach recently returned to competitive racing following the birth of her first child six months ago.

Sarah has won many international vests (this will be her 25th) and has regularly raced in big European mountain running events.

We caught up with Sarah the day before she takes to the championship start line.

I'm really looking forward to the race as an opportunity. I haven't had the chance to race much going into it, so it will be interesting to see where I'm at.

On my return back to training after having Eilidh, I initially focused exclusively on uphill running because there was less impact involved, so there were a lot of training sessions where I would run up and walk back down. In one way, I have probably done a more concentrated block of hill reps sessions in the build-up to this race than ever before, though my overall mileage and training time has been a bit lower than in the past.

This will be my 25th international mountain running vest for mountain running with Ireland and my first as a mum.

My return to running after having Eilidh was definitely not straightforward and I had to be a bit creative with my training plan to make sure that I was prioritizing recovery first and foremost. So, I did a lot more stair-stepper training as it’s lower impact and a lot more cross-training than I have done in the past.

Eilidh is now six months old, and juggling motherhood demands with training hasn't been too bad. I definitely have to credit my partner Paul (Tierney) for doing his fair share. We've really been swapping on and off with childcare to make sure that both of us get out training as much as we want to and can get all our work done as well.

Paul just competed in the Tor des Geants 330k race last week, and I think we both appreciate that the other one needs to get out training to feel like themselves. So, we've been able to swap on and off with our training time.

Definitely. I think I've had to get better at making concessions in my training, and improvising, being happy with lower mileage and just making the most of available time.

And it's also just put things into perspective, you know, whether I have a good race or a bad race, I still have a lovely family to come home to at the end of the day. So, it's definitely changed the relative priority of certain aspects of my life.

Eilidh will be here watching the race. My dad is here with his partner as well, so they'll be able to bring Eilidh to the race, and she'll be able to support Team Ireland. Paul is unfortunately unwell and couldn’t travel with the team for this one.

Runners out on the courses in Canfranc. Photo: Jamie Rutherford

Just to really empty the tank! It's kind of a narrow course, so I know it's going to be important to keep looking for opportunities to overtake if I feel that's possible. But ultimately, I just want to make sure that I make the most of the opportunity, as I wasn't sure if I would even make it to this one.

It's going to be a fantastic field of runners, so it's a great chance to get the best race I possibly can out of myself. I think we have a really strong Irish ladies' team this year, so I'd like to help contribute towards a good team result.

I have kept quite an open mind about the outcome, but my process goals are to make sure that I get everything out of myself that I can and finish with an empty tank, stay positive and to keep pushing throughout the race.

I'll be racing in a new prototype shoe that I’ve been testing. I really like the feeling of the grip, and they are nice and lightweight as a racing shoe. I've been training in them a lot the last few months, so they are a natural choice for me as a racing shoe.

*Follow the action from the 2025 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships on YouTube.