When the bids come out for potential host cities for the Olympic Games, many people wait with bated breath to hear the announcement for the next host city.
Hosting a major athletic event is an honor for a city and can be exciting for spectators, as it presents an opportunity to catch footage of places in the world you have never visited or may be entirely unfamiliar with.
Although the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships do not necessarily have the widespread clout of the Olympic Games, it is still an event that ultrarunners and trail runners hold with high regard. Thus, it is exciting to hear what the upcoming host city will be every year that the event takes place.
It was just announced that the 2025 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships (WMTRC) will take place in the Aragón region of Spain.
This is the first time that Spain will host the prestigious trail running event, which is slated to take place in September 2025.
It is expected that about 1,700 athletes from 70 countries will participate in the 2025 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships.
The World Mountain and Trail Running Championships is a relatively new format in that the mountain running and trail running world championships are held together at one site.
This format of combined races kicked off in 2021 and is currently held every other year.
The first host city was Chiang Mai, Thailand, and this year’s event is taking place in Tyrol and Innsbruck, Austria.
Not only is hosting the 2025 WMTRC an honor for Spain, but it is also an excellent economic opportunity for the country, particularly for the relatively rural, mountainous region in the northwestern part of the country where the event will take place.
The World Mountain and Trail Running Championships are estimated to bring in about 30 million euros to the Aragón, Spain area.
Although this is the first time that Aragón, Spain will host the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships, the city is not new to hosting major mountain running events.
For example, the Aragón region has previously hosted the Canfranc-Canfranc, a prestigious mountain running event that has now taken place 16 times over the years.
In fact, it is indeed the proven history of successfully hosting the Canfranc-Canfranc mountain running race that largely helped the Aragón region in Spain win the bid to host the 2023 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships.
Plus, it doesn’t hurt that the Pyrenees is a stunning area for mountain and trail running, which will help draw international athletes and spectators to enjoy the opportunity to see some of Europe’s most beautiful trails.
Although we will need to wait two years to watch the 2025 WMTRC in Spain, you can catch the 2023 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships, which are being held in Innsbruck, Austria starting on June 6, 2023.
Keen to try mountain running? Check out our guide to mountain running for beginners here.
