It’s almost here! The 2025 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships kick off Thursday, September 25, in Canfranc, Spain, with the World Mountain Running Championships (WMRC) Uphill race. The men start at 10:00 a.m. CEST, and the women an hour later.
Thanks so much to The North Face for sponsoring iRunFar’s coverage of the 2025 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships!
The all-uphill climb is 6.4 kilometers (4 miles) in distance, with a steady 990 meters (3,248 feet) of elevation gain. This is the event’s only race that doesn’t start from the Canfranc International Railway Station. Instead, it starts two kilometers north at the Hotel Santa Cristina. The course climbs through a black pine forest to a finish high on Larraca Mountain in the Spanish Pyrenees.
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 have come together under a common umbrella, combining the Uphill and Up and Down races of the WMRC and the Long Trail and Short Trail races of the Trail World Championships. The merging has certainly added to the event’s prestige.
Runners from 49 countries will take part in the men’s race, and the women’s race has 44 different countries represented. There is a 24,000 Euro prize purse between the men’s and women’s races, with 5,000 Euro to the winners and cash payouts through fifth place.
To see more of who is racing, check out the complete start list for all of the events.
In addition to our pre- and post-race coverage, we’ll provide some race-day coverage, both liveblogging here on the website and across our social media.
- 2025 Trail World Championships Short Trail preview
- 2025 Trail World Championships Long Trail women’s preview
- 2025 Trail World Championships Long Trail men’s preview
- 2025 World Mountain Running Championships Up and Down preview
The 2023 World Mountain Running Championships Uphill race men’s podium (left-to-right): 2. Levi Kiprotich, 1. Patrick Kipngeno, 3. Josphat Kiprotich. Kipngeno returns in 2025. Photo: Marco Gulberti
2025 World Mountain Running Championships Uphill Men’s Preview
Podium Potential Men
Call it a three-peat, or call it a hat trick, Kenya’s Patrick Kipngeno is going for it. Kipngeno’s already a double world champion. He won the WMRC Uphill race in 2022 in Thailand and won again in 2023 in Austria. He also won Golden Trail World Series races in Japan and China at the start of this year, and most recently was second at Sierre-Zinal in August. A third win at the world championships would cement his status as one of the world’s best climbers ever.
Patrick Kipngeno, 2023 WMRC Uphill race winner. Photo: iRunFar/Sarah Brady
Only three months after Patrick Kipngeno won his world title in 2023, Switzerland’s Rémi Bonnet beat him at the Pikes Peak Ascent in Colorado, and then Bonnet outclimbed him, as well as many other of the world’s best climbers, on his way to victory a week later at the 2023 Mammoth Trail Fest 23k. Bonnet wasn’t at either of the earlier world championships, and so this was a big blow to Kipngeno’s status as the world’s best uphiller. That was two years ago though, and Bonnet hasn’t reached those levels since. Bonnet started 2025 with a shock 31st-place finish at the Il Golfo dell’Isola Golden Trail World Series race and then shut the season down with injury. He hasn’t raced since, and his social media shared that he was still only biking in early August. If Bonnet makes the start line, can he be close to world-class form so soon into his comeback?
Rémi Bonnet winning the 2023 Pikes Peak Ascent and setting a new course record. Photo: Golden Trail Series | Pikes Peak Ascent | The Adventure Bakery
Rémi Bonnet’s outclimbed Patrick Kipngeno before, and so too has Italy’s Andrea Elia. The uphill all-star won last year’s Mountain Running World Cup Finals VK in Italy, in a race where Kipngeno was third. More recently, Elia was third at this year’s Vertical Nasego in Italy in May. He was, though, only 19th at 2023 WMRC Uphill race.
Italy’s Andrea Elia, the 2024 Mountain Running World Cup Finals VK champion. Photo: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
Uganda’s Eliud Cherop was fourth at the 2023 WMRC Uphill, but that was nearly two full minutes behind winner Patrick Kipngeno. Cherop was second at this year’s Ugandan National Mountain and Trail Running Championships Uphill race, and he ran 29:31 for the 10,000 meters on the track at the Ugandan National Championships earlier this summer too.
Joseph Gray of the U.S. has been here before, many times. He’s a two-time world champion, having won the WMRC Up and Down course in 2019 and the WMRC Uphill in 2016. Gray was fifth at the WMRC Uphill in 2023 and sixth in 2022, too. At age 41, Gray is still at the front of many fields, including placing second at the 2025 Broken Arrow Ascent — which was the U.S. selection race for the WMRC Uphill — and is also likely to be the fastest masters runner in the race.
Joseph Gray, first U.S. male in the 2023 WMRC Uphill race. Photo: iRunFar/Sarah Brady
Joseph Gray was beaten at the 2025 Broken Arrow Ascent by Christian Allen, who is a 2:10 marathoner and has been really up and down on the trails. He’s done well in the U.S. but struggled when racing in Europe. In the U.S., he won both the 2024 USATF 10k and Half Marathon Trail National Championships, but he was just 21st at Sierre-Zinal, 15th at the Pitz Alpine 23k, which is part of the Golden Trail World Series, and dropped at the Val d’Aran 50k, all earlier this summer.
Christian Allen on his way to a win and spot on Team USA for the 2025 WMRC Uphill at the 2025 Broken Arrow Ascent. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
More Men to Watch
- Richard Omaya Atuya (Kenya) – 1st 2025 Vauban Mountain Trail Uphill; 1st 2025 Vertical Nasego; 1st 2024 Mountain Running World Cup Finals VK
- Johan Bugge (Norway) – 21st 2023 & 11th 2022 WMRC Uphill; 17th 2023 & 45th 2022 WMRC Up and Down
- Samuel Cherop (Uganda) – Has run 13:29 for 5k on the road in 2025
- Xavier Chevrier (Italy) – 9th 2023 WMRC Up and Down; 8th 2022 WMRC Uphill
- Lukas Ehrle (Germany) – 5th 2025 Broken Arrow 23k
- Alex García (Spain) – 3rd 2022 WMRC Uphill; 14th 2025 & 12th 2024 Sierre-Zinal
- Zak Hanna (Ireland) – 5th 2022 WMRC Uphill
- Isaac Kibet (Uganda) – 1st 2025 Ugandan National Mountain and Trail Running Championships Uphill
- Alex Kiplangat (Uganda) – 3rd 2025 Ugandan National Mountain and Trail Running Championships Uphill
- Théodore Klein (France) – 3rd 2024 Mountain Running World Cup Finals Trail Race; 20th 2023 WMRC Uphill; 10th 2025 Vertical Nasego
- Remi Leroux (Canada) – 25th 2023 & 14th 2022 WMRC Uphill; 6th 2025 Broken Arrow Ascent; 4th 2025 & 2nd 2024 Mount Washington Road Race
- Quentin Meyleu (France) – 18th 2023 WMRC Uphill; 7th 2025 Vauban Mountain Trail Uphill; 7th 2025 Vertical Naego
- Emmanuel Meyssat (France) – 16th 2023 WMRC Uphill; 15th 2023 WMRC Up and Down; 5th 2025 Vauban Mountain Trail Uphill
- Julius Ott (Germany) – 13th 2023 WMRC Uphill; 11th 2023 WMRC Up and Down
- Alexandre Ricard (Canada) – 1st 2025 Mount Washington Road Race; 17th 2023 & 10th 2022 WMRC Uphill; 1st 2024 Canadian Mountain Running Championships Uphill
- Dominik Rolli (Switzerland) – 11th 2023 WMRC Uphill; 7th 2025 & 10th 2022 Sierre-Zinal; 7th 2025 Pitz Alpine 23k
- Andrea Rostan (Italy) – 14th 2023 WMRC Uphill; 4th 2025 Vertical Nasego
- Cam Smith (U.S.) – 20th 2022 WMRC Uphill; 3rd 2025 Broken Arrow Ascent
- Jonas Soldini (Switzerland) – 24th 2023 & 12th 2022 WMRC Uphill
Richard Omaya Atuya, the 2025 Giir di Mont Uphill men’s winner. Photo: World Mountain Running Association/@marcogulberti_photography
2025 World Mountain Running Championships Uphill Women’s Preview
Potential Podium Women
Kenya’s Philaries Kisang won an WMRC Uphill silver medal in Austria in 2023, and she is the top returning woman. Uphill legend Andrea Mayr from Austria, the 2023 champion, will not defend her crown. Kisang has continued to shine in uphill races. She won this year’s Vertical Nasego race, as well as the Trofeo Nasego, and was second at the 2024 Mountain Running World Cup Finals VK.
Philaries Kisang on her way to second at the 2023 WMRC Uphill. Photo: iRunFar/Sarah Brady
Scout Adkin from Great Britain won the 2025 and 2024 Mountain Running World Cup series, and has won Uphill races in the process. She skipped the 2025 Mountain Running World Cup Finals in August because of injury. If healthy, Adkin could improve on her 2023 WMRC Uphill eighth-place finish. Adkin was 11th in this same race in 2022 in Thailand. In 2024, she won the Mountain Running World Cup Finals VK ahead of Philaries Kisang.
Scout Adkin, the 2025 Giir di Mont Uphill women’s winner. Photo: World Mountain Running Association/@marcogulberti_photography
Italy’s Francesca Ghelfi excels in Mountain Running World Cup uphill races too. Scout Adkin edged Ghelfi to win this year’s Giir di Mont Uphill in Italy, and Philaries Kisang beat both of them at the Vertical Nasego race where Ghelfi placed third. Ghelfi was this year’s uphill national champion for Italy. She was, though, only 18th at the 2023 WMRC Uphill race.
It’s from the World Athletics Championships to the World Mountain Running Championships for Kenya’s Janeth Chepngetich. In the 10,000-meter track race in Tokyo, Japan, on September 13, Chepngetich did not finish. Her social media pointed to potential injury. For what it’s worth, Chepngetich’s 29:55 10,000-meter road best from 2024 is likely the best of the field. Earlier this year, she won the Tindiret Barng’etuny Mountain Run in Kenya, a 14k mountain race, which we think is what qualified her for this team.
We might not yet know what we’re going to get from Janeth Chepngetich then, but Switzerland’s Maude Mathys is close to a sure bet. Third at this year’s OCC, third at this year’s Sierre-Zinal, and third at the 2021 WMRC Uphill race, Mathys is always around the podium.
Maude Mathys climbing her way to victory at the 2024 Kobe Trail. Photo: Golden Trail Series/Kobe Trail/Justin Galant
In April, Germany’s Laura Hottenrott ran 2:26 at the Düsseldorf Marathon. That’s not at all uphill, but she was fourth at the 2023 WMRC Uphill and fifth at this year’s Sierre-Zinal race.
American Anna Gibson is a rising star who could put together a podium challenge. Gibson’s done well at competitive races in the U.S., including winning the Broken Arrow Ascent and placing third at the 23k, but she has not yet won internationally. She was eighth at this year’s Sierre-Zinal and sixth in 2024, and 11th at the 2025 Zegama Marathon.
Anna Gibson, the 2025 Broken Arrow Ascent women’s champion. Photo: Broken Arrow Skyrace/Howie Stern
Allie McLaughlin of the U.S. won the 2022 WMRC Uphill and placed 13th at the event in 2023. McLaughlin won the 2024 USATF Half Marathon Trail National Championships and was third at the 2024 Broken Arrow Ascent.
Allie McLaughlin, 2022 WMRC Uphill Champion. Photo: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
More Women to Watch
- Jade Belzberg (Canada) – 27th 2023 WMRC Uphill; 3rd 2025, 2nd 2024, & 5th 2022 Broken Arrow Ascent
- Anne-Marie Comeau (Canada) – 4th 2023 WMRC Uphill; 17th 2023 WMRC Up and Down; 3rd 2025 Mount Washington Road Race
- Emma Cook-Clarke (Canada) – 2nd 2025 Speedgoat 50k; 2nd 2022 Broken Arrow Ascent
- Christel Dewalle (France) – 6th 2023 & 8th 2022 WMRC Uphill
- Naiara Irigoyen (Spain) – 1st 2024 Skyrunning World Championships Vertical
- Onditz Iturbe (Spain) – 5th 2022 WMRC Uphill
- Ruth Jones (Great Britain) – 14th 2022 WMRC Uphill
- Oria Liaci (Switzerland) – 4th 2025 & 8th 2024 Sierre-Zinal
- Marie Nivet (France) – 16th 2022 WMRC Up and Down; 6th 2025 Broken Arrow 23k
- Sydney Petersen (U.S.) – 4th 2025 Broken Arrow Ascent; 10th 2025 U.S. Mountain Running Championships
- Susanna Saapunki (Finland) – 7th 2025 Sierre-Zinal; 4th 2024 Mountain Running World Cup Finals VK
Jade Belzberg working hard to take third at the 2025 Broken Arrow Ascent. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
[In 2015, Maude Mathys received a warning without suspension from the Disciplinary Chamber for Doping Cases of Swiss Olympic for two positive tests for clomifene (previously clomiphene) after it was determined that she was mistakenly taking the drug without first obtaining a World Anti-Doping Agency Therapeutic Use Exemption.]
[Christel Dewalle previously served a four-month doping ban after a positive test for the stimulant Heptaminol at the 2016 Skyrunning World Championships.]
Call for Comments
- Who is your pick for the fasted man to the top of the mountain? Is there anyone we missed who could be at or near the front?
- The women’s Uphill race might be the most wide open of any at the championships. Who’s a dark horse or newcomer that we might’ve overlooked?
