The following release is published with permission from the World Mountain Running Association.
Over 100 of the best young athletes from around the world will come together at the MaXi-Race in Annecy, France, to contest individual and team competitions on Saturday, May 27, at the 16th edition of the International U18 Mountain Running Cup.
As a well-established international race which traditionally attracts some of the best runners in the world, it’s a fitting race to showcase the best young mountain runners internationally. It’s a stunning location for the race, with a finish line next to the beautiful Lake Annecy and a 4.6k undulating course starting from the ski resort, Le Semnoz, taking in 230m of ascent along the way. Semnoz stands at 1700m and offers a breath-taking panorama of this mountain region.
On the course in Saluzzo for the U18 women’s race in 2022. Photo: WMRA.
The International U18 Mountain Running Cup is an annual event bringing together the best under 18 (must be at least 16 or 17 in the year of competition) runners from a broad range of countries, and as such it is an important stepping stone for many in the sport. This year’s event will host athletes from 14 countries: Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Slovenia, Hungary, England, Mexico and USA.
Each country can field four women and four men and the first three finishers for each country will count towards the team competition. So there are individual and team podiums up for grabs and over 100 athletes will contest them.
Alyssa Sauro of the USA and Maciej Lachowski of Poland won titles in 2022. Photo: WMRA
Last year’s event took place in Saluzzo, Italy, and the individual categories were won by Alyssa Sauro of the USA and Maciej Lachowski of Poland, with the team competitions going to England for the women and Italy for the men.
Since the first competition in 2006 Italy has been the most successful country, with a total of eight individual victories (five for women and three for men) and ten victories (five for women and five for men) in the country ranking. This year’s home country, France, accounts for a total of four victories over the years, with two in the individual and two in the team rankings.
There is also an open race on the same course as the national competition. This will take place at 9:30 am and it is open to athletes under the age of 18.
Stéphane Agnoli, MaXi Event’s race director, states: “The MaXi-Race strives to bring together all the various trail running race formats. Since its beginnings in 2011, we have brought together athletes and amateurs of all ages and various backgrounds. The organisation of the Trail World Championships in 2015 and the Mountain Running World Cup in 2019 took place in this context. Hosting the International U18 Mountain Running Cup is an additional challenge that’s completely in line with the values we’ve promoted from the start: sharing of experiences, authenticity and discovery. We will have the pleasure and honour of hosting future champions at the top of Le Semnoz. This event will also enable us to look ahead and plan future projects.”
Who will emerge victorious in the 2023 International U18 Mountain Running Cup? We will find out on Saturday. The women start at 11am and the men at 11:45am local time. Follow the action via WMRA and MaXi-Race social media channels. Follow Team USA @usmtrunningteam on Twitter and Instagram and also @ATRATrailRunner on Instagram and Twitter.
The next event for the WMRA is of course the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Innsbruck, Austria from 6 – 10 June. Then the following weekend the World Cup kicks off at Broken Arrow.
About the WMRA:
Formed in 1984, the World Mountain Running Association is the global governing body for mountain running and has the goal of promoting mountain running for all ages and abilities. As well as the World Cup, the WMRA organizes Masters, U18 and area championships and this year for the second time will work in partnership with the World Athletics, ITRA and IAU to deliver the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Innsbruck, Austria. The WMRA also maintains the Mountain Running World Ranking, a system of points allocated to athletes based on the results in designated races.
