World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships

The World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships (from 2004 up to 2014 the name was World Long Distance Mountain Running Challenge),[1] is an annual international mountain running competition organised by the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA).

The race is a one-day long-distance running contest for both sexes which has individual and national team aspects. The host for the event changes on an annual basis, with the minimum requirements for the challenge being that the course is no longer than 45 kilometres (28 mi) in distance, includes an uphill ascent of at least 1.6 km (1 mile), and has a rough duration of between one hour and forty-five minutes and four hours for the elite men. The challenge does not take place on specially-made courses, but rather it is incorporated into pre-existing, traditional races.[2]

The competition was first held in 2004 on a course from Sierre to Zinal.[3] Since its inception, the challenge has been hosted at competitions including the Three Peaks Race in the United Kingdom, Switzerland's Jungfrau Marathon, and the Pikes Peak Marathon in the United States.[4] The event has significant variance in its level of participation: the 2007 race at the Jungfrau Marathon attracted over 4200 runners of fifty nationalities, while at the 2011 of the competition there were 405 runners representing a total of 18 countries.[5][6]