WMRA World Cup


The WMRA World Cup is an annual series of mountain running competitions organised by the World Mountain Running Association that runs from around May to October. Athletes are awarded points for each performance on the tour. Its predecessor was the Alpine Grand Prix, a 1997 formation including four European races in the Alps region. It formally became the WMRA Grand Prix in 1999 and subsequently expanded to six races in 2001. It reverted to four races in 2007 and from 2008 onwards began to vary between five and seven races. The competition took its current title World Cup in 2014.

History

The series originally was held mid-year around July to August, fitting mostly between the European Mountain Running Championships and the World Mountain Running Championships. From 2001 onwards, the expansion of the series meant the inclusion of the World Championships as a leg of the series and the Grand Prix Final event coming after the championships as a season-closer for mountain running. The races in the middle period of the series are usually held relatively close together to allow top level athletes from across the world to compete in many races without excessive travel. From 2006 onwards the International Association of Athletics Federations began sanctioning the meetings on the annual circuit.
The points scoring format is cumulative. Finishing positions in a WMRA Grand Prix race range from 100 points for first to 1 point for 30th. Additional points may be awarded for performances achieved at the World Championships, if that event is included in the tour that year, and the Grand Prix Final race. An athlete's four best performances across the series are totalled and the athlete with the highest overall score wins the series. The series has a men's division and a women's division, with both a men's and women's series winner being declared. Athletes must compete in at least two races in order to be considered in the final rankings.
Jonathan Wyatt of New Zealand is the most successful athlete of the series history, accumulating eight wins from 1999 to 2009. He is also the only male athlete to achieve a perfect score, having done so five times consecutively from 2002 to 2006. Angela Mudge of Great Britain and Poland's Izabela Zatorska are the joint most successful female runners across the series, each with three victories to their name. Zatorska became the first person to achieve a perfect score in the series in 2001. Anna Pichrtová and Andrea Mayr are the only other women to match that feat. Eritrean Azeria Teklay became the first winner from Africa in 2012, marking increased participation from outside the Western world.

Editions

Ed.YearDatesRacesMen's winnerPointsWomen's winnerPoints
—1997–4260300
—1998–4??
1st199911 July–3 October4280320
2nd200011 June–20 August4340285
3rd200117 June–6 October6290300
4th200226 May–6 October6300290
5th200311 June–5 October6400380
6th200416 May–9 October6400340
7th20058 May–8 October6300325
8th200623 July–28 October6430430
8th200710 June–6 October4300308
9th20081 May–4 October7394315
10th200921 May–3 October7352327
11th201013 May–2 October5386340
12th201122 May–1 October6407405
13th201217 May–6 October5404357
14th20132 June–5 October6377375
15th20148 June–4 October6386440
16th20157 June–3 October6275375
17th201612 June–1 October6450425
18th201728 May–7 October7440470
19th201815 July–6 October5410435
20th201924 May–12 October7525495

Races

Numerous races have featured over the history of the competition, most of them being held in the Alps. Exceptions to this include the Gibraltar Rock Race in Gibraltar, the Snowdon Race in Wales, Skaala Uphill in Norway, and Alyeska Mountain Run in Alaska – the latter is the only occasion that a Grand Prix race has been held outside of Europe. The Šmarna Gora Mountain Race in Slovenia has served the honour of being the Grand Prix Final race on several occasions.
RaceLocationCountryInclusion
World Mountain Running ChampionshipsVariesVariesWhen held in Europe
La Montée du Grand BallonWiller-sur-ThurFranceFrequent
Gorski tek na GrintovecKamnikSloveniaFrequent
Mayrhofen Harakiri RunMayrhofenAustriaFrequent
Šmarna Gora Mountain RaceLjubljanaSloveniaFrequent
Feuerkogel BerglaufEbenseeAustriaOccasional
Skaala UphillLoenNorwayOccasional
Asitzgipfel Mountain RaceLeogangAustriaOccasional
Castle Mountain RunningArcoItalyOccasional
Challenge StellinaSusaItalyOccasional
Schlickeralm BerglaufTelfesAustriaOccasional
Grossglockner BerglaufHeiligenblutAustriaInfrequent
Gibraltar Rock RaceRock of GibraltarGibraltarInfrequent
Berglauf TerlanMöltenItalyInfrequent
Montagne OlimpicheSauze d'OulxItalyInfrequent
Brandenkopf-BerglaufZell am HarmersbachGermanyInfrequent
Borno BerglaufBornoItalyInfrequent
MatterhornlaufZermattSwitzerlandInfrequent
HochfellnberglaufBergenGermanyInfrequent
Gamperney-BerglaufGrabsSwitzerlandInfrequent
Berglauf SeegrubeInnsbruckAustriaInfrequent
Snowdon RaceLlanberisUnited KingdomInfrequent
Kitzbüheler HornlaufKitzbühelAustriaInfrequent
Tek na smučeh KrvavecCerkljeSwitzerlandInfrequent
Danis-Berglauf/Rothorn-RunLenzerheideSwitzerlandInfrequent
Tek na RatitovecŽeleznikiSlovenia2015
MuttersberglaufBludenzAustria2014
Course des 2 BainsOvronnazSwitzerland2008
Berglauf MeranMeranoItaly2008
Raiffeisen SchneeberglaufPuchberg am SchneebergAustria2008
Crans-Montana Mountain RaceChermignonSwitzerland2007
Alyeska Mountain RunGirdwoodUnited States2002