THE STUBAI VALLEY INVITES TO THE WORLD MOUNTAIN AND TRAIL RUNNING CHAMPIONSHIPS 2023

The Stubai Valley and Innsbruck region are the venue for the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships 2023 (WMTRC 2023). Around 1,400 athletes are expected to take part in the four days of competition in June 2023.

The combination of the city, with its great infrastructure for events and proximity to the mountains, and the Stubai Valley, with its top holiday hotels and alpine landscape, offers the ideal conditions for exciting and varied competitions for mountain runners and trail runners. The international award committee for the 2023 Mountain Running and Trail Running World Championships was probably thinking along similar lines when the committee made up of the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU), the International Trail Running Association (ITRA) and the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA), under the management of World Athletics (WA), decided to award the World Championships to the Innsbruck-Stubai region in May 2022. The World Mountain and Trail Running Championships 2023 (WMTRC 2023) will see up to 1,400 athletes from over 60 nations compete in the heart of the Alps. The search for the world champions over a total of four distances in the categories female, male, junior female and junior male will take place on four competition days in June 2023 (the exact date is still to be determined).

Best Conditions

The Innsbruck-Stubai region is well known among mountain runners and trail runners for events such as the internationally renowned Schlickeralm run, the Stubai Ultratrail or the “Innsbruck Alpine Trailrun Festival”. Breathtaking routes such as trails along the “Kalkkögel” to Neustift and up to the “Elfer” or routes through the old town of Innsbruck and the legendary “Höll” are already being worked out for the World Championships. However, the exact routes have not been finalised yet.

Broad Support

The joint bid by Innsbruck Tourism and the Stubai Tirol tourism association beat off strong international competition. They were able to impress with their professional application documents, proven experience in events management and excellent reputation as leading alpine sports regions.

Austria’s Vice-Chancellor and Minister of Sport Werner Kogler: “A mountain running and trail running world championship in Tyrol? Where, if not here – one is inclined to ask. I congratulate Innsbruck and Stubai on this high-quality application and look forward to exciting competitions for medals, spectacular pictures from the Tyrolean mountains and a festival that’s all about sustainability.”

Tyrol’s Governor Günther Platter is delighted about the award: “In Tyrol, we know how to organise sporting events and major events. The joint hosting by the two regions Innsbruck and Stubai provides the best conditions for the successful and sustainable staging of the competitions as well as the supporting programme.”

Sebastian Coe, President of the International Association of Athletics Federations, is delighted: “We are thrilled that the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships 2023 will take place in the Austrian region InnsbruckStubai. This international running festival will bring elite trail and mountain runners together from around the world to run through some of Austria’s most spectacular scenery.”