© Tom Humpage
© Alison Shayler
Trail Running Officially an Actual Sport
Thousands of UTMB runners breathe a collective sigh of relief
Trail running has reached a defining moment in its evolution, with the announcement that it has been recognised as an official sport by the International Association of Athletics Federation.
Given the thousands of people who have gathered in Chamonix this week for the annual Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc, it may seem a bit of an unnecessary classification. Indeed, defining and regulating the sport may even seem to go against the grain of the unconventional and free-spirited nature of many trail running afficionados.
However, trail running is now an official sport of the international athletics committee, having been approved by the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federation) in Peking, with 174 members out of 187 voting in favour of this recognition. This comes alongside the election of former Olympic runner Sebastian Coe as the new president of the IAAF.
The recognition of trail running as part of the IAAF disciplines means that it will now be integrated into the world of international athletics and will be defined within the "IAAF Competition Rules". Whether or not there will be subsections and clauses relating to beard length is yet to be determined.
Trail running is represented by the association ITRA (International Trail Running Association), who have a stand at the salon of this year’s Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc. They are happy to answer any questions you may have about the sport and to aid you in getting involved, wherever you may live. Here are a few facts about ITRA:
- Established in 2013 to promote trail running and its values at an international level
- Aims to promote security and good health practices at trail races, to give a voice to all trail runners, and to build constructive relationships with all trail running associations and federations
- ITRA comprises 437 organiser members from 60 countries
- They have evaluated and certified more than 2000 trail races
- ITRA operates a worldwide database supporting the Performance Index, currently including over 9773 races and 404 000 runners
- They have 1 035 athlete members representing 65 nationalities
- The ITRA Facebook page was created in October 2013 and currently has around 10 200 fans, with approximately 100 new fans a month
- They currently offer work placements to 2 interns
You can find out more from the ITRA website.
