Great anticipation, great expectations and a change dominated the kick-off press conference, two days before the first race of the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Innsbruck-Stubai. Alessio Punzi, of World Athletics (WA), summed it up: "The World Championships will be a dream come true that we started to dream in 2017." Punzi is quick to explain why the WA has such a focus on the sport. "Running in nature is easy for people to do and we want to use it to make the world a bit fitter." By co-hosting the World Mountain Running and Trail Running Championships under the patronage of the World Federation, "we want to attract more and more athletes," says Punzi. "We hope that athletes and spectators simply won't be able to get past the WMTRC."
The weather is responsible for the change. "Because this winter was very long and cold, we can't run the original route for the Trail Long," says OC head Alexander Pittl. "There is so much snow in places that the avalanche danger is simply too big." Thanks to intensive preparation, however, the organisers are well prepared for this circumstance. "There is an alternative route for this case," says Pittl. "And we have already decided to switch to this route because there is less snow there." At 85.8 kilometres, the route is even one kilometre longer than the original.
The athletes are also already looking forward to the races. The German Florian Reichert to the Trail Long. "The landscape is fantastic with the green hills on the one hand and the rugged rocks on the other. The field of participants is stronger than ever because there are no other races at the same time." Like Reichert, Karin Freitag also lives in the World Cup region of Innsbruck-Stubai and is looking forward to a World Cup on her doorstep. "The Vertical starts extremely steep, then you can recover a little and at the end it is very steep again. That's certainly the optimal one for Andrea Mayr, on that section she can hold her own against the others." She herself wants to be able to say at the end "that I gave everything." As for Austria's medal chances, she says: "We want a medal, we don't care about the colour."
Sarah Rowell from the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) is looking forward to exciting and challenging competitions of the world's best athletes. "The Innsbruck-Stubai region is perfect for this because it combines the infrastructure of a big city with the wilderness of the mountains." Rowell also looks to the future of the sport. "I would love to see mountain running and trail running at the Olympics."
Janet Ng, President of the Trailrunning World Association ITRA, was also enthusiastic about the landscape and trails of the Innsbruck-Stubai region. "To bring the races from the mountains to the heart of the old town, like at the Mountain Classic - that is an organiser's dream. I'm really looking forward to the second edition of the WMTRC and happy to be part of this historic week."
