With the European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships taking place this year, the continent’s trail and mountain running scene was preparing for another major year in this fast growing area of the sport in 2024.
The glorious scenery of Annecy, France and the surrounding mountain ranges of Bornes, Bauges and Aravis played host to the second edition of the championships on 31 May-2 June, whose inaugural edition took place in El Paso on the Spanish island of La Palma in 2022.
With 480 runners representing 30 countries across ten senior and U20 male and female disciplines, it was a significant increase on the 283 runners from 24 Member Federations who raced in the Canary Islands two years prior.
France dominate on home terrain
On familiar home terrain, the French were the dominant nation, heading the medal table with 22 places on the podium, including 11 titles. They took a medal clean sweep in the senior men’s and senior women’s trail races that snaked 57.64km through the alpine surroundings.
Thomas Cardin upgraded from bronze in El Paso to take gold in the senior men’s trail race while hometown hero Benjamin Roubiol. Loic Rolland completed a French 1-2-3. In the women’s trail race, Clementine Geoffray added the European crown to the world title she gained in 2023,
She was followed home by 2019 world champion Blandine L'Hirondel, Adeline Martin and Julie Roux as France took the first four places. It meant France cleaned up both the men’s and women’s team trail titles too.
Englehard makes it look easy in the mountains
It was also a memorable event for Germany’s Nina Engelhard who claimed a superb mountain double, winning the Classic Hill and Up and Down senior women’s races.
In the senior men’s Up and Down race, Roberto Delorenzi from Switzerland grabbed gold, whilst in the Classic Hill, Britain’s Joe Steward triumphed. British siblings Jacob and Scout Adkin both won silver, finishing second in the senior men’s and senior women’s Classic Hill races respectively.
Great Britain won the women’s Up and Down team title, whilst the men’s team title went to France. In the Classic Hill discipline, Britain took the men’s team title and France the women’s team gold.
Another family success story saw Germany’s Julia Ehrle win the U20 women’s Classic Hill race and her elder brother Lukas took bronze in the senior men's Classic Hill race.
The U20 men’s Classic Hill race was won by Matthieu Bührer of Switzerland. France won the U20 women’s Classic Hill team title and Switzerland claimed the men’s U20 Classic Hill team title
French took all the titles in the U20 Up and Down races, Margot Dajoux was victorious in the women’s race and Antoine Paydebois won the men’s event, leading the way for France to take both U20 team competitions.
Simoneau takes U18 crown
The other major championship of the summer came later in the month with the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) hosted the International U18 Mountain Running Cup in Montaña Palentina, Spain on 21-22 June.
Another event it might have been, but it was a familiar story with more French success.
This time, Emilien Simoneau, a member of the France team that won the U20 men's Up and Down team title at Annecy, enjoyed individual glory as he front ran his way to the U18 men’s title. France also took team silver behind the USA.
European runners dominated the women’s U18 race. Italy’s Licia Ferrari, who went on to finish tenth in the women’s 3000m at the European Athletics U18 Championships in Banska-Bystrica later in the summer, won gold. Marina Pujalte Sánchez of Spain and Anina Hirzel of Switzerland took silver and bronze while Spain claimed the team title.
Adkin wins World Cup series
In the WMRA Mountain Running World Cup, Great Britain’s Scout Adkin finished as overall series winner in the women’s senior category. It included victories at the Montemuro Vertical Run in Portugal, La Montee du Nid D'Aigle in France and finally in the Vertical Kilometre at the World Cup Final in Lagunc, Italy to wrap up the victory.
Finland’s Susanna Saapunki was the next best European in fourth place with a consistent set of results.
There were also individual World Cup wins for Austrian mountain running icon Andrea Mayr in the Vertical Kilometre in Nasego, Italy, Ioana Madalina Amairei of Romania in the Long Trail at Giir di Mont, Italy and - just a few weeks after her brace of European titles - Engelhard won the Classic Hill race at the Grossglockner Mountain Run, Austria.
In the senior men’s category Italy’s Andrea Elia was the top European, placing seventh overall, including a fine victory in the Vertical Kilometre at the World Cup Final in Lagunc.
Germany’s European bronze medallist Lukas Ehrle also enjoyed a World Cup victory in the Classic Hill race at the Montemuro Vertical Run, Portugal.
British runner blazes a trail in USA
The year’s iconic trail races also brought great results for European athletes.
The UTMB Mont Blanc with 171km of running and 10.04km of elevation gain, is one of the planet’s most cherished endurance events and it heralded yet another success for France, in the shape of Vincent Boulliard landing his most significant result to date.
Fellow French runner and European silver medallist L’Hirondel was the leading European in the women’s race, placing fifth.
There was also a groundbreaking performances from Britain’s Jasmin Paris in the notorious Barkley Marathons at the Frozen Head State Park in Tennessee, USA. The ultramarathon trail race has a fearsome reputation with runners challenged to complete five laps of the 32km course with 16.5km of elevation within 60 hours.
On 22 March, Paris crossed the line fifth in 59:58:21, just 99 seconds inside the cutoff time but became the first woman ever to achieve the feat and one of only 20 runners ever to complete the race.
It was a year in which European athletes truly scaled the peaks and blazed a trail in every way.
Chris Broadbent for European Athletics