The following article was written by Colorado-based athlete and coach Chris Grauch and features his experience at the 2024 World Masters Mountain Running Championships.
Mountain running is not for the faint of heart, no matter your age or experience level. Even so, athletes flock to the high country to challenge themselves over uneven surfaces with steep ascents and descents, while factoring in the uncertainty of variable weather conditions. There are a lot of events to choose from and for masters-aged competitors (ages 35-79), a world championship is staged annually.
The 23rd installment of the World Masters Mountain Running Championships was held September 13-15, in Canfranc Spain and I raced in two of the three events.
Setting the stage at World Masters
Lung-busting climbs to snow-covered peaks and blistering descents on loose technical terrain sums up this year’s three-day event in the Pyrenees. As usual this year’s event was filled with delightful folks from around the world smiling and chatting away before the races only to put their heads down and battle fiercely when the gun goes off on race morning. Just because some of us have a bit of gray hair doesn’t mean that we’re not still highly competitive and love the thrill of racing.
I raced the 6K uphill race on Friday and the classic 17K race on Sunday. Sandwiched between these two races, was the 34k long distance race on Saturday. The United States had a good showing this year in all events with several individual and team medals. It’s all scored according to age groups in five year increments.
Registrants must be members of their respective national governing bodies and for the United States, this is USA Track & Field (USATF). Each of the U.S. athletes received a kit from USATF to include a singlet, shorts, and warmup suit. The event is held in partnership between the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) and World Masters Athletics (WMA).
Uphill race
The uphill race started with cold temps, a little drizzle, and short glimpses of a snow-covered peak, 3,000 feet up, revealing the end goal. With the first snow of the year gracing the finish line there was mandatory gear to be carried including a hooded, waterproof jacket and an emergency blanket.
I started out fairly conservatively and didn’t panic going through the inevitable bottle neck that occurred going from double track to single track trail. I soon settled in to an effort just below red line and started hunting folks down, trying not to think too much about the strong runners that I knew were clipping my heels.
Through switchbacks, short technical sections, and views that I dared not distract myself with, I kept pushing and waiting for the turn onto the final, brutal, 30 percent slope to the top to switch it into that “kamikaze” gear you can only use at the end of races. Flashbacks of progressive threshold intervals on “powerline” (a 20-30 percent slope out my front door in Nederland, Colorado) left me feeling confident that I could handle the searing in my legs and lungs.
The effort earned me a silver medal in the M50s, my highest placement at world masters to date. Once the world stopped spinning and I could breathe, I was elated.
Classic race
The 17k classic race on Sunday boasted 3,200 feet of climbing and descending, roughly a 4 mile climb and a 6 mile descent. It took place on a different area in the Canfranc valley than the uphill race.