January 20

CANFRANC-CANFRANC PRE-CANDIDACY MOUNTAIN AND TRAIL RUNNING WORLD CHAMPS 2023

Posted by Héctor Rubio on January 20, 2022 in calendar 2022, trail running spain | Leave a comment

CANFRANC-CANFRANC PRE-CANDIDACY MOUNTAIN AND TRAIL RUNNING WORLD CHAMPS 2023. This 2022 will be the 16th edition Canfranc-Canfranc, a race which reputation has been growing in recent years: always in search of new heights, always ascending step by step, and yesterday they presented a candidacy for the unified World Cup of WMRA-IAU-ITRA for 2023.

The international association WMRA and the national federation RFEA have chosen it as the venue for their World Cup (Classic & Long Distance) as well as their National Junior and Masters Championships, respectively.

CANFRANC-CANFRANC PRE-CANDIDACY TO HOST
MOUNTAIN AND TRAIL RUNNING WORLD CHAMPS 2023.

Spain faces a new challenge in the mountains from today on, with the hope of hosting the largest event on mountain and trail running next year in the Aragonese Pyrenees. Today the precandidacy for the CANFRANC CANFRANC race was officially launched at International Tourism fair FITUR to host the great World Athletics event that brings together the best teams from all over the planet.

Yesterday the precandidacy of the CANFRANC CANFRANC 2023 to the WORLD MOUNTAIN AND TRAIL WORLD ATHLETICS 2023 was presented in Fitur. It did so in a climate of quiet confidence in the hard work and achievements after15 years of passion for mountain races in the Aragonese Pyrenees . The event was attended by the race director, Alex Varela, the mayor of Canfranc, Fernando Sánchez, the president of the RFEA, Raul Chapado and Sergio Mayayo, as a member of the WMRA World Council.

All of them agreed on the very high demands from the challenge assumed, which has just begun, as well as on the long and solid history that supports the organization capability to carry out an event of this magnitude. Looming ahead, they now expect months of technical and logistical reports, economic assesment, technical inspection visits and much more. In return, if the dream objective were to be achieved, it would indeed imply a great recognition for mountain and trail running throughout Spain, and especially in Aragón.

Photo: Mayayo

CANFRANC CANFRANC HISTORY 2007-2022

Canfranc Canfranc 2022 will arrive next September after 15 years of sporting and popular success. An organization that has also been capable of carrying out the race with maximum guarantees under all kinds of circumstances, whether it snowed up to 30cm (2017); or if it was time to apply very specific and complex health protocols (2020-2021). Canfranc has shown an especially solid and seamless organization, which by 2022 will welcome 1,650 mountain runners, coming from all over the world.

Canfranc Canfranc was born in 2007 and has been, since then, a constantly growing event. When it was born, only nineteen runners took the start. Some “crazy”individuals who dared to attempt what was, for many, the toughest alpine marathon in Spain and Europe, with, 45km and 4,000m of positive elevation gain.

It involved up to 1,250m more uphill and downhill than other classic marathons, such as the Madrid Alpine Marathon or the Gipuzkoan Zegama, and also through considerably steeper and more demanding terrain. Making its own and different spirit penetrate was not easy, but the time and perseverance of its people, together with the word of mouth of each runner who visits it, have worked a miracle step by step.

As of 2015, with the launch of the Ultra 100km and its establishment as the head of the Alpinultras circuit, it was also opened to the entire ultradistance race spectrum, which today includes the 70km and 100km tests.

In 2019 Canfranc surpassed his previous popular records, reaching almost 900 bib numbers. from just 150 runners who started just a few years ago. In the years 2020 and 2021 popular registrations were cut due to sanitary measures and the organization concentrated on achieving a more outstanding sporting level.

On a sporting level, 2021 marked the penultimate leap forward to date: Canfranc Canfranc hosted a 2021 WMRA Mountain Running World Cup event in Spain for the first time in September. And in addition, it was also the headquarters of two RFEA Spanish Championships, Promotion and Master.

Today, the list of winners of Canfranc Canfranc welcomes world champions on all mountain & trail running styles, from the British Charlotte Morgan in Long Distance to the American Grayson Murphy in Classic, to the spanish talents, such as three-time ultra champion Luis Hernando, Oihana Kortazar or Manuel Merillas. All of them already know what it is to run, and win, in Canfranc Canfranc.

In 2022, this progression continues with a new race just added to the event: the Vertical Kilometer: It marks the launch of the fourth basic race which from the Mountain and Trail World Championship program. This Vertical race thus joins the Classic (16k), Long Distance (45k) and Ultra (70k) All veteran courses from the program in Canfranc, which form the agenda of all World Mountain and Trail World Athletics.

As a dress rehearsal for that 2023 bid, the double date of the WMRA 2022 World Cup whose Classic and Vertical modalities will meet here again this year, between 7-9SEP.

Today begins a long and hard road for the Royal Spanish Athletics Federation. With the illusion of a great goal at the end, which would mean a prize for all the fans of our country: Runners, organizers and those thousands of volunteers throughout Spain who ensure the success of each test. A complex challenge before a race,