Member's Blog - Mike Whyatt World Masters Mountain Running Championships

Mike (left) representing GB last weekend

I have just returned from a fab (and very hot!) week at the World Masters Mountain Running Championships, which this year were held in record temperatures at Janské Lázně - a small spa town in the Krkonoše Mountains in the Czechia.   

The WMMRC is an official masters world championship sanctioned by the World Mountain Running Association and World Athletics.  It takes place annually, each time in a different country.

Runners compete in 5 year categories so plenty of medal chances. The youngest are in the 35-40 bracket and the oldest are over 75.  This year over 32 countries were represented.  The great thing is that it’s an open event so there is no need to qualify and the first 3 runners from each country are counted automatically as a national team.  Everyone races over the same course, although to keep the numbers manageable there are usually about 3 separate start times for the various age groups, men and women.

The format has developed quite a bit since the event started 25 years ago.  Originally there was just the one ‘uphill only’ race.  The venue was usually a ski resort and the finishers could take the cable car back down.  For the first time, in 2023 runners were also offered the option of a ‘long race’ a couple of days later, so you could do either the uphill only, or the long, or both if you were up to it.  I turned 60 in 2023 and managed to win the gold in Madeira in the first ever long race.

The format developed further over the following years but now seems to have settled on the basis of 3 races over a single weekend.  The first is an uphill only on the Friday, then a long on the Saturday followed by the ‘classic up and down’ on the Sunday.  You can do any or all of them but usually people either opt to enter both the ‘uphill’ and the ‘classic’, or just the long.  Doing all three is challenging.

As you might expect the character of each annual event depends a lot on the terrain.  Janské Lázně is a low altitude ski resort with steep grassy slopes and wooded paths.  All the races were at the shorter end of what might be expected but with extremely steep climbs straight up the ski slopes. 

The race formats were:-

Uphill only – 7.79km with 851m ascent

Long distance – 22.17km with 1332m ascent/descent

Classic up & down – 8.95km with 594m ascent/descent

I registered for all three but held off deciding which ones I should actually do.  The uphill on the Friday was my only definite because from past experience I knew I needed a ‘warmup’ race to jolt my brain and body into mountain race mode.  The best I’ve ever managed on the uphill was a 3^rd place in Madeira in 2023.  The big decision was whether to do the long race the following day, or the classic up and down on the Sunday.   The classic was my first choice – I had won silver the previous year in a head to head with the Italian 10 times world champion, Franco Torrisani (aka ‘the Flying Priest’). Like most of the best mountain runners Franco is tiny and I felt that using my road speed in a short fast race was my best chance against him.  On the other hand, the long race was not actually that long and much of the second half of the route was very fast and runnable, which should also suit me.  A major additional consideration was that racing the long meant that GB would have a very strong M60 team.  With me joining Stewart Whitlie from Scotland and the English runner, John Hunt we had a good shot at GB team gold.

The uphill race for us started at 1:30pm.  It was very hot (around 30°) but there were plenty of drink stations and some shade to be had on the early sections through the trees.  I set off too fast (no surprise) and couldn’t really get going properly on the steep climb.  In the end I was 5^th (first brit) but it was not unexpected.  Not doing well in the first race has become something of a habit for me.  The decision was made however – I would definitely do the long the next day.  The start was exactly the same as the uphill race and there were other steep climbs in the later sections of the race but there was also a lot of good running.

It was still very hot the next day but the long race start for us oldies was 9:30 so not quite the heat of mid-day. I resolved to set off gently and use the first couple of Ks as a warmup before the start of the slope.  My nerves had settled and I felt more confident.  Franco stood right at the front on the start-line but I held back and stuck to the plan, moving slowly up the field in the first few Ks and feeling comfortable. By the time we reached the ski slope I was only a couple of places behind Franco.  The first climb was barely runnable and we were both alternating running and power walking. It turned out that my time for the first climb was faster than in the uphill race the previous day.  I passed Franco on the next climb through the trees around the halfway mark and kept a decent pace to keep ahead.  The descent to the finish was fast but near to the bottom I got a twinge of cramp and decided to ease off.  Not long after, Franco appeared on my right shoulder with under 2k to go.  I stayed with him but he had the momentum and managed to get ahead on the small final climb. So, silver it had to be but GB won team gold as consolation.

I didn’t do the classic up and down the following day despite having a further chance of a gold (Franco had gone home after his win the previous day!) but felt there was too much risk of injury.  There is always another race and my next big race is Sierre-Zinal on 8^th August.

I am not aware of there being any other Eryri runners at Janské Lázně but it was good to see Ifan Lloyd of Swansea Harriers getting 4^th place M65 in the long race. 

The World Masters Mountain Running Championships 2027 will take place in Klosters, Switzerland.   Switzerland can probably be called the home of mountain running and it promises to be an amazing event.  Ireland and Scotland are very well represented and it would be great to see a few more Welsh and Eryri runners. There are a lot of different standards and everyone is welcome! I am always happy to chat if you want to know more.

Diolch Mike