The 2024 Mountain Running World Cup culminates this weekend with the Kilometro Verticale Lagùnc and the Val Bregaglia Trail, in northern Italy, and iRunFar will be there to share the action first-hand.
This year’s 12-race series kicked off in the U.S. in June, with the Broken Arrow Skyrace and Broken Arrow Vertical Kilometer, before the circuit continued around Europe, taking in revered mountain races such as the Grossglockner Mountain Run in Austria and Sierre-Zinal in Switzerland. The series comprises three uphill races, five classic mountain races, and four long races, with the Kilometro Verticale Lagùnc in the uphill category and the 23-kilometer Val Bregaglia Trail in the long category. As is common for these mountain running events, several athletes at the finals will be doubling down to contest both races.
The Kilometro Verticale Lagùnc takes place on Saturday, October 12, at 9:15 a.m. CEST, operating as a time trial, with runners starting every 15 seconds. This is the longest-standing vertical-kilometer (VK) course in the world and has been run since 1986. It starts in the town of Chiavenna, at the bottom of the Val Bregaglia valley, and finishes 3.3 kilometers with 1,000 meters of climbing later, in the mountainside village of Lagùnc.
The trail race, the Val Bregaglia Trail, kicks off on Sunday, October 13, at 9:30 a.m. CEST. The point-to-point, net-downhill course runs from the village of Promontogno, Switzerland, to Chiavenna, Italy. It takes in 850 meters of climbing, and 900 meters of descending, on a largely runnable course.
The Mountain Running World Cup offers series points to the top 18 finishers in each race, with overall series prize money going 10 deep, and a total prize pot of €30,000.
Many of the familiar names we’ve been seeing on the men’s podiums on this year’s mountain running circuit will be present, in a last push to secure world cup series points. It’s hard to argue against Kenya’s Patrick Kipngeno (pre-race interview) as the star of the show and favorite for both races, but he will have to outrun teammate and compatriot Philemon Kiriago (pre-race interview), who will be a strong contender for the long trail race in particular.
Last weekend’s Šmarna Gora winner and course record holder Richard Omaya Atuya of Kenya will be back and looking to continue his winning streak. Outside of a strong Kenyan contingent, the U.S. will be well represented by Joseph Gray (pre-race interview), and there will be plenty of local talent from Italy and wider Europe also.
The 2024 Broken Arrow Skyrace 23k men’s podium (l-to-r): 3. Philemon Kiriago, 1. Patrick Kipngeno, and 2. Eli Hemming. Photo: Nancy Hobbs
We’ll be providing coverage of both races this week, so stay tuned.
Thanks to the World Mountain Running Association for supporting iRunFar’s coverage of the 2024 Mountain Running World Cup Finals.
Be sure to check out our in-depth women’s preview as well.
Here are the men we expect to compete for the top spots at one or both the Kilometro Verticale Lagùnc and Val Bregaglia Trail.
Patrick Kipngeno
- Mountain Running World Cup Ranking: 1st
- Top 2024 World Cup Performances: 1st Broken Arrow VK; 1st Broken Arrow Skyrace; 1st Vertical Nasego; 1st Trofeo Nasego
Patrick Kipngeno (pre-race interview) of Kenya is the hot favorite for at least the VK, and probably also the trail race this weekend. Kipngeno is currently leading the world cup standings, and has been a force in mountain running since he first switched over from the roads in 2020. He was crowned the 2022 and 2023 Mountain Running World Champion in the Uphill discipline, and won six of his seven races in his debut world cup in 2022. So far in 2024, he has contested five world cup races and won four, including the back-to-back Broken Arrow VK and Broken Arrow Skyrace.
Patrick Kipngeno, the 2024 Trofeo Nasego men’s winner. He is a heavy favorite for this weekend’s races. Photo: World Mountain Running Association
Philemon Kiriago
- Mountain Running World Cup Ranking: 2nd
- Top 2024 World Cup Performances: 2nd Sierre-Zinal; 2nd Trofeo Nasego
Currently second in the world cup standings is Patrick Kipngeno’s teammate and compatriot, Philemon Kiriago (pre-race interview). Kiriago is also contesting both the VK and trail races this weekend, and shouldn’t be too far off the front in either. Although consistently finishing on the podium, Kiriago often finds himself playing second fiddle to Kipngeno.
So far in this year’s world cup, he has completed seven races and scored three second-place finishes. His standout run of the year was when he narrowly lost out to Kilian Jornet in a sprint finish to take second at the 2024 Sierre-Zinal, a race he won in 2023. At Sierre-Zinal this year, Kiriago also bested Kipngeno who took third, showing that Kipngeno can’t always outrun him.
Philemon Ombogo Kiriago on his way to winning the 2023 Trofeo Nasego. Photo: Marco Gulberti
Josphat Kiprotich
- Mountain Running World Cup Ranking: 3rd
- Top 2024 World Cup Performances: 1st PizTri Vertikal; 4th Sierre-Zinal
Josphat Kiprotich, also of Kenya, is ranked third in world cup standings, and is also contesting both races. Kiprotich, who placed eighth in last year’s World Mountain Running Championships Up and Down race, seems to be on an improving trend this year. So far this year, he won the PizTri Vertikal race in August, had a handful of second-place finishes in the Montée du Nid d’Aigle, Grossglockner Mountain Run, and Vertical Nasego, and also placed fourth in the ever-competitive Sierre-Zinal.
Josphat Kiprotich (right) and other runners early in the 2023 World Mountain Running Championships Uphill race. Photo: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
Michael Selelo Saoli
- Mountain Running World Cup Ranking: 4th
- Top 2024 World Cup Performances: 1st Giir di Mont; 3rd Grossglockner Mountain Run
Michael Selelo Saoli of Kenya is ranked fourth in the current world cup classification, and is also contesting both races. The 2024 season is his first time contesting the Mountain Running World Cup, and he got off to a sure start. He placed third in the Grossglockner Mountain Run and the Montée du Nid d’Aigle, and then went on to win the Giir di Mont. Outside of world cup racing, he also won the 2024 Fletta Trail in Italy, up from second place in 2022.
Michael Selelo Saoli, 2024 Giir di Mont winner. Photo: World Mountain Running Association/Marco Gulberti
Richard Omaya Atuya
- Mountain Running World Cup Ranking: 5th
- Top 2024 World Cup Performances: 1st Grossglockner Mountain Run; 1st Montée du Nid d’Aigle; 1st Šmarna Gora
Richard Omaya Atuya of Kenya is coming off a strong win at last weekend’s Šmarna Gora race, where a course-record-setting performance saw him outrun both Selelo Saoli and Kiprotich, and move up into fifth on the world cup standings. This was Atuya’s third win of the series, he also finished first at the Grossglockner Mountain Run and the Montée du Nid d’Aigle. He will contest both this weekend’s VK and trail race, and should have a shot at a podium in at least one.
Richard Omaya Atuya winning the 2024 La Montée Du Nid D’Aigle. Photo: World Mountain Running Association/Elisa Gheza
Joseph Gray
- Mountain Running World Cup Ranking: n/a
- Top 2024 World Cup Performances: n/a
The U.S.’s Joseph Gray (pre-race interview), although he hasn’t competed in the rest of the world cup this year, will still be a strong contender in the VK this weekend. He’s won most of the races he contested this year, including the U.S. Mountain Running Championships Uphill race and Pikes Peak Ascent — that former result was his 25th career national title in mountain running and trail running. He placed fifth in the 2023 World Mountain Running Championships Uphill race, up from sixth the previous year.
Joseph Gray, first U.S. male in the 2023 World Mountain Running Championships Uphill race. Photo: iRunFar/Sarah Brady
More Top Men to Watch at the 2024 Mountain Running World Cup Finals
And these are the men we’ll be watching to finish in the top 10 at the VK and/or trail race this weekend.
- Jacob Adkin (U.K.) – 4th 2024 Snowdon International Race; 2nd 2024 European Off Road Championships Uphill race
- Vender Alberto (Italy) – 17th 2024 European Off Road Championships Up and Down race; 4th 2024 Italian Mountain Running Championships Up and Down race
- Christian Allen (U.S.) – 1st 2024 U.S. Mountain Running Championships Up and Down race; 4th 2024 Broken Arrow Skyrace VK
- Henri Aymonod (Italy) – 3rd 2024 PizTri Vertikal and Vertical Nasego
- Andrew Douglas (U.K.) – 12th 2024 Trofeo Nasego; 7th 2024 Broken Arrow Skyrace
- Andrea Elia (Italy) – 5th 2024 Šmarna Gora; 3rd 2024 Montemuro Vertical Run
- Marcelo Gonçalves (Portugal) – 14th 2024 Montée du Nid d’Aigle; 9th 2024 Montemuro Vertical Run
- Théodore Klein (France) – 3rd European Off Road Championships Up and Down race; 6th 2024 European Off Road Championships Uphill race
- Luciano Rota (Italy) – 7th 2024 Trofeo Nasego; 10th 2024 Vertical Nasego
- Paul Machoka (Kenya) – 1st 2024 Italian Mountain Running Championships Uphill race; 4th 2024 Grossglockner Mountain Run
- Tyler McCandless (U.S.) – 2nd 2024 U.S. Mountain Running Championships Uphill race; 10th 2021 U.S. Mountain Running Championships
- Liam Meirow (U.S.) – 9th 2024 U.S. Mountain Running Championships Uphill race; 6th 2023 Šmarna Gora
- Alric Petit (France) – 2nd 2024 Fletta Trail; 6th 2024 Montée du Nid d’Aigle
- Michael Sutton (New Zealand) – 16th 2024 Montée du Nid d’Aigle; 1st 2024 Tarawera Ultramarathon 21k
- Frederic Tranchand (France) – 7th 2024 Marathon du Mont Blanc; 7th 2024 European Off Road Championships Up and Down race
- Andy Wacker (U.S.) – 4th 2024 U.S. Mountain Running Championships Uphill race; 5th 2024 GoPro Mountain Games 10k
Call for Comments
Who is your money on? Let us know in the comments!
Henri Aymonod, 2021 Kilometro Verticale Lagùnc champion. Photo: World Mountain Running Association/Marco Gulberti
