Mountain Running teams
Trail Running representative opportunity
11 April 2026: Home Countries International Trail: RunThrough Trails Lake District 53k | HCI Trail selection policy (PDF 300kB)
The RunThrough Trails Lake District 53k marks a new representative opportunity for athletes to race at the HCI, which also forms the Trial race for the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Team at the European Trail Championships in Slovenia, June 2026.
England Athletics Mountain Running Championships
- Senior: To be held in conjunction with the British Athletics up & down European Athletics Off Road Championships Trial race, Sedbergh on 3 May 2026.
- U20: To be held in conjunction with the British Athletics U20 up & down European Athletics Off Road Championships Trial race, Sedbergh on 3 May 2026.
2026 representative opportunities
- 27 June: Senior Home International – Snowdon Twilight
Trial: 1 May at Skiddaw | Selection date: 5 May | Selection policy (PDF 300kB) - 21 June: International U18 Mountain Running Cup - Gagliano Del Capo, Italy
Trial: 9 May at Sedbergh/Macclesfield | Selection date: 10 May | Selection policy (PDF 300kB) - 18 July: Snowdon International - Llanberis, Wales
Trial: 28 June at Blencathra | Selection date: 30 June | Selection policy (PDF 300kB) - 12 September 2025: Junior Home International - Northern Ireland
Trial: 12 July at Winlatter | Selection date: 13 July | Selection policy (PDF 300kB) - 5/6 September: Trofeo Nasego, Italy. England Senior Development Team. Vertical 4.3k/1000m, Classic - 21k/1337m
Trial: 27 June at Snowdon Twilight, or 9 August at Turner Landscape | Selection date: 12 August | Selection policy (PDF 300kB) - 25 October: Trofeo Vanoni relays, Italy. U23 Development Team, 7k/500m
Trial: 25 July at Alderman’s Ascent | Selection date: 27 July | Selection policy (PDF 300kB)
Training camps 2026
These camps are aimed at establishing the building blocks of future high performance in endurance running by developing skills and knowledge amongst junior runners and coaches.
Both camps are intended to be enjoyable, stimulating, and interesting, building relationships with peers and include talks delivered by experienced coaches, physiotherapists and sports scientists as well as inputs and insights from elite athletes.
Camp: Introduction to Mountain Running
A one day camp for juniors (aged 14 to 16) who have reached the age where International representation is a possibility, but is intended for any juniors showing potential who wish to improve.
Date and venue: The 2026 camp will take place on Saturday 28 March at Otley Chevin.
Selection Criteria: Submit a short note on why you would like to be considered, plus a short list of running achievements to date.
Contact: Sally Malir at SallyMalir@gmail.com
Camp: Performance in Mountain Running
For more experienced junior athletes (aged 17 to 19) transitioning to senior racing, it includes some training sessions on local hills and is residential.
Date and venue: The 2026 camp will take place in the Spring (date tbc).
Selection Criteria: Athletes should be committed to mountain running in 2026 and be planning to run the British Athletics European Trial.
• GB mountain running vest
• Top 10 in Junior Home International
• Top 10 English Schools, National or Inter-Counties Cross Country
• Top 6 in Area Cross Country
Performances of similar standard to the above – please ask!
Contact: Duncan Richards at duncan@intouchltd.co.uk
Selection information
The committee will select the best available teams to represent England, although where shown some teams will be selected as development teams to give them experience of international competition.
- All events in 2026 are subject to funding and England Athletics may amend the policies at any point.
- Selectors view trials as the primary means of selecting the teams. Where there is no trial or an athlete is unable to compete in the trial race, it is the athlete’s responsibility to provide the Chair of Selectors, Duncan Richards (Duncan@intouchltd.co.uk) with details of all performances they wish to be considered at the selection meeting. This information must be provided in advance of the trial race (where there is one) or before the advertised selection date.
- Athletes will usually be informed of their selection within a week of the trial and/or deadline for expressions of interest.
- Selection of all athletes is subject to the agreement of the athlete’s training and racing programme between the date of selection and the representative race by the committee. England Athletics reserves the right to de-select any athlete who is deemed unfit or injured in the lead up to the event.
- Athletes wishing to be selected for races abroad must have a valid UK passport for the country they are travelling to and be eligible to represent England in international competitions. The selection committee reserves the right to de-select any athlete who does not provide all the information requested (including passport details) within a week of selection.
- For all races, if the selectors believe that a minimum performance standard for selection has not been achieved, they reserve the right not to select a full team. To clarify - England Athletics do not intend to send teams to international events composed of athletes who have not demonstrated the level of performance required.
Updates will be published here on the England Athletics website and on the Fell Running Association website.
Image: Felix McGrath. Photo by George Foster.