Brooks Trail Runners: The 2024 race calendar

Our most important trail races in 2024

There’s never been a more exciting time for trail running. The race calendar is jam-packed with thrilling races, and some of the best and brightest trail running talent from around the world is racing them – including our own elite Brooks Trail Runners.

But the top three races – well, race series… We’re cheating slightly! – are the Golden Trail Series, Skyrunning World Series and UTMB. New to the trail world? Never heard of these races before? Want to know what they’re all about? You’re in for a treat.

Golden Trail Series

The Golden Trail Series is a worldwide circuit that consists of eight races and a nail-biting final. In 2024, the races are:

• Kobe Trail (Japan): 21 April
• Four Sisters Mountain (China): 27 April
• Zegama (Spain): 26 May
• Marathon du Mont Blanc (France): 29 June
• Sierre Zinal (Switzerland): 10 August
• Tatra Sky (Poland): 17 August
• Headlands 27K (USA):14 September
• Mammoth 26K (USA): 22 September

With the finale taking place in Locarno, Switzerland on 17th October.

Runners don’t need to race every single event in the series – instead, their four best races and the final are taken into consideration for the final rankings. So athletes should choose their races wisely!

The Golden Trail Series is iconic. It’s like the trail short distance world cup, with all of the world’s most prestigious trail runners coming to race – and race hard – at these races. And the series does an incredible job of showcasing the sport of trail running and the athletes’ successes, with live broadcasting of the races on Eurosport.

We’ve got big ambitions for the Brooks Trail Runners at the Golden Trail Series. We’re expecting to have athletes placing in the top 3 in the men’s field and in the top 5 in the women’s field.

One of the Brooks Trail Runners who’s expecting to be competitive is Spanish runner Julia Font Gomez. She says:
“I usually run races of 21-42 km, but also I run shorter races, and I love it! I now have the same level in uphill, flat and downhill. My objectives for this year is to be competitive in the two international circuits, golden trail series and Skyrunning, European Championship and OCC.”

Another Brooks runner hoping to perform well at the Golden Trail World Series is Roberto Delorenzi. He says:
“I run because I love it, it makes me feel good and I like to challenge myself with running events. The thing I love most about running is the possibility to connect with nature in all its elements. I also feel that running is a great connection between people. I’m a type of trail runner that loves short trail, technical terrains, steep uphills and runnable downhills.”

He goes on to say that he thinks the Golden Trail World Series is the most important circuit there is – and that “ [he] likes this type of race, so my preparation is in this direction, 2-3h races up and down.”

Skyrunning World Series

This series has existed for more than 30 years – it really is the OG of skyrunning. If you’ve not heard of skyrunning before, it’s essentially mountain running on technical terrain. The International Skyrunning Federation defines it as “running in the mountains above 2,000m altitude where the climbing difficulty does not exceed II grade and the incline is over 30%.”

And that’s the main difference between the Skyrunning World Series and the Golden Trail Series – it’s all in how technical the terrain is. There are more than 20 races all around the world in the series, and they’re well attended by the strongest names in mountain running – all pushing each other to be stronger athletes.

From the Brooks Trail Team, we have three athletes who are specialists in skyrunning, and four more who are doing races in the Skyrunning World Series along with the Golden Trail Series. Roberto and Julia will both be running in the Skyrunning World Series, along with French runner Sébastien Poesy. He describes himself as “a trail runner who loves off-trail, aerial ridges and high peaks and who likes running where not many people run.”

His focus in 2024 is on the Skyrunning World Series. He says:
“I am preparing for the Skyrunner World series and the combined Skyrunning world championships (KV+Sky). This is a series where I find myself best, close to the high peaks and in nature that is most often virgin and steep.”

UTMB

When it comes to long distance trail running, there’s nothing better than UTMB. The visibility of the UTMB events ensures more and more people become aware of our sport every year, and they were the first trail race to live stream their events, giving fans and supporters the opportunity to follow from start to finish.

There is a circuit of more than 40 UTMB races all around the world, where runners can gain points if they want to enter one of the grand finale events, held in the hub of UTMB: Chamonix in France. The three finale events are:

• The 50k OCC (Orsières, Champex, Chamonix)
• The 100k CCC ( Courmayeur Champex Chamonix)
• The 100 miles UTMB (Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc)

This prestigious event is the main objective of many trail runners around the world – including the Brooks Traill Team. We’ll have more than 30 athletes competing in different UTMB races this year including the three main events, as well as shorter distance events like the 15k in Courmayeur, which Roberto Delorenzi won in 2023.

One of the runners gearing up for UTMB this year is Luke Grenfell-Shaw from the United Kingdom, who says that his “sweet spot is running 50-100K through the mountains.”

He’s focusing on the CCC this year (as well as the European Championships in Annecy where he’s representing GB for the first time, and the UTMB Val D’Aran 100K), and he says:
“I’m hoping to see if I can run a bit quicker this year at CCC. Preparation involves a lot of running up and down mountains!”

The Brooks Trail High Point Collection

The Brooks Trail Runners are all tackling different events this year – but they have one thing in common. They’ll all be tearing up the trails in the new Brooks High Point Collection and trail running shoes.

The High Point Collection has our athletes – and you – covered from head to toe, with trail running gear for every adventure. The High Point Collection is designed with mobility, storage and protection in mind and features the all-new trail tight with over-the-knee panels to deliver water-resistant protection. Plus, the collection includes a breathable, waterproof jacket, so you can take in all the fun and keep the weather out.