America’s Double Gold in the Pyrenees: Schide and Walmsley Rule Canfranc

The third World Mountain & Trail Running Championships (WMTRC) brought the world’s best trail runners to Canfranc-Pirineos, a historic rail town perched in Aragón’s high Pyrenees. The Long Trail—the weekend’s signature test—was 82 kilometers with roughly 5,400 meters of climbing, a single, savage loop that launches straight toward La Moleta (2,572 m) before tracing rocky ridgelines and steep, technical descents back to the station. It’s the kind of course that punishes hesitation and rewards planning. For the United States, it was a banner day. Katie Schide and Jim Walmsley delivered a historic American sweep of the women’s and men’s podium—each winning decisively on a route the organizers designed to showcase the Pyrenees at their most demanding.