Penyagolosa Trails HG gets ready to live an historical edition with the celebration of the Trail World Championships

Penyagolosa Trails HG will live an historical edition of the race, with the organization of the Trail World Championships. Castellón province will bring together the best runners of the world from the 10th to the 13th of May of 2018. A part from this indispensable race that will atrack trail media focus, Penyagolosa Trails HG will celebrate its 20º edition of the race MiM (60K) and CSP (108K).

The Trail World Championships 2018 in Penyagolosa Trails HG relieves the Badia Prataglia edition and the previous in Annecy and Peneda-Gêres. The Trail World Championship will consist of an endurance race requiring semi self-sufficiency, which starts at sea level from the city of Castellón and finishes at Sant Joan de Penyagolosa mountain. Runners must complete 85 km and 5000m height gain. The race passes through the towns of Castellón, , Villlafamés, , Atzeneta, , , Villahermosa and Vistabella to arrive at the finish line located at Sant Joan de Penyagolosa, 1,280 meters above sea level.

During May 12th, at different times, will be also held the open races MiM 60k and CSP 109K that will go partially through the same paths. This is an IAU competion in conjuction with ITRA and co-organized by the Local Organization Committee (Penyagolosa Trails HG) and the RFEA (Real Federación Española de Atletismo).

For this 2018 edition, will be award the title of Trail World Champion on Long distance for men, women and team. The Trail World Championships is an IAU competion in conjuction with ITRA and co-organized by the Local Organization Committee (Penyagolosa Trails HG) and the RFEA (Real Federación Española de Atletismo).

Tracks TWC The Trail World Championshio is the great novelty of this edition. The start line will be on May 12th at 6am from the University Jaume I. A total of 85K with 5000m height gain that will go through the municipal terms of Castellón, Borriol, Les Useres, Atzeneta, Benafigos and Vistabella. A race that will bring together the best runners of the world and in which the title of Trail World Champion on long distance for men, women and team will be given.

MIM The MiM will start from the Universitat Jaume I the next Saturday May 12th at 7am. The race will have a distance of 60K and 3200m of height gain. In its twentieth anniversary , for the first time it will go through Tossal Gros and after that through the center of Borriol. From that point, the race will continue to Les Useres. Indeed, the stretch Rambla- Les Useres has been improved and will go through path. Immediatly, the runners will continue to Torrosselles and Xodos. In the last section of the race, there has been an improvement at the part of Pla de la Creu-Banyadera, including more trails before the arrival to Sant Joan de Penyagolosa. The MiM will be part of the Ultra Cup calendar and it will be qualifying race for UTMB, with 4 points.

CSP The Provincial Palace of the Castellón Council will be the scenary of the start line of the CSP. This race will go through the streets of the city on the midnight of Friday to Saturday May 12th. From that point, it will go to the Universidad Jaime I and the race will take the same route as the MiM until Les Useres. From this city it will go to Atzeneta through restored trails, such as Camí del Piló de la Creu. The race will pass over the municipal terms of Benafigos, , Vistabella, Xodos and Villahermosa del Río, to finish at Sant Joan de Penyagolosa. The CSP will have 108K, with 5600m of heigh gain. This race is part of the Spain Ultra Cup and Ultra Trail World Tour circuits and it will be qualifying race for UTMB, with 5 points.

History of Penyagolosa Trails HG The story began in the 1950s when a group of local mountaineers and hikers decided to recover the tradition to climb to the Sanctuary of Sant Joan de Penyagolosa from Castellón. This challenge and a project to restore ancient roads and trails resulted in the Sender de la Lluna Plena (Full Moon Trail), GR- 33, which connects the city of Castellón with the peak of Sant Joan de Penyagolosa, at 1814 meters of elevation.

In the 1990s it went initially from a two-day hike to a single day, which marked the birth of the Pujada a peu Castelló-Sant Joan de Penyagolosa (Castelló-Sant Joan de Penyagolosa Foot Race). Then in 1998, the MIM Marató i Mitja (63K) was conceived.

Penyagolosa Trails was founded in 2013 to represent under one brand the two most-important mountain races in the province of Castellón: MIM and CSP. Cooperation from sports clubs, volunteers, local government, public safety officials and medical teams, with the institutional support of the Castellón County, helped the MIM celebrate its 15th edition that same year. Meanwhile, the CSP became the Spanish FEDME Ultratrail Championship in both 2013 and 2014.

2016 has been a very important year in our history. Together we staged a grand edition of the Penyagolosa Trails Sport HG, once again we were part of Spain Ultra Cup series, and we won the Emprén Esport Award in the category of Universal Endurance – Sport Event. In addition, the work and the commitment of all those involved have achieved what seemed a dream: Penyagolosa Trails will join the international circuit Ultra-Trail World Tour in 2017 and will host the World Trail Championship in 2018.

Until then, we will continue working to improve, learn and grow year after year. All with the objective to position the province of Castellón as a destination in the national and international mountain race series; to highlight the province’s natural, scenic and cultural ambience; to align outdoor sport with respect for nature; to foster cooperation between officials, businesses and organizations, as well as to promote cultural and sports activities for the public.

General time Schedule Tuesday 8th/ Wednesday 9th/ Thursday 10th National Teams arrival

Thursday 10th May 19:30 h. Trail World Championships opening ceremony

Friday 11th May 9:00 h. Secretariat opening for accreditation procedure 12:30 h. Press conference of the TWC and the open races at the Raval Theatre

Saturday 12th May 00:00 h. Start of the CSP Open Race from Plaza de las Aulas 06:00 h. Start of the Trail World Championships from UJI 07:00 h. Start of the MiM Open Race from UJI From 12 h. Arrival of the CSP and MiM front runners to the Finish Line From 14 h. Arrival of the TWC front runners to the Finish Line 17:00 h. Flower ceremony of the Trail World Championships

Saturday 13th May 11:00 h. Trail World Championships award ceremony and Closing Ceremony