International Women's Day: Female Participation in Trail Running

© Jordan Manoukian

ITRA has partnered with SheRACES and the Pro Trail Runners Association (Women Equality working group) to demonstrate our commitment to increasing the female participation of women in trail running.

Female participation in trail running

Women are a minority on most trail race start lines, especially in longer races.

In 2023, women made up 28% of trail race participants globally. For races 10km and shorter this was 42%, but this reduced to 23% at 50km and 15% for races over 100km.

Women are missing out on participating in our beautiful sport, but events are also missing out on entrants.

SheRaces has curated comprehensive guidelines for race organizers to enhance inclusivity for women. These guidelines will be shared with all ITRA Race Organizers.

Link to SheRACES guidelines [English version]

Survey results from female runners

SheRACES conducted a detailed survey of over 2,000 female runners (mostly UK-based) about their racing experiences.

The research found that some barriers are societal, with many women reporting they carried out more caring duties than their partners, for example.

However, many of the reasons that women did not enter or had poor experiences when racing could be easily addressed by the events themselves.

Key takeaways:

72% of female runners have been put off entering a race
54% of runners would like to see more inclusive marketing
66% would like better provisions including toilets and changing facilities

A message from PTRA's Female runners

"Trail running is a sport practised in close proximity to nature. In its history, it was a male-dominated sport. We have to work consciously on making it accessible to women as well. It means the format has to match their needs, has to tell their stories and has to set structures that makes it a welcoming environment to them."

Pro Trail Runners, Women Equality working group

A message from Kilian

"Trail running is practiced equally by women and men, but this doesn't translate to race participation where women are outnumbered. I believe our role as male runners or race directors is to support women participation, not only by voice but with actions, and for that we need to change things, to work together for more equality in the sport, for a better trail running."

Kilian Jornet - Elite Trail Runner and Co-founder of Nnormal

Top tips from female pro trail runners

Here are five tips from some of the world's top female athletes on how to stay motivated, set goals, and how to stay focussed on you.

Join a local club to stay motivated

"Build your trail village! Join a trail running club or look for people with similar paces on nearby trails and reach out to them. A community of trail runners will help you stay motivated, and puts FUN at the forefront." - Katie Asmuth

Find a coach to help you set achievable goals

"Get a coach, have a support system around you, set goals, and make the dreams a reality. What are the barriers to entry and break down the barriers." - Camille Herron

Be patient, and don't worry about making mistakes

"This sport, as anything in life really, needs time to get the results. I suggest to be patient and remain focused, do your best but don't feel bad about making mistakes." - Eszter Csillag

Focus on YOU and don't worry about what other people are doing

"Don't get caught up in what everyone else is doing. Run, train, and race what you want- not what seems popular at the moment. You'll enjoy it more." - Stephanie Howe

Remember that you are strong, and you can do this

"Women don't always know they are strong! Trail running is another frontier where we're learning that we can be bold." - Robyn Lesh