16th National Mountain Running Championship Overview
The 16th National Mountain Running Championship is set for this weekend, October 16–17, 2026, in Kapchorwa, with over 500 runners from different clubs expected to participate in the two-day event.
Individual national titles will be contested across the Senior Uphill 14km, Junior U20 6.5km, and 8km races, bringing together the country’s top runners in mountain and trail events. The official trial in Kapchorwa forms part of the national calendar governed by the Uganda Athletics Federation to select elite runners for upcoming international events.
The event will serve as a national trial and, at the same time, as one of the build-ups for athletes bidding to represent Uganda at the 2027 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships, scheduled for October 6–10, 2027, in Cape Town, South Africa. This continues a busy international calendar for the country, following the national squad’s participation at major events including the World Athletics Road Running Championships in Copenhagen.
The top performers from these Kapchorwa trials will earn priority selection for national squad training camps ahead of international fixtures next season.
Past Champions and Uganda’s Mountain Running Legacy
Martin Kiprotich Magengo (Police) and Rispa Cherop (Prisons) won the 14km senior men’s and women’s titles respectively at the 2025 National Mountain Running Championship. Meanwhile, in the junior races, Enos Chebet (Arua) and Nancy Chekwurui (UPDF) emerged winners in their respective events.
Uganda made its debut at the World Mountain Running Championships, then known as the World Mountain Running Trophy, in 2007 in Ovronnaz, Switzerland, where distance runner Geoffrey Kusuro won gold in the junior men’s race. Since then, the country has maintained a strong presence at international mountain running championships, with growing dominance particularly at the junior (U20) level.
Local athletics clubs in Kapchorwa continue to nurture young distance talent, solidifying Uganda’s reputation as a global powerhouse in mountain running events.