NEW CALL FOR OLYMPIC TRAIL RUNNING AS RUNNERS UNITE IN LONDON TO PARIS TRAIL TO MARK 100 YEARS SINCE RUNNING OFF-ROAD WAS AN OLYMPIC SPORTRunners from across the UK have united in a trail run from London to Paris to campaign for the inclusion of trail running at future Olympic Games.

This summer’s Olympics marks one hundred years since running off-road was an official discipline, with cross-country running the last of its kind at the Paris 1924 Games.

Now, in a campaign launched by outdoor footwear company, Merrell, athletes from running clubs across the nation are calling on Olympic decision makers to include trail running at future Olympic Games.

They’ve now stepped onto the campaign trail by trail running in relay over 455km from London to Paris. The runners embarked on their intercity adventure between 11^th and 14^th April.

In recent history, trail running has been on a steep ascent of popularity to become one of the world’s fastest growing sports, according to the International Track and Field Federation, with millions of people around the world participating in races, events, and recreational runs.

The sport has been catapulted into the spotlight in recent weeks following the historic completion of the infamous Barkley Marathons by British trail runner, Jasmin Paris, alongside fellow Brit Russ Cook completing an epic achievement by running the length of Africa. Trail and ultra-running are having a moment.

Now, fans of the sport believing it now deserves its place within the Olympic schedule.

Jimi Harrison, a member of the Keep On Keeping On running club, said: “We’re running from London to Paris ahead of the Games to raise awareness that trail running continues to be overlooked as an Olympic sport. At Paris 2024, four new sports are being added that include breakdancing, surfing, skateboarding and sport climbing.

“We feel that new Olympic sports should reflect the trends and popularity of the current day and believe the time has come for trail running to be adopted at future Olympics.”

As part of the campaign, Merrell has penned an open letter to representatives of the International Olympic Committee, International Trail Running Association and Brisbane 2032, calling on them to set the wheels in motion to include trail running at the Olympics when the Games go Down Under – the next cycle when sports can be added to the Olympic programme.

Simon Sweeney, marketing manager at Merrell who are driving the campaign said, “As trail running fans, we wanted to use our platform to help mobilise the international trail running community around a common cause.

“One that we firmly believe has been overlooked for too long – we’re calling on Olympic organisers to end the century of hurt and give trail running its rightful place within the Olympic schedule.”

The century long wait for an off-road running at an Olympics follows an infamous cross-country event at the 1924 Paris Games in which a difficult course combined with extreme weather conditions of over 40 °C and noxious fumes emitted from a power plant near the course, resulted in only fifteen of the 38 starters crossing the finish line. After the event, both the Red Cross and local police spent hours searching for runners who had passed out on the course.

Amongst the racers that day was Great Britain’s only finisher, Ernie Harper, who finished just outside of the medals in fourth place.

Harper’s granddaughter, Jan Humphrey, supports the campaign and believes we owe it to the competitors of the ill-fated race a century ago to reintroduce running off-road.

“Ernie was a real trailblazer in every sense of the word – he was a natural runner and competitor – a true Olympian.

“We continue to derive pride from having an Olympian in the family and still have pictures from his adventure to the 1924 Olympics. Despite missing out on the medals and the testing running conditions, he was incredibly proud to be part of the Olympic movement.

“He went on to compete in two further Olympics, winning a marathon silver medal in Berlin in 1936. I’ve no doubt he’d be actively backing the campaign to bring trail running to the Olympics in 2032 in Australia where he emigrated and built a family.”