History

September 3, 2012: 1st ''Assises Internationales du Trail''

On September 3, 2012, 150 trail running enthusiasts from 18 countries gathered in Courmayeur, Italy. Race organizers, equipment manufacturers, elite athletes, coaches and media shared their collective experience with the goal to structure and secure their sport. Indeed, trail running, born in the United States in the late 70's, was still not officially recognized as a sport at the international level.

It was the first time that so many members of the trail running community had gathered for such a purpose. The sessions enabled participants from all over the world to become aware of the diversity of their views and the need for trail runners to organize themselves as a discipline in its own right, while taking into account the varied approaches of all continents.

The 1st Assises Internationales du Trail has initiated a concerted dialogue with the aims of:

• guaranteeing the health and safety of runners and all those involved in trail running

• affirming, preserving and defending the core values of trail running.
  
  

5 working groups to structure the discipline

Since 2014, 50 volunteers from 13 countries on five continents have continued the work initiated during the 1st Assises Internationales du Trail.

5 working groups, composed of race organizers, athletes, coaches, representatives of sports federations, equipment manufacturers and the media have united their cultures and their points of view to accompany this evolving discipline, with the following results:

• the shared, international definition of trail running 
• the drafting of an ethical trail running charter to assert the values of the discipline,
• the implementation of a health policy to promote a doping-free sport and protect the health of runners,
• the development of a reasoned management of high level athletes,
• the elaboration of the rules for a uniform international ranking.
  
  

July 2013: The birth of ITRA

The 5 working groups created the need for an association that brings together all trail running participants around shared values and principles, and from around the world. This is how the International Trail Association (ITRA) came into being in July, 2013, inspired by a passion for trail running and the enthusiasm of its 14 founding members.

The International Trail-Running Association is open to all players in the field of trail-running and wishes above all to be a place for meeting, listening and exchanges.