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Credit: Tanya Raab @tanyaraab
The International Trail Running Association (ITRA), in collaboration with the Pro Trail Runners Association (PTRA) – Women’s Equality Group, has been carrying out joint actions since 2024 to help create more inclusive and welcoming trail race environments worldwide.
Data from the ITRA database shows that female participation has increased from 16% in 2007 to 30.5% in 2025. At the same time, the participation landscape remains uneven. The longer the distance, the lower the proportion of women (from 45.5% over 10 km to 14.4% over 100 miles). Regional differences are also visible: in Oceania and South America, women account for around 40% of participants, while in Europe, Africa and Asia the figure remains closer to 30%.
What lies behind these differences, and what genuinely supports greater female participation in trail running? Numbers alone do not tell the full story. What matters is understanding what enables women not only to reach the start line, but to stay in the sport and continue to develop. That is why we give space to women working across trail running – from initiatives improving access to sport, to community leaders and elite athletes.
For many women, the first barrier is not physical capability, but whether they feel they have a place in trail running.
Ultra-runner and Black Trail Runners member Rebecca Devereux explains how representation and belonging reshape what feels possible:
“The mountains and trails should be places where everyone feels welcome – but we know that real barriers to inclusion still exist. Black Trail Runners works intentionally to create opportunities for those who have historically been underrepresented in the sport.”
Through introductory trail sessions, group runs and partnerships with race organisers, Black Trail Runners gradually builds confidence among participants.
“Representation matters deeply. This year, seven women from our community – including myself – stood together on the start line. We were daughters, mothers, grandmothers. We supported one another not just as competitors, but as a visible reminder that we belong in these spaces. When women see others who look like them in the mountains, it becomes easier to imagine themselves there too and to take that first step into their own adventure.”
Seeing women in different roles and at different stages of life helps reduce psychological barriers. When someone can recognise themselves in the sport, taking the first step becomes easier.
Credit: The Women’s Trailrunning Fund @hereforthewomensrace
The most effective change in trail running is already happening – led by communities who have been doing the work, often without fanfare or widespread recognition.
When invited to share a quote about the Women’s Trailrunning Fund, Corrine Malcolm chose to use the opportunity a little differently. Rather than centering the Fund itself, she emphasized the importance of highlighting and supporting the organizations already creating meaningful impact in their own communities.
“We’ve been working hard to identify groups doing good work in their communities and find ways to elevate what they are doing, including financially supporting their mission,” she explains. “We don’t want to reinvent the wheel, but want to help make the pie bigger.”
This approach reframes what institutional support can look like. Instead of assuming what women need, collaboration becomes the starting point.
“It’s a lot less ‘let me help you, I know what you need,’ and a lot more ‘how can I help you, what does your community need right now?’ You can’t build on top of a community, you have to build alongside it.”
Across North America, she points to organizations already leading this work: Native Women Running, Tierra Libre Run, Rising Hearts, Renegade's Women and Non-binary Trail Runs, Santa Mujeres RC, Women of the Wasatch, Womxn Run the Herd, and the Canadian organization Crossing Lines.
This is not an exhaustive list – far from it. There are countless local and regional groups building community, reducing safety barriers, and demystifying trail and ultra running in ways that rarely make headlines.
She also highlights race organizers designing events with inclusivity in mind, including Sassquad Trail Running, Rainshadow Running, The Active Joe, and We Out Here Trail Festival – an event primarily aimed at BIPOC runners, where 66% of participants in 2025 were first-time trail runners.
The underlying message is simple: lasting impact comes from partnership-based support that uplifts and resources the leaders already doing the work – rather than centering any single fund or voice.
Credit: Tobias Oemus @0emus
Representation does not end at the first start line. It is also about the possibility of staying in the sport over time.
Trail runner and PTRA member Daniela Oemus reflects on her experience after becoming a mother:
“The situation becomes more complicated once children are involved. What helps women with children continue doing sport?”
Her answer is practical and concrete:
She also points to race-level considerations:
“Offering childcare when no other options are available, providing shorter distances that don’t involve night running, and making logistics easier with family-friendly accommodation near the start and finish.”
Credit: Centurion Running
GB representative, coach and mother Julia Davis highlights a more subtle dimension:
“Participation numbers alone do not address some of the deeper reasons why women find it hard to maintain their place in sport long term.”
As life stages change, so do social expectations:
“There is still an underlying expectation that women should run the household and be the primary parent. Time spent training or racing can begin to feel like time they ‘should’ be giving elsewhere.”
She notes, however, that family is rarely the main barrier:
“Children and partners often want to see women in their lives thrive, challenge themselves and enjoy sport. But many women still feel they have to justify the time they spend running and prove that it matters. Staying in sport requires believing that you are entitled to that space.”
As a coach, she also observes:
“Women are more likely to doubt their abilities, especially when moving up to longer distances - even when their training shows they are ready.”
Whether women remain in trail running and continue to progress also depends on an environment that builds confidence and leaves room for ambition at every stage of life.
At the elite level, conversations often begin with structural realities.
Professional trail runner and member of the PTRA Women’s Equality Group, Rosanna Buchauer, describes the funding context in her home country:
“The current structure makes it difficult to focus fully on sport, since the German national team has very limited resources. Most funding goes to sports like football or tennis. The support that allows me to live as a professional runner comes from self-organised sponsorships.”
She also points to inequalities in how work and performance are valued:
“From my perspective, as in many other professions, there is already a gender pay gap at the level of sponsorship and performance valuation. Photo shoots are often valued higher for women, while performance is valued higher for men.”
Credit: Dacia
Her pathway into making a living from sport was gradual. For a long time, she combined a job with training before being able to fully commit to running.
As she explains:
“Community and sharing how to balance sports, finances, family and friends can help to empower women.”
Lasting change depends on stronger representation and sustained support structures.
She also emphasises the importance of early support and visible female role models in sport. In her view, greater investment in youth development and learning from regions where female participation in trail running is higher could meaningfully contribute to the continued development of the discipline.
Rosanna adds:
“Supporting pregnancy, coming back into races after having a baby for both females and males should be the standard, not an exception.”
Women play a central role in the development of trail running and in shaping its future. Increasing female participation is a shared responsibility for everyone in the sport – reflected in race design, support structures, training culture and community leadership.
International Women’s Day offers a moment to reaffirm this shared direction: creating conditions in which more women reach the start line, return year after year, and can remain in the sport despite changing life circumstances.
This direction is also reflected in ITRA initiatives such as Women’s Trail Day – a global day held on 1 June that encourages women to head out onto the trails together, build community and strengthen the presence of women in trail running.
ITRA would like to sincerely thank the Pro Trail Runners Association (PTRA) – Women’s Equality Group, Black Trail Runners, the Women’s Trailrunning Fund, and the individual contributors Rebecca Devereux, Corrine Malcolm, Daniela Oemus, Julia Davis and Rosanna Buchauer for sharing their experience and perspective.
Their insights reflect the collective effort across the trail running community to support women’s participation at every level of the sport.
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