2026 Skyrunning World Championships
By GRP Road Athlete Hannah Rowe
By GRP Road Athlete Hannah Rowe
This September, I was asked to represent Team USA at the 2026 Skyrunning World Championships on La Gomera in Spain's Canary Islands. The championships were built around three disciplines held over three days. It kicked off on September 18 with the Vertical race, an explosive sea-to-sky effort of 4.9 km and 950 meters of climbing, starting at 300 meters above sea level and finishing on a summit at 1,279 meters. The SkyUltra, my race, followed on September 19 with its 63 km and 4,100 meters of vertical gain. The event wrapped up on September 20 with the Sky race, a 29 km course with 1,900 meters of climbing from Hermigua to San Sebastián de la Gomera, which served as the championship finale. Our team brought 11 athletes: two women and three men raced the SkyUltra, while three women and three men took on both the Vertical and the Sky races.
The SkyUltra started in the dark at 5 a.m. in Vallehermoso, on the island's northern coast. The first 12 miles were by headlamp, looping through the rough northern territory before heading inland, and those cool, dark hours turned out to be a gift. Once the sun came up, it got hot. Temperatures climbed to 85°F with 75 percent humidity, and the rest of the day was as much about managing heat as managing terrain. The course threw everything at us. Highly technical volcanic trails, deep dry ravines, exposed ridgelines high above the Atlantic, and the damp, ancient laurel forests of Garajonay National Park. We climbed through the island's microclimates up to misty summits before the final leg joined the Sky course through Hermigua. A brutal last descent (including countless stairs!) brought us down to the finish on the coast in San Sebastián de la Gomera. I crossed the line in 9:45:15, good for 23rd female, and immediately crawled into the ocean.
Team USA, overall, showed up. Careth Arnold led the way with an outstanding 3rd-place finish in the SkyUltra (8:02:59), and there were more standout performances across the weekend: Anthony Lee placed 13th in the SkyUltra in 7:20:04, and Joseph Demoor took 6th in the Vertical in 38:14. Together, Team USA finished 4th overall in the championships out of 38 teams.
Being there with this team, competing against the best skyrunners from around the world on such a spectacular island, was an incredible experience I won't forget. There's something special about pulling on the USA kit and knowing that every mile you run counts toward something bigger than your own result. A huge thank you to my teammates for the encouragement before, during, and after the race, and to everyone who cheered us on from back home. I'm also grateful to the organizers, volunteers, and the people of La Gomera, who welcomed runners from all over the world and lined the trails and villages with so much support. I came home tired, sunburned, and already thinking about the next one. If you ever get the chance to race on La Gomera, take it!
