Do you keep seeing the acronym GTWS and wonder WTF it stands for? This article breaks down what the Golden Trail World Series is all about.
The GTWS was created for two reasons: 1) to grow the sport of trail running by creating a high-profile, high-spectacle, high-paying series of races, and 2) to showcase the speed and excitement of shorter-distance trail racing as opposed to the relative slowness of ultras.
The series is made up of fast, flowy, technical courses, and no race is longer than a marathon. Almost every promo video of GTWS features at least one clip of someone eating shit on a technical descent, and several of the courses are “flower petal” loops where racers pass the fan area multiple times for maximum crowd impact.
Unlike other high-profile race series like UTMB, runners are going full speed almost the whole time, and fans get the chance to feel like they’re part of the action. And maybe the coolest part of GTWS is that the races are accessible to the “everyrunner,” as long as you can snag a bib in time.
The key thing to know about GTWS is that it’s really designed for elite runners. That’s not to say that only professionals can enjoy the races and their stunning settings—just that if you’re not placing in the top 60, the ranking system and prize money won’t apply.
The series is still expanding, but in 2024 it spanned Asia, North America, and Europe—opening in Japan with the Kobe 21K in April (prime time for cherry blossoms) and culminating in Switzerland with the Ascona Locarno Golden Trail Finals 23.5K in October. The 2024 US races are both in California—the Headlands 27K and the Mammoth 26K.
But let’s talk about that ranking system.
Racers get points based on their finishing position, and the best scores of four of the eight races determine their overall rank. A high rank pays off—organizers pay travel expenses for the top 30 runners to attend the final, which changes location every year.
And the money isn’t half bad. €300,000 is on the line, with the men’s and women’s fields getting the same prize money.
Winning any GTWS race will earn €3,000, with prize money awarded all the way to the tenth-place finisher. If you end the series ranked first overall, you get €15,000, with the top 20 runners all getting a slice.
And the top three finishers at the final all get additional prize money, plus free bibs to the following year’s GTWS races of their choice.
The Golden Trail National Series is a lot like the World Series, just with shorter trips and no prize money.
The 2024 US National Series features four races—Breakneck Point 21K, Broken Arrow Skyrace 23K, Wy’est Trail Fest 28K, and Headlands 27K—plus the National Final, the Mammoth 26K.
The GTNS uses a similar ranking system to the World Series, but with a different payoff. The top two overall men and women (using the two best scores of the four races) will get invitations to the National Final.
After the National Final scores are added to the totals, the top two runners will then receive tickets—travel included—to the GTNS Grand Final. The Grand Final gathers the top runners from each country or region’s national series for a hootin,’ hollerin,’ cross-cultural good time somewhere around the globe. Prizes at the Grand Final include money and free bibs to three of the following year’s GTWS races.
And just like with the World Series, the GTNS races are all open to the public.
If the thought of short, fast races on stunning courses shoots your heart rate into zone 4, I recommend that you check with your coach today to see if the Golden Trail World Series is right for you.
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