The international mountain running programme is dominated at junior and senior level by the annual European championship (July) and World Trophy (September) events. The World body (WMRA) also recently introduced Long-distance and Youths races into their international competition programme. The main international races and national team races in 2008 are: - Irish schools, (Mar 12) - Irish universities, Wicklow (Mar 15) - Knockdhu, Northern Ireland (Apr 19) - World long-distance, England (Apr 26) - National inter-club championships, Wicklow (Jun 21) - World youths challenge, Italy (Jun 22) - European masters, Switzerland (Jun 28) - European championships, Germany up & down (Jul 12) - Snowdon, Wales (Jul 26) - National inter-county championships, Munster (Aug 17) - World masters, Czech Republic uphill (Sep 6) - World trophy, Switzerland uphill (Sep 14) - British and Irish underage, Scotland (Oct 5) Mountain running is an obvious summer complement to the cross-country season, and an international alternative to domestic road-running. The major international events in 2008 are relatively flat and represent an ideal opportunity for top cross-country runners to become involved. Interest in the sport is growing and there are signs that the 2008 Irish teams will be the strongest for many years and may see Ireland getting back into the top ten teams in the European championships and Word Trophy races. The domestic racing programme largely comprises around 60 events including school and university championships. In 2007, national inter-club and inter-county competitions were introduced in conjunction with the trials to select the teams for the European championships and World Trophy events. Details on all races in 2008 are available at www.imra.ie under events/2008.