Amelia Horne has qualified for the 40km short course, and Dougal Shepherd for the 6.38km uphill event at the 2025 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships (WMTRC), to be held in the dramatic landscapes of Canfranc Pirineos in the Spanish Pyrenees.

For both Nelson orienteers, qualifying was a bit of a surprise. Amelia, who is currently training in Australia, has had quite a journey to reach this point.

Amelia returned to racing in 2024 after a battle with post-COVID complications. “I had two races leading up to this selection” she says, describing a tough comeback. By November, she felt recovered enough to enter a trail event in Victoria’s Grampians, a rocky, sun-exposed range north-west of Melbourne. “The first 18km felt good,” she explains, “but with temperatures pushing 30°C and no shade, I struggled in the heat and with my nutrition. the wheels quickly fell off  and it turned into a slog to the finish.”

Amelia then lined-up for her third attempt at the 20205 Three Peaks Trail Race in Dunedin, which doubled as the Athletics NZ Short Course Trail Running Championship. With previous attempts derailed by injury and covid complications, Amelia was determined to reach the finish line. The race was the polar opposite of her Australian effort: it was cool and muddy, with a swampy downhill being the highlight. After a gruelling 56km with 2,600m of elevation, she placed 6th female – earning her place on the New Zealand team. 

Meanwhile, Dougal has had a consistent lead-up season over the last couple of years. He placed strongly in the final-ever Loop the Lake race at Nelson Lakes, followed by the Luxmore Grunt, and then tackled the NZ Mountain Running Championships at the Cardrona Climb Challenge in April this year. The course is a ski field access road, and less technical than he prefers, but Dougal performed well against a field heavy with road runners to gain selection for the uphill mountain race. He’s also been named reserve for the classic up-and-down race, which he feels would suit his running even better. He’ll travel with the team to support both events.

Both athletes are excited to represent New Zealand as part of the 40-strong Kiwi squad heading to Spain. The WMTRC includes five events: uphill mountain running, classic up & down mountain running, short trail, long trail, and U20 up & down mountain running. As seasoned orienteers, Amelia and Dougal believe their experience navigating steep, technical terrain gives them an edge.

They’re in strong company – Tim Robertson, Joseph Lynch, and Tane Cambridge have all shown that Kiwi orienteers can hold their own in championship-level mountain running. Joseph Lynch claimed victory at the 2024 New Zealand Mountain Running Championships, finishing the 12km Rapaki Rumble in Christchurch in 48:40. Two years earlier, both Joseph and Tim competed in the 2022 national champs at Deer Park Heights, Queenstown—Joe placing 7th in 39 minutes and Tim earning 3rd in the 8.6km race with a time of 37:17.

Tim has previous experience in international mountain running, having raced as a junior at the World Mountain Running Champs (WMRC) in Italy in 2014 – an event that Tane Cambridge raced in the Elite grade. Tane recalls the spectacular course, which ran through a marble quarry tunnel and up to the summit, with passionate Italian spectators lining the route. That was his second WMRC, having previously competed at the 2013 in Poland. At the time, Tane noted that most competitors came from track or road backgrounds, and it was a bit different to come from orienteering into mountain running.

This will be Amelia’s second appearance at the WMTRC, having raced the short course in Austria in 2023. Back then, she admitted she’d underestimated the challenge. “I remember thinking, ‘How hard could it be?’” she says, laughing. She had foot issues a month out and sought advice from a coach, something she’s appreciated this year. After her long illness, her coach has helped her find  consistency and recovery, teaching her how to balance workload and avoid the overtraining she suspects happened when training solo.

Dougal previously trained under Christchurch coach Andy Good, but has in the last couple of years been fully self-directed. He’s now planning to get support in the lead-up to the world champs. 

Both athletes will head to Europe early to acclimate to the altitude and terrain and credit the local terrain and their Nelson orienteering running groups for their camaraderie and running strength. Weekly hilly Tuesday runs and Thursday speed sessions with local orienteers have built a solid base over the past few years, and now, it’s time to see Nelson orienteering grit on the world stage.