Kenya's Joyce Muthoni Njeru tops the women's standings of the 2026 WMRA Mountain Running World Cup as the circuit moves to La Palma for its fifth and sixth races, the Transvulcania Vertical Kilometer on Thursday and the Transvulcania Half Marathon on Saturday. Njeru takes a four-race haul of points into the Canary Islands after winning the Silver Pagoda Forest Classic Up and Down race in Beijing's Changping district in 1:45:02 ten days ago, and finishing second in the Beijing Uphill twenty-four hours earlier.
Njeru's closest pursuers are Italy's Camilla Magliano and the home favourite Silvia Lara of Spain, with Magliano the only athlete to have started every World Cup round so far. The Italian was eighth in Penyagolosa, fourth at both Beijing races and is expected to double up across the Transvulcania weekend, while Lara was second in last year's Transvulcania VK and third in the Half Marathon and brings local knowledge of the brutal volcanic terrain that climbs from sea level to 2,426 metres at Roque de los Muchachos.
The big absence remains Ruth Gitonga, the runner-up at last September's World Mountain Running Championships Up and Down race. Gitonga has not committed to a full 2026 World Cup campaign, but her name is on the entry list for both Transvulcania races and a strong performance on La Palma would put her squarely back into the title conversation. The men's overall is tighter, with the top three sitting within twenty points after the Penyagolosa Trails opening round was followed by the double-header in Beijing.
The VK is on Thursday at 17:00 local time over a 7.28-kilometre course that climbs 1,164 metres and loses just over 100 metres on its way out of Tazacorte, and the Half Marathon on Saturday morning is a 24.8-kilometre route with 2,097 metres of climbing that links the southern and central spines of the island. Most of the elite contingent will run both races, with the Saturday ultramarathon — a separate event for a different specialist field — departing at 06:00 from the Fuencaliente lighthouse for its 73-kilometre traverse to Los Llanos.
Transvulcania is the only weekend on the 2026 World Cup calendar to feature back-to-back rounds, which makes recovery and pacing a tactical question as much as a fitness one. Njeru told reporters in Tazacorte on Tuesday that she would race the VK aggressively and reassess for Saturday, while Magliano said she planned to "respect the second day" if the Thursday race went hard. Live coverage from iRunFar and World Athletics will follow both races, and the World Cup standings will reset for a Canfranc Classic round in northern Spain in late June.