2026 QUÉBEC MEGA TRAIL PREVIEW: A GOLDEN TRAIL WORLD SERIES STOP AND A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

The 14th edition of the Québec Mega Trail runs July 2 to 5, 2026, across the trails of Mont-Sainte-Anne and Beaupré, northeast of Quebec City. The festival spans distances from a one-kilometre family run to the 135K ultra, and the 2026 program carries more international weight than any previous year.

Three things separate this edition from the ones before it. The race has joined the Golden Trail World Series with a new 30-kilometre event, it serves as the host of the Canadian Trail Running Championships, and several of its distances now count toward the World Trail Majors circuit. The result is a field that mixes Quebec regulars with athletes from across Canada and a strong overseas contingent.

A new GTWS stop in North America

The QMT30 is the headline addition. It is the only North American round on the 2026 Golden Trail World Series calendar, which routes a roster of short-distance specialists through a course of roughly 30 kilometres with about 1,450 metres of climbing. The route starts on technical ground before opening into faster, more runnable terrain near Mont-Sainte-Anne.

On the men's side, the 2025 Sierre-Zinal podium of Philemon Ombogo Kiriago, Patrick Kipngeno and Michael Selelo Saoli is expected to feature, alongside Moroccan Elhousine Elazzaoui. Rémi Leroux leads the Quebec group, with Meikael Beaudoin Rousseau another local name to watch.

The women's field is built around Madalina Florea, Marie Nivet and Sarah Carter, with a Kenyan contingent led by Caroline Kimutai. Quebec runners Amélie Simard, Andrée-Anne Cloutier and Meggy Bourassa round out the home challenge.

The 135K remains the centerpiece

The QMT135 is still the festival's premier event. At 135 kilometres with around 6,000 metres of climbing, it is a full overnight ultra that the organizers plan to broadcast live across more than 24 hours of racing. It draws points-chasing runners on the World Trail Majors circuit.

Amanda Nelson is among the most consistent ultrarunners in the women's field. She swept the 100-mile race at Sulphur Springs in 2024, holds the Canadian 24-hour record of 248 kilometres and the women's Backyard Ultra record, and finished sixth at QMT last year before opening 2026 with a result at the Black Canyon Ultras 100K in Arizona.

Anne Champagne won the 100-mile race here in 2024 and set a course record in the process. Julie Lesage races on home ground at Mont-Sainte-Anne. On the men's side, David Savard-Gagnon trains out of Baie-Saint-Paul in the nearby Charlevoix mountains and took the QMT110 in 2024, terrain knowledge that matters across an event this long.

Nationals on the line at 50K and 80K

The QMT50 and QMT80 carry the Canadian Trail Running Championships, with selection spots for the world team attached. That raises the stakes for runners who might otherwise treat these distances as a tune-up.

The 50K, roughly 2,500 metres of climbing, doubles as the short-trail national championship and a World Trail Majors short-series round. Alexandre Ricard of Squamish won the Canadian short-trail title in 2024 and brings a Vertical Kilometre win from the Mont-Blanc Marathon. Marc Fawcett-Atkinson represented Canada at the 2025 World Championships and has climbed quickly through the domestic ranks. Emilie Mann set a course record on her 100-mile debut at Run Rabbit Run and has since posted results at the Desert Rats by UTMB 100K and the Ultra-Trail Cape Town 100K.

The QMT80 is the long-trail national championship. Elliot Cardin of Shefford has raced QMT several times and owns wins at the UTHC 125K in 2022 and the Bromont Ultra 160K in 2024. Jean-Philippe Thibodeau, the defending Canadian champion, has been the top Canadian finisher at each of the past three World Trail Running Championships.

What to watch

The depth of the 2026 program is the story. A Golden Trail World Series field, a national championship across two distances, and a 135K with a live broadcast give the festival several races worth following at once. The course climbs and descends hard, and the home runners who train in the Charlevoix terrain hold an advantage that does not always show up on paper.

For readers new to the event, the full history of how QMT grew from a 25K debut into Canada's biggest ultra traces the path that led to this year's lineup. The 2026 edition is the clearest sign yet of how far the race has come.