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Val d'Aran VDA 163K 2026: Europe's Biggest Mountain Ultra Is Running Now
The HOKA Val d'Aran by UTMB's flagship 163K race — Europe's biggest trail ultra and a direct qualifier to UTMB Mont-Blanc 2027 — departed Vielha at dawn this morning with 7,500 runners from 91 countries.
By ZealZag TeamVal d'Aran: Trail Running the Pyrenees' Atlantic Outlier
The Val d'Aran drains north toward France, speaks Occitan, and holds some of the most remote high-mountain terrain in the Pyrenees — a UTMB World Series European Major in a valley that most trail runners only hear about when the race calendar lands in their inbox.
By ZealZag TeamThe Appetiser Runs First: Val d'Aran's PDA 55K Today, UTMB European Major VDA 163K Tomorrow
The HOKA Val d'Aran by UTMB's 2026 edition is mid-race: the PDA 55K runs today through the Colomèrs glacial cirque from Salardú, while tomorrow the VDA 163K — the UTMB World Series European Major and a direct qualifier to UTMB Mont-Blanc 2027 — fires from Vielha at dawn.
By ZealZag TeamHeat Acclimatization Before a Summer Ultra: Why You Can't Just Hope for Cool Weather
The biggest summer ultras — Western States, Hardrock, Leadville, UTMB — send athletes through environments where heat is a primary physiological stressor, not a background variable. Arriving without deliberate heat preparation is a choice that shows up in the canyons, not on paper.
By ZealZag TeamLavaredo 120K: Namberger's Fourth in a Row, Sunmaya Budha Rewrites the Women's Record
Hannes Namberger set a new race record in claiming his fourth consecutive Lavaredo Ultra Trail 120K title, while Sunmaya Budha came from behind to beat Lucy Bartholomew and break the women's course record at the Dolomites' showpiece night-start ultra.
By ZealZag TeamForesthill to Auburn: Running the Decisive Last 23 Miles of Western States
The Western States course ends with 23 miles from Foresthill through the American River canyon to the Placer High track in Auburn — the most accessible and consequential stretch of the hundred, and one you can run independently any weekend of the year.
By ZealZag TeamBouillard Rewrites the Clock at Western States: All Three Men Under 14 Hours
Vincent Bouillard ran 13:46:16 to shatter Jim Walmsley's seven-year course record at Western States 100, while Jenn Lichter set the women's mark in her 100-mile debut — the first time in the race's history that three men broke the 14-hour barrier on the same day.
By ZealZag Team
Western States 100 Course Guide: 100 Miles Through the Sierra Nevada
Everything you need to tackle the legendary 100.2-mile route from Olympic Valley to Auburn — key segments, logistics, gear lists, heat training advice, and how the lottery actually works.
By ZealZag Team
Western States 100 2026: Bouillard and Lichter Shatter Course Records
Vincent Bouillard destroyed Jim Walmsley's 2019 course record by 23 minutes as Jenn Lichter won her 100-mile debut in a historic performance at the 2026 Western States Endurance Run.
By ZealZag TeamRunning Madeira: Levadas, Ridge Lines, and the Race That Crosses the Island
Madeira packs a 1,862-metre volcanic summit, 200 kilometres of levada irrigation channels, and a serious international ultra into a 57-kilometre-long island an hour from Lisbon. For trail runners wanting genuine mountain terrain with subtropical logistics, it is one of the most efficient destinations in the Atlantic.
By ZealZag TeamCortina d'Ampezzo: Running the Dolomites Before and After Lavaredo
A destination guide for trail runners arriving in Cortina d'Ampezzo for the Lavaredo Ultra Trail — or coming to run the same terrain on their own schedule. Where to base, what to run, how to get there, and what the Dolomites ask of visitors who want to move through them rather than look at them.
By ZealZag TeamLavaredo Ultra Trail 2026: The 50K Runs, the 120K Loads the Start Line at Midnight
Two races in one day in the Dolomites: the 50K is already out on the course as this is filed, and at 23:00 tonight the 120K field — 120 kilometres, 5,800 metres of gain — rolls from Cortina to reach the Tre Cime di Lavaredo at dawn.
By ZealZag TeamRace the Route: Marathon du Mont-Blanc and the Chamonix Trail Festival
The most famous trail valley in the Alps hosts its festival this weekend, but the Chamonix balcony trails are open all summer. Complete guide to the Marathon du Mont-Blanc and running Chamonix: the five festival distances, the balcony routes, the lift system, gear, travel, and where to base beneath Mont Blanc.
By ZealZag TeamMarathon du Mont-Blanc 2026: The 90K Opens Chamonix's Trail Festival
The Marathon du Mont-Blanc festival is underway in Chamonix — five races across four days beneath the highest summit in the Alps. The 90K flagship circles the valley's high balconies, the marathon climbs to Flégère on Sunday, and the whole town has turned over to trail running for the weekend.
By ZealZag TeamWestern States 100: Running Olympic Valley to Auburn on the World's Most Famous Trail
One hundred miles from the Tahoe basin to the California Gold Rush foothills. A practical guide to the Western States 100 course — the high Sierra traverse, the American River canyons, Foresthill at mile 62, and the Placer High School track finish in Auburn — for athletes who want to run this race, crew it, or understand it.
By ZealZag TeamWestern States 100 in Three Days: Walmsley, Lichter, and the Deepest Field the Race Has Seen
The 2026 Western States 100 starts at dawn on Saturday, June 27, from Palisades Tahoe. The elite field assembles in Olympic Valley this week — Jim Walmsley chasing a fifth win, Jennifer Lichter entering as the women's favorite with a course-record Black Canyon performance behind her, and Molly Seidel making her ultra debut on the most demanding 100-mile course in North America.
By ZealZag Team
The Quiet Pull of the Mountains
At 1,000 meters above sea level, Xenia found more than trails to explore — she found a place to call home.
By ZealZag TeamRace the Route: Lavaredo 120K Through the UNESCO Dolomites
120km. 5,800m of gain. A night start from Cortina d'Ampezzo and the Tre Cime di Lavaredo at 3 a.m. The definitive guide to planning and running the La Sportiva Lavaredo Ultra Trail — entry, route, gear, travel, and why this is one of the most spectacular ultras in the UTMB World Series.
By ZealZag TeamLavaredo Ultra Trail 2026: The Dolomites Open Their Race Week in Cortina
The Lavaredo Ultra Trail by UTMB opens today in Cortina d'Ampezzo — 2,200 runners across five distances, UNESCO-listed Dolomites terrain, and the 120K flagship launching Friday night from Corso Italia. The race week has begun.
By ZealZag TeamRacing UTMB as a Foreign Athlete: The Practical Logistics of Arriving in Chamonix
Thousands of international athletes race the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc every August, and the non-athletic logistics — accommodation, gear registration, jet lag, drop bags, crew access across three countries — are as demanding as the training. A practical guide to getting to the start line organised.
By ZealZag TeamWestern States 100: Four Days Out, Heat Strategy Becomes the Race
Four days from the 53rd Western States 100, the heat strategy conversation has taken over race week — 92°F canyon forecast holding, sauna protocols entering their final week, and the contender field arriving in Olympic Valley.
By ZealZag TeamRunning the Western States 100 Trail: Olympic Valley to Auburn
The 100 miles from Olympic Valley to Auburn traces the oldest 100-mile footrace course in North America — through Sierra Nevada high country, across the American River canyon, and onto the finish-line track in Auburn. A practical destination guide for runners who want to run the route.
By ZealZag TeamOlympic Valley's Race Weekend: Broken Arrow Records Fall as Western States Week Begins
Philemon Kiriago and Mădălina Florea shattered Broken Arrow Skyrace 23k course records at Palisades Tahoe last weekend — and today the same valley fills again as Western States 100 runners arrive for mandatory check-in, four days before the deepest 100-mile field in the race's history.
By ZealZag TeamKMV du Mont-Blanc 2026: A Thousand Metres of Brévent in Under 35 Minutes
Two days from the KMV du Mont-Blanc — the vertical kilometer that opens Chamonix's Marathon du Mont-Blanc weekend. 3.8 kilometres, 1,000 metres of climb on the Brévent's north flank, and a startlist that brings the skyrunning world to the alpine north face.
By ZealZag Team