One of the jewels of the European trail calendar is almost here, with the La Sportiva Lavaredo Ultra Trail by UTMB returning to Cortina d'Ampezzo from 24 to 27 June. Set amid the jagged peaks of the UNESCO World Heritage Dolomites in northern Italy, the festival has become a fixture of late June, drawing thousands of runners to one of the most photogenic mountain circuits in the sport.
The flagship event remains the Lavaredo 120K, a brutal loop carrying around 5,800 metres of climbing through high passes, alpine meadows and the shadow of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo. It is a race that rewards both mountain craft and endurance, with a long, dark first night giving way to spectacular daytime running before the descent back into Cortina. The distance has a history of attracting a deep international field, and the 2026 edition is expected to be no different.
Alongside the 120K, the programme spans four further distances, with 80K, 50K, 20K and 10K races giving runners of varying ambitions a route through the same iconic terrain. That breadth is part of Lavaredo's appeal: it functions as both an elite proving ground and a mass-participation celebration of mountain running, with the shorter events allowing newcomers to sample the Dolomites without committing to a full night on the trail.
As a UTMB World Series event, Lavaredo also carries qualification weight. Finishers in the longer races can earn between one and four running stones towards entry into UTMB Mont-Blanc, the season's showpiece in Chamonix at the end of August. That status ensures the start lists are stacked not only with podium contenders but with ambitious age-groupers chasing the stones they need to line up under Mont Blanc later in the year.
The timing places Lavaredo at the heart of a frantic stretch of the trail season. It falls in the same window as the Western States 100 in California and just ahead of the Marathon du Mont-Blanc in Chamonix, giving fans a near-continuous run of marquee mountain racing through the back half of June. For those gathering in Cortina, however, the focus will be squarely on the Dolomites and the unforgiving beauty of the Lavaredo course.