The Sardinia Trail returns to Cardedu on the south-eastern Ogliastra coast from this evening, Friday 8 May, through Sunday 10 May, with a programme that ranges from an introductory 18km loop to a 100km headline ultra threading the granite cliffs and holm-oak forests above the Tyrrhenian. Race headquarters in the small town's harbour quarter has been buzzing since the kit drop opened on Thursday, and the start lists released this week show the strongest international entry the event has carried since it added the 100km distance.
The signature 100km goes off in the early hours of Saturday and serves as the centrepiece of the weekend. The course climbs from sea level out of Cardedu into the Quirra plateau before swinging back along an elevation profile that organisers have totalled at just over 4,400 metres of vertical gain, with a generous nighttime cut-off that should allow first-time hundred-milers room to manage their pacing without burning out in the early heat. The men's start list is led by a tightly bunched Italian contingent, with strong representation from Spain and France in the women's race.
The 50km on Saturday afternoon doubles as the regional Skyrunning championship qualifier and is expected to deliver the most aggressive front-of-the-pack racing of the weekend. The course splits from the 100km route at the second checkpoint and routes runners through the lunar limestone of the Tacchi d'Ogliastra before dropping back to the coast along a section of the Selvaggio Blu, a route well known to multi-day backpackers but raced only twice a year. Sardinia Trail's organising committee has said the descents will be flagged with extra paint after a wet spring left several traverses still polished.
Sunday's 30km, 18km and family event clear the day for the casual entry, with a course around the Costa di Tertenia that takes in the Capo di Monte Santo headland and a final two kilometres along the coastal path. The 18km has long been the gateway distance for the event, drawing first-time trail runners from the Italian peninsula who fly into Cagliari for a long-weekend race trip. Organisers have capped the entry at 800 runners, and a Saturday wave-start adjustment for the 18km will be confirmed at Friday's race-eve briefing in the harbour piazza.
Weather across the weekend looks ideal for the longer events: highs in the low twenties through Saturday, dropping into the mid-teens overnight, with a southerly breeze that should keep the long climbs above San Pantaleo cool. The race director has confirmed live tracking on the 100km and 50km via the standard ITRA timing partner, and a Sunday-morning awards ceremony at the harbour will close the weekend before runners scatter back to the airports at Cagliari and Olbia. With the entry list now nudging 1,800 across the five distances, Sardinia Trail's claim as the island's headline trail-running weekend looks more secure than ever.