Puglia by UTMB® 2026

When a race’s starting city is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, when the canyon you run through is the largest in Europe, and when the finish line has you arriving with your feet in the Ionian Sea, it’s fair to say the course committee didn’t do things halfway. Puglia by UTMB is exactly that: a race that starts in one of the oldest cities in the world and ends on a beach of golden sand. In between: 144 km, gorges carved into limestone over millennia, olive trees as old as history, and a few thousand runners ready to push themselves 🤌.

Let’s start with Matera, because Matera deserves a few lines before you even lace up your shoes 👞. The first inhabited area dates back to the Paleolithic. People were carving homes into this rock long before writing, the wheel, or the concept of active recovery had been invented. This place is called the Sassi of Matera. The cave-dwelling settlement (yes, it’s a bit of a tongue-twister, but that’s just a detail) is spread over several levels—sometimes ten—with a complex urban layout of stairways and narrow alleys. That’s a pretty original warm-up 🤪. Matera’s recent history is even wilder than its ancient one, and that’s saying something. In the 1950s, the Sassi were known as the “shame of Italy” because of extreme poverty and poor living conditions. In 1952, residents were evacuated and moved into modern homes on the plateau above, and the Sassi were abandoned. Then, a few decades later: UNESCO listing, gradual restoration, and in 2019 Matera becomes European Capital of Culture. And now a trail race starts from there in the middle of the night. Matera can’t be stopped anymore. 🏆. And for movie buffs: No Time to Die, the latest James Bond with Daniel Craig, was filmed there. Which technically makes Matera the classiest city on the global trail calendar 🎬.

On the nature side, the terrain is just as spectacular. The Terra delle Gravine is a 40 km-long canyon 🏞️, limestone rock walls, prehistoric caves, villages carved into the stone... 🪨 Nothing less than that! The Gravine Canyon is a natural corridor carved into limestone, alternating technical climbs and long fast sections. Not the Alps, not the Pyrenees, not the mountain as we know it. Something more Mediterranean, more dry, more raw. Geology that feels like a cross between Cappadocia and a spaghetti western set—which makes geographic sense since a good share of Sergio Leone’s westerns were filmed in this region. This corner of Italy is clearly destined to be the backdrop for epic things 🇮🇹. The race is young, Giovanna as they say over there! The event was previously known as the Castellaneta Urban Trail before joining the UTMB World Series circuit in 2025. The first edition under the UTMB label therefore took place in November 2025, and the results were immediate: more than 3,000 runners from 73 countries, with a field made up of 75% foreign athletes 🌍. For a race in a region that most European trail runners would have struggled to place on a map just two years ago 😅. That’s the speed at which the UTMB World Series label can change an event’s trajectory—and also proof that when the terrain is exceptional, runners from all over the world feel it right away 🚀.

The formats cover the full human spectrum, from the curious newcomer to the long-distance veteran who just can’t help themselves. The flagship event, “I Sassi di Matera,” is the UTMB World Series range’s 100M: 144 km with 3,800 m of elevation gain, starting Friday from Matera, and 4 Running Stones up for grabs for UTMB qualification in Chamonix 🏔️. The “Maioliche di Laterza” offers 85 km and 2,000 m D+ from Laterza, a solid dose of ultra without having the whole night in your legs. The 50 km “Castellaneta Underground Trail” has the coolest trail name: part of the course literally goes through underground galleries carved into the rock 🕯️. The 35 km “Ginosa Rivolta Trail” is the perfect format to discover the terrain without playing the hero, and the 10 km “Costa Verde Trail” lets you run along the Ionian seaside with turquoise waters that look like they’ve been Photoshopped. They haven’t. That’s just Puglia (the Apulia) in October 🌊.

This race marks the fourth stop in Italy in the calendar year for the UTMB World Series circuit, after the Chianti Ultra Trail in spring, the Lavaredo Ultra Trail in early summer, and the Monte Rosa Walserwaeg in July. Italy is becoming a top-tier trail destination, and Puglia is the latest on the schedule—the most unexpected one, the one that ends up stealing the show from its big Alpine sisters. Because running under olive trees in the October light in Southern Italy, between cliffs that turn orange at sunset, is an experience the Alps simply can’t offer 🌄.

And never forget Chi va piano, va sano e va lontano! (Who goes slowly goes far and healthily!) 💪