Torrencial Chile by UTMB® 2026

There are races that promise you sunshine. Torrencial Chile by UTMB®, on the other hand, promises you rain. And it’s not a warning—it’s a promise ☝️.

Welcome to Valdivia, in the south of Chile, where winter is a religion and where the Valdivian rainforest thrives on 2,500 mm of precipitation per year 🤯. To give you an idea, that’s about as much as in a sauna, but outdoors, and with climbs totaling 4,600 meters of elevation gain 📈. June, the month of the race, is officially the wettest month of the year with averages around 350 mm. The people of Valdivia don’t say “it’s raining,” they say “it’s alive” 🌞. And you’ll very quickly understand why🌧️ .

What makes this place completely mind-blowing is that this forest is a direct legacy of Gondwana, the ancient supercontinent that existed 180 million years ago 🦖. Concretely, some trees you’ll come across on the trails look more like those of New Zealand or Australia than like any other tree in South America. So you’ll literally be running through a living museum of evolution 🍃. For those who love improbable numbers: the Alerce, a Patagonian cypress that grows in this forest, gains only one centimeter every 20 years and can live for thousands of years 😅. In other words, some trees on your route started their lives before the Crusades ⚔️.

Let’s talk distances, because Torrencial doesn’t mess around with that. The flagship event of this ultra is called the “Pilolcura,” and it clocks in at 108 km with 4,600 mD+, which earns it 3 Running Stones in the UTMB World Series system—the equivalent of a first-class ticket to suffer 😎. For fans of half-measures (a relative concept here), the “Oncol” offers 64 km and 2,500 mD+, just to get the legs going 🦵. The “Llancahue” 44 km with 1,400 mD+ is perfect if you want a solid race without mortgaging your knees for vacation 😂. Then come the “Collico” (21 km, 700 mD+), the “Cau Cau” (12 km), and the “Isla Teja” (6 km) to introduce the whole family 🤗. There’s even a “Mini Torrencial” of 3 km for the little ones 🐥.

Torrencial is also a decade-long story: 10 years that this race has existed and celebrated what others run from—the Southern Hemisphere winter, the mud, the cold, the soaking-wet trails 🐽. For 10 years, it was the only winter race in Chile, and that slightly “crazy” identity is precisely what gives it such a unique character 😍. Wind, cold, and rain aren’t opponents on this course: they’re official racing partners 💨. And in 2026, it takes things up a notch by joining the UTMB World Series, the global circuit that brings together more than 50 events around the world 🌍. It’s no longer just the most important race in Chile—it’s a global rendezvous 📅.

Valdivia itself is worth the trip, even if you hadn’t planned on running 108 km in the rain 🫣. Founded in the 16th century, it’s a city shaped by massive German immigration in the 19th century, and you can see it in the architecture, the cuisine, and above all in the brewing scene! Kunstmann, the go-to local beer, is also an official partner of the event 🍻. The city is crossed by several rivers, surrounded by forests, and has an atmosphere that swings between a misty university town and an adventure-movie set 🎬.

So if the idea of running dry reassures you, maybe Torrencial Chile by UTMB isn’t for you—but remember that a rainy trail is a happy trail! 😉