Ultra-Trail Mount Yun by UTMB® 2026

More than two thousand years ago, the sage Laozi, father of Taoism, is said to have meditated on the heights of Mount Yun 🧘. Today, it’s trail runners who come here in search of enlightenment—legs on fire and breath short. The Ultra-Trail Mount Yun by UTMB pins on its bibs every autumn in the Xiangning District, in the heart of Shanxi province, in the far north of China. Added to the UTMB World Series calendar in 2024, it already ranks among the must-attend trail events of the Middle Kingdom 🀄.

Rarely has a race offered so many ways in. Nine events are spread along the mountain, from the small 3 km family race (250 mD+) all the way up to the monstrous "100M" with its 159 km swallowed down for 6,500 mD+ 🥵. In between, the range unfolds a "100K" (97 km, 4,350 mD+), a "70K" (69 km, 2,600 mD+), a "50K" (48 km, 2,400 mD+), a "30K", then a "20K" and a "10K"—enough to satisfy every pair of legs 👟. The two ogres, "100M" and "100K", push ultra-trailers to their limits, while the 70 and 50 km long trails appeal to lovers of big elevation gain without an all-nighter. The short 30 and 20 km formats and the discovery 10 and 3 km races open the party to beginners and families alike 👶. The "100M" bags 4 Running Stones, keys to the UTMB final at Mont-Blanc, and the shorter distances pick some up to match their scale 🪨.

The terrain feels like a Chinese postcard 🇨🇳. The trails climb through dense pine forests and emerge onto ridgelines stretched between the Lüliang Mountains and the Fen-Wei Fault. At the top, at 1,629 m, the Jade Emperor Pavilion watches over the valley, a golden silhouette set on the mountain like a party hat 🏯. Lower down, the route passes through ice caves and the old troglodyte village of Ta'erpo, whose rock-hewn homes have defied the centuries ❄️. Between rock, temples, and lush nature, the setting blends sport and time travel: at every turn, you change eras.

Mount Yun didn’t wait for trail running to draw crowds 🐉. A sacred mountain of Taoism, it has sheltered temples, pavilions, and thousand-year-old villages for centuries, and remains a major site of Chinese culture, where ancient spring festivals are still celebrated. When UTMB arrives in 2024, the event becomes one of the first gateways into the global circuit in East Asia, alongside a handful of other Chinese races. The result: a sharp local elite battles for the podiums, fueled by a running community exploding across the continent 📈. Running here is as much about performance as it is about pilgrimage 🙏. Autumn dresses the slopes in blazing hues, the weather is milder than in midsummer, and every aid station feels like a stopover between two temples 🍁. Bodies contend with steep climbs and sometimes technical terrain, rewarded by dizzying panoramas over the high valleys. A rare curiosity, the race slips runners into an extraordinary setting, between troglodyte dwellings and frozen caverns, far from the beaten paths of Western trail running 😮.

At the table, Shanxi doesn’t mess around 🥢. The birthplace of Chinese noodles, the province serves its famous dao xiao mian—knife-cut noodles—drenched in an aged black vinegar the locals are so proud of 🍜. To extend the change of scenery, the ancient city of Pingyao, a UNESCO-listed gem, raises its Ming walls a few hours’ drive away, while the region’s troglodyte villages can be visited like open-air history books 🏘.

So there’s only one thing left to say: who’s in for the adventure? 🎒