Trail du Saint-Jacques by UTMB® 2026

There are races run on a nice, tidy course, with tape and spectators every two kilometers. There are those that follow a path—a real one—with its stones, its roots, and its surprises. And then there’s the Trail du Saint-Jacques by UTMB®, which is run flat-out on a legend 📖. Not some small, forgotten local tale: the GR65, the great medieval highway of pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela 🛣️. Since the Middle Ages, millions of people have passed through it. Back when “setting out to walk” also meant “maybe never coming back.” Lovely vibe, right? 😇 Except here, there’s a little twist 🔄: you go against the flow. Where pilgrims gently head down toward Spain with their scallop shell hanging from the pack, trail runners, on the other hand, race back up the map at full speed, with carbon poles and a mandatory waterproof jacket 🗺️. The wooden pilgrim’s staff has been replaced by technical gear… but the spirit of adventure hasn’t moved a millimeter 📏.

It all starts in Le Puy-en-Velay, and honestly, it’s hard to find a cooler starting backdrop 🏛️. The town sits on completely improbable volcanic formations, with rocky spires popping up everywhere. On one of them stands the Saint-Michel d'Aiguilhe Chapel, perched like something out of a movie, and above it all, a huge statue watching over the valley. Fun fact: it was made from cannons melted down after the Crimean War. Yes, a religious statue made from weapons of war. History doesn’t lack irony 🙃. And then there’s the Notre-Dame du Puy Cathedral. For more than a thousand years, pilgrims have walked down a big staircase there before setting off for 1,500 km. Trail runners, meanwhile, arrive completely wrecked at the bottom of those steps, often at night 🌙, in full “okay, that’s it, I survived” mode. Total role reversal—and that’s what’s brilliant. The race has existed “only” since 2012, but it has already grown significantly. It’s now part of the UTMB World Series, so it welcomes runners from all over the world.

Format-wise, there’s plenty to do… or plenty to sweat 🫠. The Ultra du Saint-Jacques is the main course: 139 km and 6,000 mD+. A whole night outside, with all the ups and downs that implies. The “Grand Trail” (86 km) takes the boldest into the Allier gorges with playful terrain that can sometimes be brutally rough. The “Monistrail” (55 km) condenses the experience without making it easy. And the “Chibottes” (28 km) let you sample the atmosphere, with a bonus: those famous little dry-stone huts that give the race its name (back then, they were used as shelters) 🛖. The “12 km du Dolaizon” is there to enjoy without suffering too much (well… it’s all relative), and the hike 28 km lets you experience the route in pilgrim mode, nice and easy 😌. And in fact, it’s not uncommon to run into real walkers on their way to Compostela.

Running Stones are, in a way, the “currency” of the UTMB World Series circuit. A trail runner earns them by finishing certain races, and they’re then used to register for the circuit’s major events, notably the UTMB around Mont Blanc. At the Trail du Saint-Jacques, they depend on the distance: the Ultra (139 km) yields 4, the 86 km gives 3, the 55 km gives 2, and the 28 km gives 1. The longer it is, the more you rack up. In short, they’re not just points: they’re your “trail capital” to access the next races in the UTMB circuit.

The terrain itself is raw. No alpine postcard scenery here. Runners cross open plateaus where the wind reminds you it’s the boss 💨, gorges that make you lose any sense of civilization, and stone villages that glow at night 🏡. In the gorges of the Allier, for example, pilgrims sometimes avoided passing through alone back then—too isolated, too risky. And the path, above all, has something extra. It’s not mystical in the cliché sense, but almost. It’s been walked so much that it gives off a particular atmosphere 🤓. Some runners swear that in the middle of the night, in total silence, they feel like they’re not completely alone. Well, it could also be fatigue… but still 👀. The finish is a real moment. Always at night. Always at the foot of the cathedral ⛪. Runners spend hours in the dark, in the mud, in the wind… and then suddenly they find the light, the town, the people again. It’s a bit like coming out of a tunnel. Many finishers say those last meters stay etched in their memory more than anything else. Some even touch the cathedral stone as they arrive, like the pilgrims. Small symbolic gesture, big emotion 🤲.

The organizers call it the “spiritrail” 🌿. A slightly strange word, but it fits well. It’s not just a trail. It’s not just a historical stroll either. It’s a mix of the two, with a little extra something that each person feels in their own way. And in the end, what do you leave with? Legs in pieces, probably 🦵. But also the feeling that you did more than a race. That you followed a thousand-year-old track… but at your pace, and in the other direction 😉.