Snow races

Let it snow let it snow let it snow ❄️

From the first snowflakes of November, you feel like sinking into the couch 🛋️. But you could take up a whole other activity: snow running 🌨️. This discipline promises you breathtaking scenery, but it has to be earned! 🫵 The ground becomes unpredictable: icy patches in the early morning, soft powder as soon as the sun hits, uneven snow cover...🥴 Every stride is negotiated, and that’s exactly what makes snow running so unique in a runner’s calendar ☝️.

Few runners really take it on, which gives the discipline a slightly underground feel 🤫. Each winter a good part of the French mountain ranges, from the Jura to the Pyrenees, are covered in snow ⛄️. But only a handful of organizers dare to mark out a running course there rather than a ski slope ⛷️. The result: you rarely run into people on the white trails, except at the now-legendary events that draw crowds despite the thermometer 🌡️. Snow absorbs sounds, muffles the atmosphere, and turns even a trail you’ve run a hundred times into unknown territory 🫣. The technical challenge pulls no punches: your stride shortens, your calves burn faster than usual, your ankles constantly compensate to stabilize your footing 🦵. On icy sections, the slightest lapse costs you dearly—straight into the mud or face-first in the snow 😂. Many runners wear studs or trail-appropriate spikes, others outright swap their shoes for snowshoes on the snowiest sections—a real return to the roots of snowshoeing, an ancestral practice of Nordic peoples 🇳🇴.

The cold sets its own rules: despite the lack of thirst, you need to keep an eye on your hydration—just because you’re not thirsty doesn’t mean you shouldn’t drink💧. Also, the wind at altitude can drop the perceived temperature by several degrees in just a few minutes 📉. Organizers, for their part, juggle the weather until the very last moment: a route can be modified the day before depending on how much fresh snow has fallen—an exercise in logistics that few disciplines experience 😬.

As for the scenery, it’s hard to beat 🤩. The Vercors, the Chartreuse or the heights of the Jura turn into playgrounds from the first falls 🥶. Further south, the Pyrenees let you run on snow while, most of the time, keeping a big blue sky above your head 🌞. The Vanoise massif, France’s first national park created in 1963, watches over the trails of Savoie where some winter races set up base📍. And in Font-Romeu, famous for its altitude training center frequented by generations of Olympic athletes, snow sits alongside the Catalan sun for almost the entire season 🇪🇸.

When it comes to races in France, the winter calendar offers plenty of choice 📆. Head to the Pyrénées-Orientales for the Romeufontaine Snow Trail, which winds around Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via over several distances ✋. In the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, the Ubaye Snow Trail Salomon climbs up to 2,250 m altitude at the foot of the Brec du Chambeyron, at the gateway to Italy, and is part of the famous Trails de Provence challenge 🤗. The Vercors Winter Trail maps out its 15 km on the Corrençon plateau, while the Inuit Trail invites runners to tackle 7.5 or 15 km in the heart of Pralognan-la-Vanoise 🐐. In the Jura, the O'xyrace Trail Blanc Jurassien offers in Prémanon a range of distances from the family format to a real challenge 💪. Further south, in the Rhône, the Trail d'Avenas lets you test your footing over 12 or 28 km without leaving the Lyon area 😎. Fans of icy night races gather for the Trail la Fée Blanche, 10 km to run with a headlamp strapped to your head 🔦. In the Hautes-Alpes, in Montgenèvre, the Snow Triathlon mixes trail, cross-country skiing and ski touring for a twist on the classic white trails 🤪. And it’s impossible to talk about winter racing without mentioning the Sainté-Lyon, 80 km at night between Saint-Étienne and Lyon, whose sometimes icy conditions on the Pilat ridgelines have made it a rite of passage 😨.

Internationally, the concept takes on a whole other dimension 😮. In Poland, the Gdynia Ultra Way - Winter Race offers up to 100 km on frozen trails around Gdynia, a Baltic port city. In Switzerland, the Winter Trail des Patrouilleurs has runners race 10 or 20 km in the heart of a calm, endless alpine landscape, on slopes that recall the heritage of the Swiss Alps patrollers ⬆. And for runners seeking the extreme, the Antarctic Ice Ultra takes place at the edge of the South Pole, over distances up to 100 miles, in one of the most hostile environments on the planet 🐾. After the effort, comfort takes on a very special flavor here. Fondue, mulled wine or tartiflette served at the finish line: mountain tradition systematically shows up on the aid-station lines of winter races—a direct nod to gratin dauphinois, tartiflettes and fondue 🫕.

Taking on a snow race means accepting to run differently: slower, more cautiously, but with an intensity of sensations rarely matched elsewhere 🙌. If the cold doesn’t scare you but you’d rather keep more solid footing on dry slopes, head for mountain races, where elevation gain takes over from snow to test your limits! ⛰️

Ready to run like Mathieu Blanchard during his Yukon Ultra? 🧣