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For many it could be an almost impossible distance to run, even without considering the more than 3000mt of elevation gain. On this curse many sports and mountain enthusiasts can have a taste of trail running in its purest form and appreciate every feature of the Mount Baldo range. A journey for true trailers!
This circular course starts and ends on the lakefront of Malcesine, and coincides with the 26K and 41K races for the first 9km, immediately taking the athletes to gain about 1350m of elevation. After a couple of km on tarmac to warm up, the course leaves the town centre and begins to climb on highly panoramic paths, first on cart tracks and dirt roads, then on singletrack through chestnut and oak forests.
At km 8.6, near Bocca di Navene (1420m ASL), there is the first refreshment station and intermediate split time checkpoint: from here the view opens onto the eastern slope of Mount Baldo. The course climbs further north on singletrack facing Mount Altissimo; above 1700m the vegetation begins to thin out, giving way to meadows and open spaces.
At km 12.3, near the summit of Monte Altissimo di Nago, the competitors reach the highest point of the race, at an altitude of 2060m, where the second refreshment station is located. From here begins the exploration of the eastern slope of Mount Baldo, where it is possible to appreciate its morphological and climatic diversity compared to the western slope, which is tempered by the presence of Lake Garda. A descent of about 600m leads to Rifugio Malga Campei (km 16.7). The course then climbs back up south to about 1750m on the pastures of Corna Piana, continuing on a more runnable stretch with rolling terrain, allowing for a steadier pace and wide-ranging views. It passes Rifugio Graziani (km 22.4) and reaches Rifugio Fos-Ce (km 26.8, 1428m), home to the third refreshment station.
From here, alternating between cart track and trail, the course descends to about 1100m and climbs back up to Passo Pozza della Cola (km 32.4, 1288m), where the fourth refreshment station is located. This stretch is characterised by numerous mountain huts and pastures. The course descends again to the fifth refreshment station at Madonna della Neve (about km 36, 1076m), just before Rifugio Monte Baldo (km 37.1).
From Rifugio Monte Baldo the course turns north and progressively gains altitude again, up to the sixth refreshment station at Dossioli (about km 42, 1435m). A steep climb on singletrack of about 2km and 300m of elevation gain then takes the athletes back up to the top of Mount Baldo, at Tratto Spino, near the upper cable car station (about km 44.5, 1754m). Here are located the time cutoff, the seventh refreshment station, and a further intermediate split time checkpoint.
From this point onward the course progressively loses altitude: a first steep descent of about 400m leads to a stretch along the hillside, at around 1300m, with runnable rolling terrain for about 3.5km. The course then faces its most demanding descent, on steep slopes that are sometimes technical and sometimes very runnable, first through coniferous forests and then beech woods, losing almost 800m of altitude. After an undulating stretch, the course reaches the intermediate cable car station at San Michele (km 55.6), where the eighth refreshment station is available. From here the course re-enters the “Olive belt” coastal strip and descends on cart tracks and trails until reaching the town centre for the final 2km on cobblestones and tarmac.
