RacesDolomites
Lavaredo Ultra Trail
Demand
4 out of 5
How much it asks
Worth
5 out of 5
Worth the flight + fee
Cortina d'Ampezzo, Dolomites, Italy
Scorecard · is it worth it?
Worth the flight if the mountains match what you want.
The card
Lavaredo is the rare race where Worth can outrun Demand without becoming a tourist brochure. Demand is 4: 120 kilometers, 5,800 meters of climb, a 23:00 start in Cortina, technical Dolomite trail, 30 hours. That is a serious mountain night. It is not a 100 miler, and we will not inflate the distance dimension to make it one. Vertical density is high. Technicality is a 4 because limestone and scree punish sloppy descending after sunrise at the Tre Cime. Altitude is a 3: 2,456 meters is alpine and still not the air problem of the San Juans.
Worth is 5 because the massif is the massif. The loop from Cortina around the eastern Dolomites, with Forcella Lavaredo and the Tre Cime as the postcard that happens to be the actual course, is the reason people fly to this valley. If adventure and scenery are a scored dimension, this is what a 5 looks like. We are not going to pretend a canal towpath and this are in the same sport.
The asterisk is ownership and the Olympic year. Lavaredo is a UTMB World Series event. You need an Index, you play the lottery, you may need the Italian medical certificate, and in 2026 Cortina is a Winter Olympic town, which is a logistics and lodging tax. Value is a 3. Organization is a 4 with high confidence: this is a professional event with a long public record, now running inside a larger commercial system. Promoters still cannot buy the scenery score. They can make the weekend more expensive and more crowded. They have.
The photos are not the score; the course line through a UNESCO massif is. If you want 100 miles, look at UTMB or Tor. If you want the Dolomites, this remains one of the best mountain weekends we can name, circuit baggage included.
Who it is for
Runners who want the Dolomites more than a 100-mile identity, and who can handle technical limestone at night.
Who should skip
Anyone who hates UTMB-owned events on principle, or who wants a quiet regional loop. Cortina in 2026 is not quiet.
Elevation
Tap or hover for miles, clock, and aidft
Night = sunset 9:08pm to sunrise 5:19am at the start (Jun 26), mid splits.
Bottom ticks are aid. Longest gap 11.6 mi.
Finisher pace · 2026
Median finishers (~50th percentile of 1027 finishers). Not a predicted you. · retrieved 2026-09-06 (repo record)
Ospitale 11.6 mi
- Aid–aid
- 2.5 h
- Elapsed
- 2.5 h
- Clock
- 1:30 am +1d
Passo Tre Croci 17.3 mi
- Aid–aid
- 1.6 h
- Elapsed
- 4.1 h
- Clock
- 3:06 am +1d
1.4 h slack
Misurina 26.2 mi
- Aid–aid
- 2.4 h
- Elapsed
- 6.5 h
- Clock
- 5:30 am +1d
2.5 h slack
Rifugio Auronzo 30.8 mi
- Aid–aid
- 1.6 h
- Elapsed
- 8.1 h
- Clock
- 7:06 am +1d
Cimabanche 41.5 mi
- Aid–aid
- 2.5 h
- Elapsed
- 10.6 h
- Clock
- 9:36 am +1d
3.9 h slack
Malga Ra Stua 47.5 mi
- Aid–aid
- 2.1 h
- Elapsed
- 12.7 h
- Clock
- 11:42 am +1d
3.8 h slack
Malga Travenanzes 55.7 mi
- Aid–aid
- 3.0 h
- Elapsed
- 15.7 h
- Clock
- 2:42 pm +1d
Col Gallina 60 mi
- Aid–aid
- 1.7 h
- Elapsed
- 17.4 h
- Clock
- 4:24 pm +1d
5.1 h slack
Passo Giau 64.7 mi
- Aid–aid
- 2.1 h
- Elapsed
- 19.5 h
- Clock
- 6:30 pm +1d
5.5 h slack
Rifugio Croda da Lago 69.4 mi
- Aid–aid
- 1.8 h
- Elapsed
- 21.3 h
- Clock
- 8:18 pm +1d
Cortina d'Ampezzo 75 mi
- Aid–aid
- 1.5 h
- Elapsed
- 22.8 h
- Clock
- 9:48 pm +1d
7.2 h slack
Local clock derived from published start + finisher splits, not a forecast.
Finishers only (DNFs missing, so the real back of the field is slower).
- Start
- 3,994 ft1,217 m
- Finish
- 4,048 ft1,234 m
- Net
- +54 ft+16 m
- Longest climb
- 3,104 ft946 m
Start and finish are within 400 ft. Treat net as a loop.
Weekend
Official handbook facts
23:00 start is the product.
Lavaredo Ultra Trail 120K race page · retrieved 2026-09-06 (repo record)
Field
Last editions · 100K scored distance
Field evidence: who showed up, who finished, how long. DNF is that evidence, not a difficulty score. Public results, scored distance only.
2026
- Starters
- 1,491
- Finishers
- 1,027
- DNF
- 31%
- Win
- 11:45:31
- Median
- 22:40:02
2025
- Starters
- 1,632
- Finishers
- 1,188
- DNF
- 27%
- Win
- 11:49:16
- Median
- 22:41:13
2024
- Starters
- 1,614
- Finishers
- 1,240
- DNF
- 23%
- Win
- 11:57:15
- Median
- 22:45:44
Latest median 22:40:02 (2026) vs the 30-hour cutoff already listed in Gate. Not a hardness score.
LiveTrail race stats for the scored 120K. Median from finish classement times.
Overall field only. Not a pro or sponsored subset.
Climate
Typical June at the start area · historical race-week weather
- Typical high
- 68°F (20°C)
- Typical low
- 50°F (10°C)
- Typical precip
- 6.8 in (173 mm) / June
- Days with rain
- 76% of days
- High point
- 8,058 ft (2,456 m)
BewareRain on race weekend in 3 of the last 3 years.
2015–2024 June means at the start / massif. · Open-Meteo ERA5 / climate · retrieved 2026-09-06 (repo record)
Dimensions
Ten 1–5 scores with a one-line why. Organization has a separate confidence tag.
Supporting dimensions · organization confidence high
120 km, 30 hours, night start. Not a 100 miler; still a full mountain night and day.
5,800 m of climb in 120 km is a serious density of up, not a Tor week.
Dolomite limestone, scree, technical descents. More technical than UTMB's TMB average.
Late June in Cortina: possible snow on high ground, storms, a night that can be cold.
High point Forcella Lavaredo ~2,456 m. Alpine, not Colorado thin.
UTMB Index, lottery, Italian medical certificate, Cortina lodging. 2026 is an Olympic town.
A dream start list in a dream massif, now also a UTMB Series event. Prestige with product attached.
Mature event, now inside the UTMB machine. Public, professional, less local than 2007.
Circuit access and Cortina lodging, especially in an Olympic year. 2027 120K is €320.31 (VAT + NJUKO in). The scenery still carries worth 5.
Tre Cime at sunrise. If scenery is a dimension, this is the top of the scale.
| Dimension | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|
Distance & format How much does the advertised distance and format actually ask? | 3 out of 5 | 120 km, 30 hours, night start. Not a 100 miler; still a full mountain night and day. |
Vertical How serious is the climbing, not just the mile marker? | 4 out of 5 | 5,800 m of climb in 120 km is a serious density of up, not a Tor week. |
Technicality Hands, poles, route-finding, or just a long dirt road? | 4 out of 5 | Dolomite limestone, scree, technical descents. More technical than UTMB's TMB average. |
Climate Heat, monsoon, ice, or a friendly summer afternoon? | 3 out of 5 | Late June in Cortina: possible snow on high ground, storms, a night that can be cold. |
Altitude Does the air change the race, or is it a talking point? | 3 out of 5 | High point Forcella Lavaredo ~2,456 m. Alpine, not Colorado thin. |
Logistics How hard is the weekend around the race: travel, crew, lodging, rules? | 4 out of 5 | UTMB Index, lottery, Italian medical certificate, Cortina lodging. 2026 is an Olympic town. |
Prestige & field Does the start list and history change what the weekend feels like? | 4 out of 5 | A dream start list in a dream massif, now also a UTMB Series event. Prestige with product attached. |
Organization From public evidence, does the event look competently run? | 4 out of 5 | Mature event, now inside the UTMB machine. Public, professional, less local than 2007. |
Value Entry fee, travel tax, and lottery friction versus what you get on course. | 3 out of 5 | Circuit access and Cortina lodging, especially in an Olympic year. 2027 120K is €320.31 (VAT + NJUKO in). The scenery still carries worth 5. |
Adventure & scenery Would you fly for the place even if nobody kept score? | 5 out of 5 | Tre Cime at sunrise. If scenery is a dimension, this is the top of the scale. |