Salomon Ultra Pirineu: Course, Elevation & Route Profile

Course & Elevation

The loop starts and finishes in the village of Bagà at the foot of the Serra del Cadí and runs entirely inside the Cadí-Moixeró natural park. The opening is uncompromising: from kilometre 1 the course climbs for 7.6 kilometres at an average above twelve per cent, and the second block follows without a break at 16.5 per cent up to the Niu de l'Àliga at 2,520 metres – the high point of the day, reached after only 16 kilometres.

After that the race breaks into long, self-contained chapters. A 1,500-metre descent to Serrat, the climb over the Cortals to Aguiló at 2,010 metres at kilometre 48, the long traverse to Gósol, and from kilometre 70 the circuit of the Pedraforca past the Estasen refuge side and Gresolet. The hardest climbs come last: kilometre 84 rises at 17.8 per cent, and kilometre 88.7 at over twenty per cent to Sant Jordi, before 1,150 metres of descent drop back into Bagà.

The numbers tell only half of it. This is narrow mountain path in the heart of a natural park, with the Pedraforca's distinctive double summit as a constant reference, ten aid stations and a cut-off that does not fall until eight on Sunday morning. The course records – Kilian Jornet's 10:25 in 2021 and Núria Picas's 12:12 in 2022 – give a sense of how far apart the two ends of this field are.

Pacing Strategy

The first mistake is made in the opening sixteen kilometres. Bagà to the Niu de l'Àliga is over 2,000 metres of climbing, and because the legs are fresh and the field still dense, many run that block far too fast. Treat it deliberately as hiking work: a steady conversational effort, poles from the start, and ignore the watch.

But the SUP100k is decided much later, in the section between kilometres 70 and 90. After the Pedraforca traverse, kilometres 84 and 88.7 bring two short, brutally steep climbs at 17.8 and over twenty per cent – after thirteen hours or more on your feet. Pace it sensibly to Gósol and eat consistently, and you can still climb there; do neither and you will spend hours on them.

The biggest trap, though, is the descending. With over 30 per cent of the course in the steep downhill band and a 1,500-metre descent as early as kilometre 31, unprepared quads end the race long before the legs give out. Brake under control early, even when it feels too slow. And plan the night section: much of the field is still between Gósol and the Aula de Natura when darkness falls.

Training plan for Salomon Ultra Pirineu: 12-week build

Expect 12 to 22 hours as an age-group runner; the cut-off is 26.5 hours. The demand is a very long, largely aerobic alternation of climbing and descending in which barely five per cent of the course is flat. Almost thirty per cent sits in the steep uphill band and over thirty in the steep downhill one – there is less running here than there is climbing and braking.

The first priority is climbing strength over long durations, ideally with poles: ascents of 800 to 1,200 metres in one go, several times a week in the build phase, and at least one block weekend with two long mountain days back to back. Without that accumulated fatigue in training, the late ramps are simply not runnable.

Technical descending matters just as much. More than 6,500 metres of descent on singletrack loads the quads eccentrically far more than any road race. Build long technical descents in deliberately, preferably at the end of a long run, and train your footing on loose, rooty ground rather than only on forest roads.

Two conditions remain. First altitude: much of the course sits between 1,500 and 2,500 metres, so if you live at sea level plan an altitude block or at least a longer arrival window. Second the night: practise running trails by headtorch, test the full mandatory kit in training, and rehearse your fuelling strategy over at least ten hours before you rely on it for twenty.