Lavaredo Ultra Trail — The Dolomites at Night
The Most Beautiful Race in the World
Lavaredo Ultra Trail runs 120 kilometers through the Dolomites of northeastern Italy — the vertical limestone towers, glacially carved valleys, and alpine meadows that make the Dolomites the most photographed mountain landscape in Europe.
The race starts and finishes in Cortina d’Ampezzo, the elegant Italian mountain town that hosted the 1956 Winter Olympics. It passes under the Tre Cime di Lavaredo — the three iconic stone towers that are the defining image of the Dolomites — in the middle of the night, when headlamps illuminate limestone that glows white against the dark sky.
Many runners describe the Lavaredo Ultra Trail as the most beautiful race they have ever run. That assessment is nearly universal among people who have run it.
The Course
The course loops through the Ampezzo Dolomites, covering the major valleys and ridgelines that surround Cortina. The 16,400 feet of gain comes from genuine alpine climbing — the Dolomites are not rolling hills. They are vertical.
The Start (Cortina, Midnight): Lavaredo starts at midnight, which means runners spend the entire first night on the course. The opening miles through Cortina’s streets, with crowds lining the route, is one of the great race-start experiences in the sport.
Tre Cime di Lavaredo (Mile 30, ~3 a.m.): The race passes the base of the Tre Cime in the early morning hours. Headlamps illuminate the limestone towers from below. The refuge at Auronzo provides the first major aid station. The view — if skies are clear — is among the most photographed moments in European trail running.
The Rifugio Circuit: The course passes through a series of traditional Dolomite mountain refuges — stone huts serving food, shelter, and community on high alpine terrain that would otherwise be inaccessible. Rifugio stops are part of the race’s rhythm: arrive, eat, push on.
The Daylight Section: Runners who start at the front emerge into daylight in the high passes above Cortina. The mid-morning Dolomite light on limestone is extraordinary. Runners who start at the back experience this section in the afternoon — equally dramatic.
UTMB World Series Status
Lavaredo Ultra Trail is a UTMB World Series qualifier. Finishers earn Running Stones toward UTMB entry qualification. The race draws a strong international field — Italian, French, and American runners compete here specifically to build their UTMB qualification profile.
What Makes Lavaredo Different
Most elite mountain ultras — Hardrock, Tor des Géants, UTMB — are defined by their difficulty. Lavaredo is defined by its beauty. The difficulty is genuine — 75 miles with 16,400 feet of gain in the Alps is serious — but it is not the primary reason runners travel from around the world to Cortina.
They come for the Dolomites. They come for the Tre Cime at 3 a.m. They come for what the mountains look like from the trail.
The Lavaredo Ultra Trail is the race that reminds runners why they started running mountains in the first place.
120K (75 miles) | 16,400 ft gain | Late June | Start/Finish: Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy | UTMB World Series qualifier | Running since 2010