UTMB Puglia 2025: programme, distances and routes of the first edition

Who doesn’t know UTMB? The now iconic ultra trail brand, which represents the dream and ambition of the most expert runners, broadens its offering and arrives in southern Italy with a race that promises to be extraordinary. Less than a month left until the first edition of Puglia by UTMBscheduled from 7 to 9 Novemberand the anticipation grows together with the numbers of registrations, which have already exceeded all predictions. They will be over 3000 participants are expected, coming from 70 different countries: an audience 75% made up of foreign athletes, confirming the international scope of an event that promises to become a point of reference in the calendar.

Puglia by UTMB, WHAT A LANDSCAPE!

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Of course, to quickly discover, up and down the slopes, a truly magical corner of Puglia, between the sea and the hinterland, requires effort and preparation, but the sacrifices will be well repaid. Each route is the calling card of a territory that never ceases to surprise. The routes, designed to combine the sporting dimension with landscape discovery, accompany the athletes through thousand-year-old canyons, villages carved into the rock, wild countryside dotted with centuries-old olive trees and stretches of coast that suddenly open onto the blue Ionian Sea. The tests alternate technical and runnable sections, descents and climbs that sculpt the fatigue and multiply the adrenaline, offering a variety that makes the event capable of speaking both to the most expert trail runners and to those looking for a race with a strong experiential value.

PLACES AND ROUTES

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This first edition will offer five routes designed to enhance the territory and offer experiences suitable for every level of preparation. The longest route is called “I Sassi di Matera” and includes 140 km with 3800 meters of positive altitude difference. Departure right from the city with the historic UNESCO heritage districts. The queen distance will start from Matera and will tackle a route that crosses one of the most spectacular environments in Europe. The route will take athletes into the Canyon delle Gravine, the longest in Europe, a natural corridor carved into the limestone rock that alternates technical climbs with long, smoother stretches. A true adventure in the heart of rocky nature.

FROM LATERZA

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The route The Majolica of Laterza, 85 km and 2000 meters D+shoot from another jewel of Puglia, with its charming town that seems to overlook an uncontaminated and wild landscape, this route starts which crosses the impressive Gravina di Laterza12 km and 400 meters wide, for a race that combines technique, resistance and breathtaking landscapes.

FROM CASTELLANETA

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Castellaneta Underground Trail is the proof from 50km (1000 meters of positive altitude difference) starts from one of the most famous seaside resorts in the area, with its crystal clear sea and long stretches of golden sand, an ideal competition for lovers of this distance starts, which will take them among the beauties of the Mediterranean scrub.

THE SHORTEST RACES

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Among the proposals there are also the Ginosa Rivolta Trail (35 km, 350m D+), an all in all fast and intense race, between dirt roads, sandy stretches and panoramic views, starting from Ginosa, famous for its historic center overlooking the deep ravine of the Gravina di Ginosa, and the Costa Verde Trail (10 km, 50 m D+) starting from Castellaneta Marina, between the greenery of the centuries-old pine forest and the golden sand of the very long beach. All distances will converge right in the Taranto seaside resort.

In A UNIQUE TERRITORY

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Running here means immersing yourself in nature that tells the story of Manwith thousand-year-old olive trees alternating with dry stone walls and rock churches which still preserve Byzantine frescoes today. A trip to lesser-known Puglia, far from traditional tourist circuits, but capable of offering authentic emotions, those that runners will feel when they cross the 40 km canyon, with limestone walls, prehistoric caves, villages carved into the rock and a landscape that changes with every step. Here we go beyond the sporting feat: between Puglia and Basilicatarunning truly becomes a means of being enveloped, step by step, by a still uncontaminated and primordial environment and living an unforgettable experience.