Trail Running · Val d'Aran

🇪🇸Val d'Aran by UTMB 163 km:
Course Analysis & Race Readiness

160 km with 9,155 m of climbing and identical loss across 16 climbs and 16 descents. A relentless mountain circuit peaking at 2,543 m, where the downhills are as decisive as the ascents.

CourseRecon scores your own training against the descending and durability demands that define Val d'Aran by UTMB 163 km — the sample analysis below shows exactly how.

160 km

Distance

+9,070 m

Vertical Gain

−9,070 m

Total Descent

Jul 3, 2026

Last Edition · Past

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The Course · GPS-Measured

What 160 km / 99.3 mi and 9,070 m / 29,770 ft of vertical gain actually look like

Measured from the GPS track: 160 km / 99.3 mi and 9,070 m / 29,770 ft of vertical gain. This is the terrain you're signing up for: read it before it reads you.

Course Profile

Terrain summary

Claimed vs GPS-Measured

Claimed · Organizer

160km

Distance

+9,160m

Gain

−0.0 km−90 m

GPS-Measured

160km

Distance

+9,070m

Gain

Climb & Gradient

+9,070 mTotal Gain

−9,070 mTotal Loss

Gradient Distribution

24%

Flat

≤3% grade

23%

Run-Climb

3–15% up

15%

Steep Climb

>15% up

38%

Descent

downhill

Steepest Sustained Sections

Descent

KM 8.1–10.3 · −560 m

-25.7%

Descent

KM 153.0–160.0 · −1,239 m

-19.2%

Climb

KM 148.0–153.0 · +1,097 m

+18.8%

Descent

KM 36.4–41.0 · −867 m

-18.7%

Finish & Cutoff Times

What it takes to finish

Reference finish times from past results — use them to set a realistic goal pace.

48h 00m

Back of pack

What This Race Demands

Four things this course asks of your body

Every course weights the four pillars of mountain-ultra fitness differently. Descending carries 48% of the scoring weight on this course — the terrain makes that the deciding factor.

Weighting shows where readiness is won or lost at this distance — not whether you need each pillar. An aerobic base is a given for a race this long, so it carries little deciding weight even though it's essential — the gaps open on the climbs, descents and the back half.

AerobicSustained engine

Foundational

Sustained day-plus effort across 160 km with continuous vertical change and few flat sections.

ClimbingVertical power

20%

16 climbs totaling 9,155 m, including a 1,352 m ascent and a 13.1 km grind.

DescendingEccentric / braking

48%

39% of the course points downhill, much of it very steep, punishing quads relentlessly.

DurabilityLate-race resilience

32%

Repeated climb-descent cycles over 160 km demand structural resilience deep into the race.

The Profile in One Line

A 160 km, 9,155 m-gain ultra dominated by steep, sustained descending and repeated big climbs.

Aerobic FoundationalClimbing 20%Descending 48%Durability 32%

Here's how CourseRecon reads a course and an athlete

Sample Readiness Analysis

What a readiness result looks like for this course

This is a worked example for a representative strong mountain-ultra athlete — not your score. Connect your own training and the same analysis runs on you.

Sample

OUT OF 100

QUESTIONABLE

For a representative strong mountain-ultra athlete

This is a sample — connect your Strava to see your own result.

Pillar Breakdown

Aerobic

With no flat recovery to speak of and 9,155 m of gain, the aerobic engine must run continuously across an ultra-distance effort. Pacing over 160 km with a 2,543 m high point requires a deep, well-managed steady state.

Climbing

Sixteen climbs stack 9,155 m of gain, with a biggest single ascent of 1,352 m and a longest of 13.1 km. Roughly 30% of the course exceeds 10% uphill grade, demanding efficient, repeatable climbing.

Descending

Descending carries the heaviest weight here: 39% of the course is downhill, much of it very steep, including a 1,239 m drop over 8.7 km and pitches near -25%. Eccentric loading and braking control determine who holds together.

Durability

Sixteen full climb-descent cycles over 160 km relentlessly load the legs, with the biggest descent falling near the finish. Late-race muscular integrity, especially for downhill braking, is essential.

km 147–160

Late Climb-Then-Plunge

After a 1,097 m climb at 18.8% grade near km 148, the course drops 1,239 m over 8.7 km at -19.2% to the finish. This closing sequence tests whatever climbing and braking capacity remains.

km 8–10

Early Steep Drop

A -560 m descent at -25.7% grade arrives early, the steepest pitch on course. Trashing quads here mortgages the descending demanded across the rest of the day.

Biggest Climb

1,352 m Ascent

The largest single climb gains 1,352 m, and the longest stretches 13.1 km. Sustained uphill efficiency at these magnitudes anchors the 20% climbing demand.

That was a sample