Barcelona Trail Races, also known as Ultratrail Collserola and Gran Trail Collserola, is Barcelona's backyard ultra trail race.

Statistics

1

day +

2,887

m

2,887

m

11

max°

Difficulty

FATMAP difficulty grade

Severe

Description

The Gran Trail Collserola presented by Barcelona Trail Races (originally known as “Ultratrail Collserola”) is Barcelona’s backyard ultra trail race.

Covering 76km and climbing over 2,600m, this isn’t the steepest ultra that you’ll ever race… but if you approach it complacently, it will destroy you! As [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona_Trail_Races) puts it, “the route of the Barcelona Trail Races is not characterised by large elevation gains, very steep slopes or technical difficulties.” Instead, “the hardness of the race is due to the softness of the ascents and descents that push the runners to a non-stop pace, making it very fast.” The winning race pace is usually “between 5 and 6 min/km.” The route begins right on the outskirts of the city, making it very easy to access and reducing the complexity of the logistics that you’ll need to manage.

It’s very easy to get from your lodging to the race start, especially if you stay in a nearby part of town.

From the edge of the city, racers will climb the front side of Collserola and then traverse the top of the ridge past the funicular, eventually reaching Muralla China.

This portion of the route traverses some of Collserola’s most popular singletrack trails.

In contrast, the northwestern loop of the route runs through some of Collserola’s least-used trails before returning to the popular el Tibidabo area.

From El Tibidabo, the next major loop samples some of the very best—and gnarliest—trails in Collserola, including El Aqueducto, before climbing back up to the top of the ridge and dropping back down to the edge of Barcelona. Collserola is chock-full of rugged, ancient singletrack twisting and turning beneath a dense forest canopy.

Suddenly, the trail routinely pops out into an open area near an ancient building, often with historical significance—and then it’s back to the forest.

This ultra-distance race through Collserola is one of the best ways to soak in the grandeur of the forest and mountains! Sources: https://bcntrailraces.com/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona_Trail_Races https://tracedetrail.fr/en/trace/trace/53573