Welcome to the Wild World of Trail Running! We're diving deep on the races, training tips, and gear you need to know to get outside off paved roads to run a whole new way. Click here for more stories about the trail explosion.
TRAIL RUNNING OFFERS a huge range of experiences. Want to run far? Events often stretch up to (and beyond) 100 miles. Less focused on distance? There are 5K jaunts, too. Looking to lose yourself in nature? Take your pick from races staged in forested national parks, deserts, and epic coastline vistas. You can embrace your competitive side and strive to qualify for one of the major endurance events, which offer only hundreds of bibs to thousands of hopefuls, or you can hit the paths looking to make friends and have fun at social-first runs designed to foster community.
No matter what your preference, there’s a trail race for you. We’ve selected some of our favorites, from the top competitions in the world to some little-known runs focused on getting more people outside paved roads for the first time. Some of these events require qualification or invites to participates, and others are welcome to all comers. There’s a wide, wild world of trail out there. You just have to find the right place for you.
MH senior editor Brett Williams on the UTMB’s MCC course in 2026.
Ultra Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB)
CONSIDERED BY MANY to be the pinnacle of trail running, UTMB a multi-day trail series held annually at the end of August in Chamonix, France, with race courses stretching through the Alps to Italy and Switzerland, too. The week is capped by its main event, the 174 kilometer (108 mile) namesake race, but pros and enthusiasts alike take on distances ranging from 15 kilometers (the YCC for youth runners) to the team-based technical challenge of the 300 kilometer (186 mile) PTL. I ran the MCC, the 40 kilometer (24.9 mile) entry-level race from Switzerland to Chamonix, and it was incredible.
MH Trail Tested contributor Jack Espy finishing the Leadville 100 in 2026.
The Leadville Trail 100 Run
OFTEN REFERRED TO as simply “Leadville,” this Colorado 100-miler is all about altitude. The “Race Across the Sky” traverses the Rocky Mountains and climbs to peaks of 12,500 feet. MH Trail Tested contributor Jack Espy took on the race this year, and was able to depend on his training, determination, and top-notch gear to get him to the finish.
Creator Tommie Runz after finishing The Speed Project’s LA to Vegas run solo in 2025.
The Speed Project
DEFINITELY THE MOST online of any of these events, The Speed Project combines social media hype with real grit for unsanctioned races across massive distances. Selected teams or individuals (as of now, the series is invite-only) take on contests to see who can get from Point A to Point B fastest, with no formal course markers to follow or aid stations to count on for support. Initially staged on the roughly 340-mile route from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, races have also been held in the French Alps and Chile’s Atacama Desert.
Middle-earth Halfling Marathon
IF THERE’S AN official sport of The Lord of the Rings, it would be trail running (unless you count the orc-slaying contest of The Two Towers and The Hobbit’s line about Bilbo’s ancestor inventing golf). The stories of these iconic films only start when their characters take a long journey on-foot—and you can do that yourself, running through the New Zealand landscapes captured in Peter Jackson’s films. The Hobbiton Movie Set, now a major tourist attraction, stages run and walk events at 21.1 km (13.1 miles) or 11.1 km (6.9 miles). Costumes are optional.
