Vielha, Spain · Trail
Official site ↗Val d'Aran by UTMB
The European Major of the UTMB World Series, run each July in the Catalan Pyrenees: a 163 km loop of the whole valley from Vielha, and a 110 km race from Les.
Distances
VDA
- Distance
- 163 km (101 mi)
- Vert gain
- 10,000 m (32,800 ft)
- Start
- 4:00 PM GMT+2
- Cutoff
- 48 hr
Torn dera Val d'Aran. A loop of the valley, starting and finishing in Vielha. Entry asks for a UTMB Index in the 100K or 100M categories.
CDH
- Distance
- 110 km (68 mi)
- Vert gain
- 6,400 m (21,000 ft)
- Start
- 6:00 AM GMT+2
- Cutoff
- 28 hr
Camins d'Hèr. Starts at Les, on the French border, and finishes in Vielha. Entry asks for a UTMB Index in the 50K, 100K or 100M categories.
| Distance | Vert gain | Start | Cutoff | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 163 km (101 mi) | 10,000 m (32,800 ft) | 4:00 PM GMT+2 | 48 hr | Torn dera Val d'Aran. A loop of the valley, starting and finishing in Vielha. Entry asks for a UTMB Index in the 100K or 100M categories. |
| 110 km (68 mi) | 6,400 m (21,000 ft) | 6:00 AM GMT+2 | 28 hr | Camins d'Hèr. Starts at Les, on the French border, and finishes in Vielha. Entry asks for a UTMB Index in the 50K, 100K or 100M categories. |
About
Val d'Aran by UTMB runs in the first half of July from Vielha, in the Val d'Aran valley of the Catalan Pyrenees. The Torn dera Val d'Aran, the VDA, is a 163 km loop of the valley with 10,000 m of climbing that starts and finishes in Vielha; the Camins d'Hèr, the CDH, covers 110 km from the border village of Les. Both cross briefly into France, and the weekend adds a 75 km, a 55 km and five shorter races.
It is the European Major of the UTMB World Series, a tier above an ordinary Series event, so a finish earns Running Stones toward the Chamonix lottery and the top three men and women earn direct entry to the finals. The fields are large: 724 runners started the VDA in 2026 and 361 finished, against 1,301 starters and 859 finishers on the CDH. The race carries its title sponsor in its own name, HOKA Val d'Aran by UTMB.
Course
The VDA is a 163 km loop from Vielha with 10,000 m of climbing, on a 48-hour limit. The CDH covers 110 km with 6,400 m from Les to Vielha, on 28 hours, and starts in waves. Both cross the French border at the Col du Portillon, and the race requires a phone that will roam in Spain and France for either one.
How to register
Entry is direct purchase on the race's own website, without pre-registration and without a lottery, and the races sell out. Both long races are gated on the UTMB Index rather than on a named qualifying race: the VDA asks for an Index in the 100K or 100M categories, and the CDH asks for one in the 50K, 100K or 100M. The 2026 cycle opened on 24 September 2025 with a 48-hour priority window for Index holders before general entry. Nothing has been published yet about the 2027 window.