Alameda Trail 2027 in Madrid: dates, distances and elevation

Plan your race pace

Alameda Trail will hold its eighth edition on April 16–18, 2027 in Torres de la Alameda, Madrid, with a change of format: the event will span three days. The announcement features four defined routes of 5, 13, 20 and 33 kilometers, alongside a planned ultra whose details have not yet been released. The overall dates are confirmed, but the schedule showing how the races will be spread across the weekend remains outstanding.

The announced distances are Junior Trail Race, with 5 kilometers and 250 meters of elevation gain; Torres Trail, with 13 kilometers and 650 meters; Gran Alameda Trail, with 20 kilometers and 900 meters; and Epic Alameda Trail, with 33 kilometers and 1,500 meters. The planned ultra will join that lineup, although its full specifications are still pending. No entry fee for 2027 is available in the supplied information, nor are start times or an exact event venue address.

The expanded calendar is the development that most changes the shape of this edition. The seventh edition took place on April 18, 2026; the next will run from Friday through Sunday. That does not, in itself, mean every participant will compete for three days. The announcement describes a full weekend, but does not specify a stage-race format for the four distances already presented or identify which activity will take place on each date.

Torres de la Alameda remains the host municipality and the setting for the paths and trails that define the race. The organizer presents the event as being close to Madrid, although the promotional reference to roughly 25 minutes from the capital is not a guaranteed journey time. For runners arriving from elsewhere, the confirmed destination is the town, rather than a specific start area, parking location or race-number collection point.

The move toward a three-day gathering creates scope for combining races with other trail-related activities, but possibilities should not be mistaken for a published program. The organizing entity also runs hiking, navigation and family activities throughout the year. That offering explains its involvement in outdoor recreation; it does not confirm their inclusion in April or establish times, age eligibility or access conditions for the 2027 edition.

Among the announced routes, Epic Alameda Trail has the largest combination of distance and climbing: 33 kilometers with 1,500 meters of elevation gain. That figure is the sum of the climbs, not the height of a single mountain or the difference between the start and finish. The accumulated ascent makes it a different challenge from road running, even though its distance is shorter than a marathon. How the climbs are distributed will be crucial to assessing its actual difficulty.

In a race of this kind, finishing time does not depend solely on the pace a runner can maintain on flat ground. A climb changes the stride; a descent demands control, and the terrain may prevent a steady speed. For Epic, the most useful reference is the combination of its two published figures, 33 kilometers and 1,500 meters of ascent. Without the final course and elevation profile, it would be unreliable to assign an average finishing time or a definitive technical rating.

Gran Alameda Trail brings the distance down to 20 kilometers and the accumulated ascent to 900 meters. Its length is close to that of a road half marathon, whose official distance is 21.0975 kilometers, but it should not be treated as the same race on dirt. Gradients and trail conditions change the demands. Its 900 meters of accumulated climbing deserve as much attention as the distance when assessing whether it suits a participant’s experience and preparation.

The difference between Gran and Epic is more than a minor course adjustment: the longer event adds 13 kilometers and 600 meters of elevation gain. That gap can mean substantially more time on the move, although there is no universal formula for calculating it. It also increases the importance of managing food, hydration and fatigue. Choosing solely by distance overlooks a significant part of what separates these two options.

Torres Trail offers 13 kilometers with 650 meters of elevation gain. Its shorter length does not automatically make it an easy course: it packs a considerable amount of climbing into that distance. The announcement positions it between the 5-kilometer and 20-kilometer options, but does not yet provide enough information about maximum gradients, surfaces or narrow sections. A short distance still requires adaptation when the race follows trails and alternates between climbing, descending and runnable stretches.

Junior Trail Race is listed as 5 kilometers with 250 meters of accumulated ascent. It is the shortest of the four defined courses, although its name alone does not establish who may enter. The supplied information does not specify minimum ages, categories, parental consent requirements or other restrictions. The name cannot replace the rules: official entry conditions are needed before describing this event as exclusively for children or teenagers.

The ultra is the biggest sporting unknown in the announcement. The organizer has announced its planned addition and promised further information, but has not specified distance, elevation gain, format or race day. It is also unclear whether it will share parts of its course with other events. For now, the ultra is announced, not detailed. Giving it an estimated distance, an assumed start time or specific experience requirements would turn an expectation into a fact that does not yet exist.

There is an important distinction between the figures that already allow comparisons and the details that remain unsettled. The presentation mentions new routes, more distance and more climbing, but does not supply a final map or a complete explanation of those changes. Published figures help establish the scale of each event; the course remains undescribed in detail. They do not reveal the location of the main climbs, the proportion of singletrack or access points for spectators.

Elevation gain helps explain a race, but it does not capture all of its difficulty. Two routes with identical accumulated ascent can feel very different if one concentrates the climbing into a long hill while the other spreads it across repeated short climbs. Surface conditions, path width and the steepness of descents matter too. For this edition, final profiles and routes are still missing, preventing a more technical comparison beyond the announced distances and elevation figures.

Registration is another area where editions must be kept separate. A listing for 2026 gave prices ranging from €18 to €40, but that range belongs to the previous event. It does not establish the 2027 fees, possible pricing tiers or the cost of the new ultra. The current price has not been published in the available material. There is also no confirmed opening or closing schedule, entry cap or sufficient information to declare any distance sold out.

The participation budget cannot be reduced to an old race-entry price either. Until the 2027 conditions are available, what each entry includes and whether this differs by distance remain unclear. Insurance, possible supplements, entry transfers and refund policies require information specific to this edition. No transfer fees are stated for this race, so generic figures appearing on resale platforms should not be presented as official Alameda Trail charges.

The announced services provide an initial picture of the planned experience: finisher medals, trophies for winners, solid food and drinks at aid stations during the race, paella at the finish-area aid station, showers and a runner’s bag. These are features described in the event presentation, not a detailed breakdown of benefits for each distance. Their allocation by course remains unclear, as do aid-station locations and any specific provisions that the 2027 rules may introduce.

The existence of aid stations does not establish how much fluid each runner will need to carry. The distance between stations, the time needed to cover each section and conditions on the day all matter. Mandatory or recommended equipment for each distance also remains unknown. The presentation does not confirm requirements for cups, water reserves, warm clothing, phones or additional gear. The mandatory kit list is unavailable, and equipment preparation must distinguish usual trail-running needs from this race’s specific requirements.

A similar distinction applies to the timetable. The event dates are confirmed, but separate start times have not been supplied for Junior, Torres, Gran, Epic or the ultra. A previous edition’s schedule cannot fill that gap, particularly when the event is expanding its duration. Each start requires its own confirmation, as do race-number collection, any starting corrals, cutoff times and the schedule of associated activities.

For runners traveling from the Valencian Community, that distinction has practical consequences: a three-day event does not necessarily require three nights of accommodation, but a return journey cannot be selected confidently without knowing the day of the entered race. The town is confirmed; the distribution of events is not. The program will shape travel plans, alongside start times and the venue location. None of those details should be inferred from the usual arrangements at other mountain-running festivals.

Being close to Madrid does not make every hotel in the capital an equally convenient option. The final journey depends on the starting location, traffic and the access arrangements established in Torres de la Alameda. Without parking information, dedicated transport or road-closure details, a straightforward journey within a fixed time cannot be promised. Local logistics remain to be clarified, which is particularly relevant if several activities overlap during the weekend.

Alameda Trail’s relationship with ITRA and UTMB appears in the organizer’s documentation and references to earlier editions. Those materials mention the UTMB Index 20K category and ITRA points associated with the 33-kilometer and 20-kilometer distances. However, past recognition does not by itself establish the final classification of a new edition. The 2027 indices require verification for each event, especially if the route or its characteristics change.

It is also important to distinguish concepts that are often mixed together. A UTMB Index category describes how a race is classified within that system; it does not mean the course measures exactly 20 kilometers. ITRA points belong to a separate framework and should not automatically be confused with Running Stones or a guaranteed place in another competition. Indices, points and entry access differ. The available documentation does not support promising a specific qualification benefit to anyone finishing Alameda Trail in 2027.

The organizer itself notes that updates to results and scores depend on those platforms and can take days or weeks. That explanation concerns races already completed, not a guarantee about how the next edition will be processed. It does, however, show why an official result and an updated athlete profile do not always appear simultaneously. Platforms manage their own records, so any issue needs to be understood within the relevant system.

The supplied material says the 2026 results were published separately for individual and pairs categories. That provides context for the previous edition, but does not establish that the same format will return across every distance in 2027. Nor does it confirm categories, specific prizes or classification rules for the ultra. A pairs format is not confirmed for the upcoming event on the basis of the information provided.

Recent history helps put the change in scale into perspective. Alameda Trail grew out of the trails around Torres de la Alameda and will reach its eighth edition in 2027. The organizer also held Ultra La Pinilla in 2025, in the Sierra de Ayllón, with six competitions and stage-race formats. That experience demonstrates familiarity with multi-format gatherings, but does not automatically transfer that program to Torres or establish that the new edition will reproduce its rules.

The club and the race are also related but distinct entities. Alameda Team describes Thursday trail outings in the Henares area and Sunday routes in the Sierra de Guadarrama, alongside hiking and mountain activities. That year-round involvement provides background on the organization behind the event. No club-membership requirement is stated for entering the race, and the team’s regular program does not replace the event’s registration conditions.

From a training perspective, the published figures already underline the importance of effort on slopes. A fast road 10K does not reliably predict performance over 13 kilometers with 650 meters of elevation gain. Brisk hiking on the steepest climbs can be a normal part of trail running, while descending requires coordination and control. Experience on similar terrain matters as much as the endurance that allows runners to build up distance on flat ground.

Descents deserve attention because fatigue is not limited to breathing harder on a climb. Running downhill subjects the legs to repeated braking work; when that movement is unfamiliar, muscular strain can appear even before endurance becomes the limiting factor. There is no single approach that suits every participant. Progression depends on the starting point, the chosen distance and an individual’s tolerance for adding training on uneven terrain.

April places the race in spring, but the date does not guarantee a mild weekend or dry trails. Ground conditions and temperatures can only be assessed with information closer to the event. A wet day may change grip; sunshine may alter perceived effort and water needs. The weather is not predetermined, so there is no basis for assigning specific conditions to this edition months in advance.

The sporting appeal lies in a lineup that allows four different scales of effort to be compared within one gathering, without erasing their differences. Junior packs 250 meters of ascent into 5 kilometers; Torres raises that to 650 over 13; Gran reaches 900 over 20, and Epic climbs to 1,500 over 33. Read together, the figures show that none of the announced routes is flat. A range of distances therefore does not guarantee that every option suits every ability level.

The event already has a firm core: Torres de la Alameda, April 16–18, 2027, an eighth edition and four courses with published distances and elevation gain. Important elements remain to be completed around that core, from registration to the ultra, schedules and rules. The move to three days defines the change; the final program will determine how it works in practice. That will be the difference between a date marked on the calendar and a fully organized trail-running weekend for its participants.