Gran Vuelta Valle del Genal 2026: dates, times and race formats

Plan your race pace

The 2026 edition of the Gran Vuelta through the Genal Valley will take place over two November weekends. On Saturday, Nov. 7, Benalauría will host the start of the Trail Genal, scheduled for 9 a.m.; on Saturday, Nov. 14, Parauta will be the starting point for the ultra and relay event, whose programme will close on Sunday, Nov. 15. The calendar brings together three mountain-race formats and centres the activity in several municipalities in this valley in Málaga province.

The first event is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 6, and Saturday, Nov. 7; the second begins Friday, Nov. 13, and runs through Sunday, Nov. 15. Alongside the starts, the schedule lists bib collection, the opening of start corrals, awards ceremonies and the finish closure. Published distances put the Trail at around 53-55 kilometres and the ultra and relay at roughly 129-130 kilometres, with some variation between the available reference figures worth noting.

Two weekends to explore the valley

The calendar spreads the races across more than one day. First comes Trail Genal, with Benalauría as its activity hub; seven days later, Parauta hosts the ultra and relay formats. This separation gives each block its own participant reception, bib collection and awards ceremony, making November the focal point of the sporting event.

The confirmed date for the Trail is Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. Bib collection is available the evening before, Friday, Nov. 6, from 6 to 10 p.m., and continues Saturday from 7 to 8:30 a.m. The start corral opens at 8:30 a.m., and the race begins half an hour later. The supplied schedule estimates the first participants will arrive at around 2 p.m.; awards are planned for 8 p.m., with the finish closing and the event ending at 9 p.m.

The second block begins Friday, Nov. 13, in Parauta, with reception and bib collection also scheduled from 6 to 10 p.m. The process resumes early Saturday, Nov. 14, from 4 to 5:30 a.m.; the corral opens at 5:30 a.m., and the ultra and relay start together at 6 a.m. The schedule estimates the first participants will arrive at 8 p.m. Awards and the finish closure are set for Sunday, Nov. 15, at noon and 1 p.m., respectively.

Distances offered by the race formats

The available references do not give identical figures for the routes. Trail Genal is described as a race of around 53 to 55 kilometres, with approximately 2,700 to 2,800 metres of elevation gain. The difference may reflect separate route measurements or versions of the course; for precise preparation, runners should check the official information for the edition to confirm the final distance and profile.

The ultra and relay share a long-distance course of roughly 129-130 kilometres. The stated elevation gain for this route is about 6,500 metres. This is not simply an extended version of the Trail: the distance and accumulated climbing change the duration, logistics and physical demands of the effort. The schedule gives both formats the same start time, but they remain distinct events and should not be confused.

In broad terms, the Trail may appeal to runners seeking a long day on mountain terrain, while the ultra covers a distance that lasts many more hours and shapes the pace from start to finish. The relay, meanwhile, covers the same course as a team. Distance alone does not capture the full difficulty: elevation, terrain and time spent racing also shape the experience.

Trail Genal opens the programme in Benalauría

Benalauría is the centre of activity for the first weekend. The village welcomes participants on Friday afternoon and becomes the focus again from early Saturday. A 9 a.m. start and an estimated first arrival around 2 p.m. identify the main times of the day, although that estimate is not a general finish time and does not indicate when every participant will complete the race.

The published profile presents this format as a mountain race of around 53-55 kilometres. Elevation gain is listed at approximately 2,700-2,800 metres, a total that illustrates the challenge beyond the distance on a map. In this kind of event, repeated climbs and changes of pace make the terrain read almost like a succession of chapters: an uphill can dictate the rhythm, while a technical descent can demand as much attention as the effort of climbing.

The awards ceremony is scheduled for 8 p.m., with the finish closing an hour later. That gap separates the expected time of the leading runners from the planned limit for the day. Anyone consulting the schedule should distinguish the start time, the estimated arrival of the first runners and the official finish closure; these are separate reference points with different purposes.

Ultra and relay start in Parauta

The ultra and relay form the second block of the edition, starting in Parauta at 6 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14. Bib collection begins the previous afternoon and resumes before dawn, ahead of the corral opening. The early start falls in the November darkness, making it particularly important to follow the schedule and the organisers’ instructions, without inferring equipment requirements that are not included in the available information.

The courses for both formats are around 129-130 kilometres long, with 6,500 metres of elevation gain. The ultra is an individual endurance challenge; the relay covers the course as a team. Although both share a route and start time, the way runners approach the course depends on the format, as do the distribution of effort and the coordination required by the team event.

The schedule estimates that the first participants will arrive at around 8 p.m. Saturday. The finish does not close that day, however: awards begin Sunday, Nov. 15, at noon, and the event’s closing and finish closure are set for 1 p.m. The schedule’s move from one day to the next reflects the duration of a race of this distance and gives context to the programme, although the estimated arrival of the first runners does not establish how long the rest will need.

Bib collection, start and finish times

Pre-race reception is included in both weekends. For the Trail, bibs can be collected Friday, Nov. 6, from 6 to 10 p.m., or Saturday, Nov. 7, from 7 to 8:30 a.m. In Parauta, the equivalent period begins Friday, Nov. 13, from 6 to 10 p.m., and continues Saturday, Nov. 14, from 4 to 5:30 a.m. The windows differ because the start times do too: 9 a.m. for the Trail and 6 a.m. for the ultra and relay.

On both race days, the schedule distinguishes the opening of the corral from the actual start. For the Trail, access to the corral is planned for 8:30 a.m.; in Parauta, it opens at 5:30 a.m. In both cases, the race starts 30 minutes later. Bib collection and corral opening are not interchangeable: the published schedule gives specific time slots for each moment, and they should be read as part of the same plan.

There is also an important difference between the estimated arrival of the first participants and the finish closure. In Benalauría, the first runners are expected at 2 p.m., but the finish is listed as closing at 9 p.m. In Parauta, the first arrivals are expected around 8 p.m. Saturday, while the finish is due to close at 1 p.m. Sunday. These references help explain the planned schedule, but they do not replace the regulations or confirm cut-off times that are not specified in the programme.

A mountain course rooted in the Genal Valley

The race takes place in the Genal Valley, an area of small villages and mountainous landscape. Available descriptions link the courses to chestnut woods and local communities, offering context for why the route cannot be reduced to a distance on a map. In a mountain race, the surface and elevation transform every kilometre: moving along trails and linking climbs calls for a different approach than an urban race on pavement.

According to the reference information, the event is associated with the valley’s 15 town councils and Puraventura Genal. This regional reach places the event beyond the two towns hosting the starts: Benalauría and Parauta anchor the calendar, while the valley’s landscape and villages form the setting for the different formats. The course is central to the race’s identity, not merely the space it crosses.

The regulations for this kind of competition also emphasise respect for the environment, the marked route and the organisers’ instructions. In a landscape shared by residents, visitors and runners, staying on the marked course is a matter of safety and care for the natural surroundings. That focus on the environment is particularly relevant in a race covering dozens, or more than a hundred, kilometres of mountain terrain.

How to read the edition’s figures

The published figures give a sense of the scale of the races, but they do not all match exactly. The Trail is listed at both 53 and 55 kilometres, with elevation gain figures of 2,700 and 2,800 metres; the ultra is listed at 129 and 130 kilometres. Rather than presenting one figure as definitive, it is more accurate to describe the routes as approximate and check the updated course before making training or travel decisions.

The schedule provides specific times, but does not include the entry fee, an exact start address, cut-off times, participation conditions or the current status of registration. The reference information describes the competitive formats as intended for adults, but does not detail other requirements here. The absence of those details does not make them possible to infer; they should be confirmed in the regulations and through the organisers’ official channels.

Waitlists mentioned by one source should not be taken as confirmation of the current status of every place or race format. Those references have different dates and do not, by themselves, constitute a complete registration update. For anyone following the event, distinguishing between the confirmed schedule, approximate figures and current availability helps prevent different kinds of information from being conflated.

November will set the pace for the event

The edition takes shape in two scenes: the Trail start in Benalauría on Nov. 7, followed by the long day of the ultra and relay from Parauta on Nov. 14, with the event closing the next day. The calendar, bib-collection windows and start times provide a clear guide to each format, while distance and elevation show that these are not interchangeable races, even though they share the same region.

The Genal Valley provides the landscape; the two-weekend format, range of race types and distances define the sporting challenge. With distances given approximately and some practical details still requiring confirmation in the official documentation, the clearest information is the calendar: Benalauría opens the edition, followed by the ultra and relay in Parauta. This is how a mountain-running event takes centre stage in November in the Serranía de Ronda.