Kolitza Balmatrail 2027: date, cup final and mountain routes

Plan your race pace

Kolitza Balmatrail 2027 will take place on Sunday, 31 October, in Balmaseda, Bizkaia, as the fifth and final event of the FEDME Spanish Cup for mountain running. The race will bring the national series to a close in the mountains of Enkarterri.

The organisers have yet to announce which distance will count towards the cup, along with the full programme and entry conditions. The 2026 courses and start times offer an insight into the event, but should not be taken as confirmed for the new edition.

A cup final in Balmaseda

The event is organised by Eutsi Balmatrail, a club based in Balmaseda. It appears as Kolitza Balma Trail in the calendar of FEDME, the Spanish mountain sports and climbing federation, and is the fifth event in its Spanish Cup for mountain running.

As the final, the race will play a part in deciding the series standings. The course used for that competition and the specific sporting conditions for the event have yet to be announced.

In 2026, every event started and finished at Plaza San Severino in central Balmaseda. It helps locate the event within the town, although the venue for the 2027 edition awaits its own programme.

2026 courses: a guide, not the 2027 programme

The previous edition took place on 31 October and 1 November 2026, with six event types. It combined competitive races, walks and children’s events; their distances and elevation gains show the range on offer without indicating which will return.

• Récord del Kolitza: a 12 km individual time trial with 720 metres of elevation gain.
• Long mountain race: 26 km with 1,500 metres of elevation gain.
• Short mountain race: 13 km with 700 metres of elevation gain.
• Mountain walk: a non-competitive 21 km route with 1,100 metres of elevation gain.
• Family walk: 3.5 km with 180 metres of elevation gain.
• Children’s races: events with distances adapted to different age groups.

Elevation gain is the total height climbed over a course. In mountain running, it helps runners gauge the effort alongside distance: a 26 km race with 1,500 metres of climbing calls for different preparation from a flat race of similar length.

Récord del Kolitza and the climb to the hermitage

The individual time trial is one of the event’s defining features. In 2026, it started at Plaza San Severino, climbed to the hermitage on Mount Kolitza and returned along the same route. The 12 km course combined a demanding ascent with a descent over mountain terrain.

The format also set it apart from a mass-start race. In the 2026 open category, participants started one minute apart; in the regional team championship, starts were separated by five minutes. The first start was scheduled for 10 a.m.

Patrick Kipngeno and Madalina Florea hold the Récord del Kolitza course records. Runners including Kilian Jornet and Oihana Kortazar have also taken part in a challenge that connects local mountain history with competitive trail running.

The long race and the shorter alternative

In 2026, the 26 km course looped over several mountains around Balmaseda. It included Garbea, Terreros, Kolitza, Sabugal and Cerro del Castillo, among other summits, and mixed steep slopes with trails, tracks and pasture.

The 13 km option followed a shorter circular route through La Garbea, La Porqueriza and Cerro del Castillo. Its 700 metres of climbing still made it a mountain race: the shorter distance did not remove the need to tackle ascents and descents.

When choosing between events like these, distance is only part of the comparison. Elevation gain, terrain and cut-off times matter too. In 2026, the long race had a five-hour limit and a checkpoint at Kolitza at 1:30 p.m.; the short race allowed three and a half hours. Those limits applied only to that edition.

Walks and children’s races

The 2026 mountain walk offered a non-competitive 21 km route over local summits, passing Garbea, Kolitza and Cerro del Castillo. It had a six-hour time limit and a timed checkpoint at Kolitza, an important distinction from a walk without fixed deadlines.

The 3.5 km family walk climbed towards Santo Domingo and the La Garbea area before passing Cerro del Castillo. Although it was the shortest option for adults and families, it included 180 metres of climbing.

The 2026 children’s races were divided into age groups from 0 to 16. Distances ranged from 400 metres for the youngest to 3,500 metres for those aged 12 to 16, with different routes for each category.

Entries and travel planning

Entries for 2027 have not been announced, so there is no confirmed price, deadline or participant limit. Event details will be available on the official Kolitza Balmatrail website.

Before paying for a place, check the rules for the chosen event: they should set out the conditions for cancellations or transfers, as well as mandatory equipment. Neither a refund nor the right to transfer a race number should be assumed.

For visitors travelling from further afield, the confirmed date identifies the Sunday, but it does not yet establish when race numbers can be collected or whether activities will take place on preceding days. Those details affect accommodation and arrival plans in Balmaseda.

An event that has also brought regional teams together

In 2026, the event introduced Kolitza Adarra, a mixed regional team competition held over the weekend. The format combined results from women and men in the Récord del Kolitza and the 26 km race.

That edition showed another side of the event alongside its open races and walks. The 2027 Spanish Cup final adds a new competitive context to a landscape of mountains, trails and valleys in Enkarterri, with Balmaseda as its focal point.