Los Torrollones Trail 2026: route, schedules, and key details

Plan your race pace

The Trail de Los Torrollones once again brings one of the most distinctive settings in Los Monegros to the forefront: the Gabarda and its sandstone formations, those vertical masses that cut the horizon like towers raised by erosion. The 2026 edition will take place on Saturday, April 11 in Sodeto, with the start scheduled for 9:30 for the long distance and 9:45 for the short one, and it keeps the format that has given the event its identity: two routes, a very local atmosphere, and a course designed to bring together sport, landscape, and village life.

The race offers 17 kilometers and 11 kilometers, with moderate elevation gain for a trail, which makes it an accessible date for anyone looking for a demanding effort without getting into the harshness of alpine races. The organization places the start and finish at the Sodeto football field, and completes the event with aid stations, runner’s bag, showers, changing rooms, food, and official timing. The result is a long-distance race in the broad sense: not only because of the kilometers, but because of the way it connects runners with a dryland landscape that rarely makes headlines and yet leaves a very recognizable mark.

A trail that makes the landscape the main character

Los Monegros do not resemble any other usual setting in Spanish trail running. Here there are no damp pine forests or high-mountain ridges, but an open, dry, almost cinematic terrain, where the light hits hard and the sandstone reliefs emerge like natural sculptures. The Torrollones of the Gabarda, which give the race its name, are precisely that: large eroded blocks shaped like towers, isolated by the passage of time and by the patient action of wind and water.

That geological personality explains much of the race’s appeal. The route does not simply link checkpoints; it organizes the experience around the territory. Whoever runs here is not only competing, they are also crossing a geography with its own identity, one of those that are remembered for the texture of the ground, the color of the horizon, and the contrast between the plain and the rocks. The trail thus gains a value that goes beyond the stopwatch.

The fact that the start and finish are in Sodeto reinforces that idea of a close-to-home event. Sodeto is a colonization town founded in the mid-20th century, and the trail puts it on the sporting map with a simple, almost direct format that avoids any artifice. The runner leaves the village, enters the landscape, and comes back with the feeling of having made a full loop around a small world of dryland, recent history, and ancient geology.

Two routes with different profiles and the same character

The long race adds up to 17 kilometers and around 400 meters of positive elevation gain. The short one covers 11 kilometers and about 250 meters of elevation gain, figures that make the race easy to read: it is not an extreme event, but neither is it a simple runnable route. The terrain forces you to pace yourself, to choose carefully where to spend your energy, and to accept that in some stretches the view weighs as much as the legs. The organization described the long route as a circuit that opens toward Alberuela de Tubo and the chapel of the Virgen del Castillo, before linking back again with the shared section to Sodeto.

The short course, for its part, enters the Gabarda area and revolves around the Torrollón reservoir, with a more contained layout but one that is equally tied to the surroundings. In both cases there is an idea of out-and-back that works well in this kind of race: the runner recognizes the landscape on the return and understands the race better once it has been completed. That structure, so simple in appearance, gives rhythm and order to an event that does not need any more ornamentation to be convincing.

The moderate elevation gain also has an important sporting reading. It allows the race to attract different profiles, from road runners who want to try trail running in a friendly setting to mountain enthusiasts who prefer a fast, manageable outing. The long distance has room for those who want a more complete experience, while the short one fits an intense but manageable effort for a wide range of participants. The combination explains the success of a race that, in its first edition, brought together hundreds of runners and quickly built its own identity.

Timetables, start, and race logistics

Punctuality sets the tone from the very start of the day. Bib and runner’s bag collection is scheduled for Friday, April 10, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., and also on Saturday, April 11 in the morning, between 8:00 and 9:20. The start of the 17-kilometer distance is set for 9:30 and the 11-kilometer one for 9:45, both from the Sodeto football field. The children’s races, free of charge, take place at midday, between 12:15 and 1:15 p.m., giving the event a local and family-friendly festive feel.

In practice, that schedule leaves a reasonable window to arrive, collect gear, and warm up calmly. It also shows an organization designed to simplify the participant’s day and reduce unnecessary travel. The finish at the same point as the start also makes logistics easier for bags, changing rooms, and the post-race gathering, something runners value a lot in events of this size. There is no logistical epic; above all, there is well-solved functionality.

The 2026 edition also keeps a clear time limit: three hours for the long distance and two hours for the short one. These cutoffs are consistent with the course profiles and with the type of runner the race is aimed at. They are not a barrier meant to exclude, but rather a way to organize the event and ensure that the flow of participants and volunteers runs normally. In a trail of this kind, time matters, but it also matters that the runner reaches the finish with the feeling of having lived a real race and not an administrative abandonment.

Registration, prices, and what the bib includes

The published fees place the long distance at 23 euros and the short one at 16 euros. For a race of this format, with official timing, aid stations, food, medical service, showers, and runner’s bag, the figures are in line with what is usual in popular mountain and nature races. The cost does not only cover the bib, but also the discreet machinery that supports a day like this: volunteers, course marking, safety, water, logistics, and participant care.

The reference information also indicates that minors’ registrations are free and handled by email, with first name, last name, and age. That detail matters because it reflects a willingness to open the event to the local community and to families, without reducing the race to an adult competition. In the calendar of a small region, a race can work as a shared day, almost like a moving main square, and this trail seems to be aiming precisely for that role.

Participation was notably well received in previous editions, with around 450 runners in the first call according to the data published by the organization itself. That volume helps explain why the race has gained visibility: it is not a massive event, but it is busy enough to generate atmosphere, group feeling, and a certain sense of an established date. In an increasingly broad calendar, that combination of medium size and distinctive character is usually an important competitive advantage.

The chapel, the Gabarda, and the narrative value of the route

The long race adds a very recognizable historical and scenic component when it turns toward Alberuela de Tubo and the chapel of the Virgen del Castillo. Built between the 15th and 16th centuries, the chapel introduces a counterpoint of stone and memory into a route dominated by the openness of the drylands. It is not just a picturesque point: it is a way of linking the trail with local heritage and of turning the course into a reading of the territory, not just a simple sum of kilometers.

That passage through the neighboring village and past a building of historical value adds a dimension that many runners remember more than the elevation data. The trail experience, when it is well designed, works like this: a succession of images that stay fixed in the mind with almost photographic clarity. The dust, the light, the open horizon, the bend that reveals an unexpected spot, the return to the common path. All of that builds a sporting memory very different from that of an urban race.

The Gabarda and the Torrollones act as the backbone of the story. The rocks, isolated by erosion, have something of a natural set and something of an identity marker. They are the kind of geographical feature that needs very little explanation when seen in person: one first glance is enough to understand why the event chose to bear their name. In the trail, that visual presence also helps keep attention and turns the race into a succession of small landscape stations.

What awaits the runner beyond the clock

One of the strongest traits of this race is its community vocation. The organization has highlighted the involvement of volunteers, Civil Protection, Red Cross, Civil Guard, and local residents, in addition to the joint work with the Town Council of Alberuela de Tubo and the Los Monegros region. That support is not an institutional ornament; it is the invisible foundation that allows a trail race in a rural setting to function safely and naturally.

There is also a sense of shared celebration that can be felt in the services offered: food for participants, volunteers, and visitors, weekend atmosphere, and children’s activities. The event does not seem conceived as an isolated race, but as a small sporting gathering with life around it. In times of increasingly standardized races, that mix of sport and local belonging still has its own strength.

Safety and comfort are handled with concrete elements: an ambulance in the start and finish area, parking next to the football field, showers, changing rooms, and solid and liquid aid stations. These are details that, read together, explain more about the event’s philosophy than any slogan. The organization seems to have understood that runners value the route as much as the end of the day, and that a well-cared-for race leaves a stronger memory than a spectacular photo.

How trail running changes when it runs through dryland

The Trail de Los Torrollones forces us to look at trail running from another perspective. In the popular imagination, this sport is usually associated with mountains, dense forests, humidity, and steep climbs. Here the context is different: open terrain, spring haze if the day turns warm, harsh light, distant visual references, and ground that rewards spatial awareness. Running through dryland has its own language, more sober, less exuberant, but no less demanding for that.

The absence of long continuous climbs should not be confused with ease. In settings like this, effort is distributed differently: thermal management, wind, exposure, and mental consistency carry more weight. The runner does not feel the pressure of constant elevation gain, but they do feel the pressure of the open environment, where each stretch seems longer because the horizon does not shrink. That is part of the charm of a race like this: it changes the kind of difficulty and forces adaptation.

The race benefits precisely from that uncommon identity. It does not try to resemble a great alpine race or compete with the classics of road running. Its value lies in the territory and in the way it is staged. For the Aragon calendar and for local running in general, that matters a lot: it offers a different experience without giving up the basic organization a runner expects today. And that coherence, in a market saturated with similar proposals, carries a lot of weight.

A date that strengthens the sporting map of Los Monegros

The second edition and those that followed have helped establish a clear idea: the Trail de Los Torrollones does not just sell kilometers, it sells territory. The reference to Los Monegros is in the name, in the route, and in the way the race is presented. That means each participant takes away more than an official time. They take away an image of the region, an impression of the relief, and a very specific reading of what it means to run there.

The race also illustrates a phenomenon that is increasingly visible in popular sport: the ability of small towns to create events with their own identity. You do not need a big city or a huge budget to build a memorable date. You need a clear idea, effective organization, and a place that has something to say. Sodeto, Alberuela de Tubo, the Gabarda, and the Torrollones fit that logic quite precisely.

That is why the race moves between competition and the showcasing of the landscape. Its success does not depend only on how many bibs are sold, but on whether the runner feels they have covered an unrepeatable place. In this case, everything suggests yes. The April calendar, the shared start, the manageable distances, the nearby heritage, and the mineral character of the surroundings form a very recognizable whole. And in trail running, where so many races resemble one another, recognizing a distinct identity is almost an editorial victory.

On Saturday, April 11, 2026, Sodeto will once again look toward the Gabarda with the same logic with which a village looks at a festival that is also its own. Among sandstone rocks, dry paths, and a clear horizon, the race will continue offering what it does best: a short race in distance, but broad in landscape, memory, and character.