The Ultra Trail / Ultra Hiking 220 promises a human adventure at the heart of history and territories at the crossroads between an ultra-endurance race, trekking and orienteering! Equipped with a GPS tracker and a road book, the raiders (ultra-trailers or walkers) will travel day and night in semi-autonomy on and around what was once the border between France and Aragon for more than 400 years between 1258 (Treaty of Corbeil) and 1659 (Treaty of the Pyrenees).
While the GR10 remains iconic, the route we are proposing here is unique and historic! Starting out on high mountain trails from the gates of Andorra, the raiders will cross three departments in the Occitanie region: Ariège, Aude and Pyrénées-Orientales, ending their great journey on more Mediterranean trails that will take them to the sea.
This 220-kilometre route, with 7,500 metres of elevation gain and 9,400 metres of elevation loss, offers exceptional views of the Carlit, Pérics, Roc Blanc, Madres, Canigó, Fenouillèdes and Corbières mountain ranges.
This ultra-endurance event is open to trail runners and walkers, who can compete solo or in pairs, semi-autonomously, on a course that is 80% unmarked. Apart from the first section in the high mountains, which is shared with the Maratrail 42, the course has four base camps located on average 45 kilometres apart, as well as eight autonomous water points approximately every 15 kilometres:
The Ultra 220 is a demanding event that requires good physical condition and thorough preparation, but the principle is to open it up to anyone who feels capable of covering this distance 24 hours a day, even walkers.
Whether for a trail run or a mountain trek, the ‘Kilometre Effort’ is a recognised indicator for assessing the level of difficulty of a route. In short, the KE (acronym for Kilometre Effort) consists of linking the distance with the elevation gain. The KE between two points is calculated by adding the distance in kilometres and the positive elevation gain in hundreds of metres. However, it should be noted that this indicator does not take into account the technicality of the route.
The Ultra 220 route is 295 KE (220 KM + 75 MD+).
For comparison, here are some examples of KE for well-known ultra-trail or GR events: