Ultra 100K Sierra de Gata

The Ultra 100K Sierra de Gata is a mountain ultra held in spring in north-western Extremadura, starting from Perales del Puerto, a village in the province of Cáceres. Organised by the Asociación Deportiva Sierra de Gata Trail, it grew out of a personal challenge: while training for their first 100 km, a group of local runners dreamed up a race on their home trails, then tried it out in an unofficial "edition zero" with fourteen runners over roughly 100 km. The project comes with an environmental programme called Sierra Viva.

The flagship race leaves Avenida de Extremadura at 6:00 and follows a big 100 km loop with 2,718 m of ascent and an 18-hour time limit. The route links Villasbuenas de Gata, the Cruz de Piedra above Gata, Puerto de Castilla, Puerto de Perales, the slopes of Jálama, Villamiel and Hoyos before returning to Perales del Puerto. It strings together historic paths, mountain tracks and technical sections; the Jálama sector holds the main difficulties, while the more runnable closing stretch is run on tired legs. The race is semi-self-sufficient, with nine aid stations offering food and drink and a drop bag at Villamiel, at kilometre 62.

The Trail 20K starts at 10:00 from the main square in Hoyos and finishes in Perales del Puerto after 20 km and about 400 m of climbing, with a four-hour limit. It climbs to the Perales hermitage, one of the best viewpoints on the course, then drops down the mountainside with the valley ahead. A shuttle takes runners from Perales del Puerto to Hoyos before the start. Designed as a way into trail running without tackling ultra distance, it counts towards the FEXME Extremadura mountain running league and the Diputación de Cáceres circuit. The 100 km, open to runners aged 24 and over, doubles as the Extremadura individual ultra-distance championship and is meant for runners already used to long days in the mountains.

The Sierra de Gata, backing onto the Portuguese border, is a landscape of open mountains, ridges with wide views, dense woodland, rivers and waterfalls, dotted with stone villages. Jálama, one of the sierra's major peaks, gives the course its most alpine moment, and the organisers, who hold an environmental excellence label, insist on respect for these natural areas: litter may only be left right next to the aid stations.

On the practical side, bibs are collected at the Centro Social Integrado in Perales del Puerto, on Avenida Sierra de Gata, in the days before the race and on race morning. Mandatory kit for the 100 km includes two headtorches with spare batteries and a red rear light, a hooded waterproof jacket, a survival blanket, a whistle, a charged phone, at least one litre of water and the official track loaded on a watch or phone. No cups are handed out, so carry your own. Each race is capped at 400 runners, and the 100 km cut-offs run from Gata at 9:30 to the finish, which closes just before midnight.