X Trail Bronchales 43K 2026

The TB 43K is the toughest and most storied distance in the whole Trail Bronchales lineup: 43 kilometres and 2,060 metres of positive elevation gain, run almost entirely on forest trails through one of the best-preserved pine forests on the Iberian Peninsula. What few runners fully appreciate before the start is that they're already above 1,500 metres of altitude from the gun, since Bronchales itself sits at 1,569 metres above sea level, one of the highest villages in Spain, so every metre of climbing counts for more than usual on the body.The route opens with a symbolic loop through the village before tackling the Vicidilla, the first long climb of the day, and then strings together a series of very different settings: the first aid station at Fuente del Canto (km 5), a forest track section running through a tunnel and a damp, lush green stretch, the climb to Peña Blanca (km 18, 1,800 m), where an old forest watchtower crowns the most photogenic point of the race with views over the entire Sierra de Albarracín, and the pass through the small village of Noguera (km 32), where locals come out to applaud the runners — a small-village touch that few races of this scale can offer. The final stretch builds toward the climb to Sierra Alta (km 38, the highest point on the course), followed by a descent toward the Las Corralizas campsite that spills, amid music and cheering, into the finish line in Bronchales.A fun fact to set the scene: Bronchales isn't just famous for its pine forests, it's also known for the quality of its water, home to a mineral water bottling plant — which makes it less surprising that the organisers insist so strongly on carrying your own hydration system, since the race runs on semi self-sufficiency and no cups are handed out at aid stations. The TB 43K has counted toward the ITRA ranking since at least 2019, making it a genuine option for collecting points toward qualifying for bigger ultra races.