The 2nd edition of EcoTrail AlUla in Saudi Arabia confirmed its status as a pioneering trail event for the country and region. The participation field doubled compared to the first pre-pandemic edition in February 2020 and local and regional trail runners flocked to Saudi’s premium tourist destination now that country immigration procedures have relaxed. The 80K route had been significantly fine-tuned to increase runability, important given the necessary 12h30’ cut-off time that had to be adhered to. In addition, the finish was now located at Hegra, the impressive UNESCO World Heritage Site and icon of AlUla, a town roughly 7 hours’ drive north of Jeddah.

Local 80k runners showed their enthusiasm after the flag off by setting a fast pace. Known runners such as Japan’s Yuta Matsuyama, winner of Ultra Trail Chiang Mai in 2019, and Pierre Breuer (2nd in 2020) let them take an advantage on the first flat 15 km. It was to be expected that the locals would be overpacing themselves and when the frontrunners came out of the 12km long ‘canyon section’, the most technical of the race with several rock climbs to negotiate, the more experienced international runners came to the fore. Abdulaziz Alghamdi made it over halfway in the lead position, but shortly afterwards faded away and even retired around km 60. Mickael Gasc, from southern France but based in Saudi Arabia, took over the command with Pierre Breuer chasing him initially. Meanwhile, temperatures in Al Ula were rising above 30 degrees, adding to the difficulty of the race. A few days prior to the race the max afternoon temperature was hardly 16, so it was a bad stroke of luck for those struggling with heat. Yuta Matsuyama was among the latter. The Japanese Uglow runner got a knock of the hammer and would even drop out of the top 10. Energy management and pacing was key in the 80k race to score a result and Mickael Gasc did that very impressively. The gap to second place kept on increasing and would measure 50 minutes at the finish in Hegra. Gasc concluded the course in 7h38. Second place went to a trio of friends and teammates based in Dubai: Gareth Gallagher, Marcus Smith and Robert Jones.

In the women’s race the victory was mainly contested between Ivana Kolaric, originally from Serbia but now residing in Dubai, and India’s leading female trail running ambassador Nupur SIngh. Kolaric, who also competes in triathlon, was always ahead but Nupur SIngh for a long time kept her within range. SIngh, supported by our nutrition partner Unived, has very fast PBs on the half and full marathon, even though the covid 19 situation kept her out of action for basically two years. It was the Indian’s first appearance on the ATM circuit and she certainly left an impression. While Kolaric did go on to win, Nupur took time to take photos and videos and still kept a solid pace all the way to the finish in Hegra and take second place. If she were to decide to focus on it, she could be a dark horse for this year’s ATM Championship title in December. What a breakthrough that would be for India’s blossoming trail running community!

Robert Jones and his Dubai teammates ran together and scored a joint second place

Mickael Gasc was an impressive and smart race winner

EcoTrail AlUla offers a mixture between sandy and rocky trails

Nupur Singh is one of India’s prominent trail running ambassadors. In AlUla she came back from a long period of inactivity to score a great second place

Team Uglow’s Yuta Matsuyama started well but the afternoon heat got to him and he had to shift down a few gears to finish the 80k race

EcoTrail AlUla returns for its second edition on 18/19 March, and the 80k longest distance category is again a points race for the Asia Trail Master Championship! The branded event in Saudi Arabia takes place in a truly iconic and mysterious location in the northwest of the country. It’s a rocky desert race that is mostly runable, but a large canyon section will please the technical trail lovers, too.

The inaugural edition in February 2020 saw just over 600 runners spread out over three race distance categories. Covid resulted in a two-year-hiatus, but the event is back with even more ambition for the second edition. The routes have been redesigned in significant parts and extra categories have been added. The 80 km will have just under 1000m of elevation gain and a cut-off time of 12h30. All runners should be back in the finish before darkness in other words.

EcoTrail® was founded in Paris for the purpose of promoting and organizing trail running races in urban environments. In light of this success, Run For You has decided to develop the concept in the form of partnerships with local players in other countries worldwide ( destinations in Europe & Asia). The project comes from the desire to offer to AlUla and their surroundings a true ecoresponsible, close to nature race, accessible to all, highlighting the cultural and natural character of this region with respect of the nature and promotion of Trail-Running.

The 2020 race was won by American T8 ambassador Michael Wardian and saw 2017 ATM Champion Steven Ong from Malaysia in third place. The women’s race went to Jordan-based American Amy Sproston, who stayed ahead of 2018 ATM Champion Ruth Theresia from Indonesia.

Registrations are open via alula.ecotrail.com . On the official website you can also find details about travel packages for the event, as well as info regarding visa (tourist visas are quite easy to apply for online).

Ruth Theresia had a fine run in AlUla two years ago, reaching the finish in second place

Trung Nguyen came 5th in 2020, one of his fine results that gave him the ATM points lead during the, eventially, cancelled 2020/21 Championship season

The inaugural edition of EcoTrail Al Ula in Saudi Arabia saw American runners take victory in the first international trail running event in the country. Michael Wardian and Amy Sproston emerged from the rocky sand desert back in the Sahary Resort in Al Ula after 8h 19 and 10h02 respectively. EcoTrail Al Ula saw four race categories of which the 83km was the longest. Elevation gain was limited but after a very runable 65km the terrain got more technical with a few rock climbs. That race was also a points race for the 2020 Asia Trail Master Championship, the first of its kind in the Middle East.

Belgium’s Pierre Breuer finished second behind Wardian and 2017 ATM Champion Steven Ong from Malaysia completed the podium in third. Trung Nguyen -with an injured right knee - struggled home in fifth behind Jordan’s Salameh Alaqra.

Indonesia’s Ruth Theresia, the 2018 ATM women’s champion, was a solid second behind Sprotson. Third place was for Rachel Bessette.

We are pleased to announce that EcoTrail Al Ula, the first trail running event in Saudi Arabia, will have a points race in the 2020 Asia Trail Master Championship series. The first edition of EcoTrail Al Ula is set for 8 February 2020 and features the standard race distances of the renowned European EcoTrail brand: 80km, 50km and 10km. The 80 km is the race that matters for the ATM point seekers, be it for the Championship or the Grandmaster Quest. Asia Trail Master’s General Manager Kris is part of the technical organisation of this exciting new event, which has the objective of developing sport and tourism in the beautiful area of AlUla area in the northwest of the country, known for its prehistoric and rich cultural sites.

EcoTrail events offer real eco-responsible nature race courses that are accessible to all types of runners. This implies that the races will indeed be of the speedy kind with technical sections rather limited and mainly occurring on the 80k long distance race.

As the official EcoTrail website explains: ‘The concept of the EcoTrail® was born from the desire to create REAL ECO-RESPONSIBLE NATURE RACE COURSES ACCESSIBLE TO ALL in major emblematic cities and their suburbs. These events aim at highlighting THE NATURAL AND CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT of a region, emphasizing the importance of RESPECTING THE EVIRONMENT as well as PROMOTING TRAIL RUNNING & OUTDOOR SPPORT. With various places already involved, we want to prove that organizing mass events can go hand in hand with ECO-RESPONSIBILITY and CONVIVIALITY, and that a city can also become a place fit for nature race courses. Each destination offers its own trail running events on short and long distances, but also Nordic walking and hiking events. Each event must have a universal dimension and be committed to our cause.’

The first Al Ula sporting event takes place as part of the Winter at Tantora Festival to promote tourism and culture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. There will therefore be several activities taking place in the time around the running event. For Asia Trail Master, it will be the first time a points race will be held so far west in Asia and on the Arabian peninsula.

Registration for the races is already open via our familiar platform of Race Timing Solutions in Hong Kong. Please also check the recently introduced new visa policies for entering the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Runners will be able to get assistance for their visa requirements should this be needed. To get to Al Ula, you can fly international to Riyadh and connect domestically, or fly to Jeddah and arrange bus or car transport. All these details can already be checked on the official EcoTrai Al Ula website.

Fantastic sunset pictures can be taken at Al Ula

The terrain is much more than “just” desert. This is Elephant Rock, start place of the 50k.

The 80K course will have a few technical sections and more elevation gain as well