Ultra Race Romania – the land where legends are born and strong friendships and unforgettable memories are made! Ultra Race Romania is an exceptional race, demanding and difficult, but without that great challenge the memories of pushing yourself to the limit just would not be the same.
Ultra Race Romania is a 250 km race with about 11000 m D+, spread over five different stages. It takes place in the magnificent wilderness, where wild animals coexist in perfect harmony with humans. For all lovers of the great outdoors, adventure and self-exploration, the Ultra Race Romania is a race to put on your bucket list.
The adventure started on August 9, when the competitors arrived at the meeting point, in front of the Parliament Building in Bucharest. The excitement and good vibes we all had anticipated an amazing adventure. After a 3-hour drive we have arrived at Hecaș Villas, our host for before the race began.
The race kit pick-up, a short briefing about how the week ahead would unfold, was a glimpse of traditional Romanian food and a lot of positive energy buzzing between the runners.
The following day was dedicated to a mandatory medical and gear check and then we headed to the first base camp of Ultra Race Romania, in the mountains. The race was set to start on August 11th at 8:00 am, local time, and we were ready to bring on the adventure!

On August 10, all the checks were completed successfully and the runners had one hell of a ride with buggies to camp 1 in the mountains. Thank you Hecaș Villas for the fun! 🙂
Now there was just one more night under the stars until some new stories were about to be written!

Stage 1:
Distance: 32 km
Elevation gain/ loss: + 1,236 m / -1,234 m
Stage 1 of the Ultra Race Romania started early in the morning on August 11, with all of the runners excited about what lay ahead of them for the week.
It was a very rewarding day in terms of the beautiful trails, green pastures and mountain peaks. The view towards Eagles Lake from Malaia Peak was the much-needed fuel we required for the steep descent that followed and led us all the way to the Camp 2.
All of the competitors made it to the finish line safely with the top three being Kristian Gotsch (DEN) 4:29, Adrian Vodislav (ROU) 4:57 and Eloise Guran (FRA) 5:09.
Everyone was just amazed by the landscape, the raw wilderness of the area that had been recently included in the UNESCO Geoparks.

Stage 2
Distance: 37.5 km
Elevation: + 1,926 m / -1,646 m
Max Grade: 38.5%
Min Grade: -34.0%
The second day of Ultra Race Romania on August 12 was pretty challenging as the runners needed to tackle difficult terrain in hot weather with very steep climbs and rocky descents in addition to making river crossings.
However, all of the competitors did incredibly well. The messages from friends and family back home were of great help to get through this tough challenge.

Stage 3
Distance: 46.6 km
Elevation: + 1,800 m / -1,986 m
Max Grade: 31.2%
Min Grade: -32.9%
It was a rollercoaster of emotions on August 13, but neither the pain nor tiredness could stop the smiles on our faces when we crossed the finish line.
It was a very tough stage with lots of brutal climbs and steep descents but the reward was the amazing landscape we were able to enjoy along the trail.
All of us made it safely to Camp 4 and started preparing for the next day, the longest stage.
Stage 4
Distance: 68.3 km
Elevation: + 2,231 m / -2,206 m
Max Grade: 22.8%
Min Grade: -22.0%
With a time limit of 36h, competitors were able to choose whether they wanted to push through to the end or to split their effort into two different parts.
The long stage concluded with the last competitor, Anamaria Pintea, crossing the finish line after 29h:27m on August 15. She received a warm welcome from all the fellow runners and volunteers. After such a challenge, the competitors had a day off to rest, enjoy the camp life and think about all of the effort they had put in so far.
Stage 5
Stage 5 was a real treat for all the runners as they left behind the mountain area where the race started and headed slowly back to civilization.
43.6 km and over 1,500 meters of elevation, they passed the strange rock formations called “The Living Stones” and ancient settlements carved directly into the rock on their way to the finish line.
The experience was just incredible! Wouldn’t you like to participate in next year’s edition? Check out the details, here!