It’s a fact that the trail running season is well and truly underway: this is evident from the exponential increase in trail running races organized throughout Italy during this second weekend of April. Among the most exciting and well-attended events are the Bione Half Marathon Monte Prealba, the Traversata dei Colli Euganei, and, above all, the Oxyburn BVG Run in Limone sul Garda—two ultra-distance courses of 75k and 50k with extremely challenging elevation gains, and a 25k course.

On Saturday, April 9, in Limone sul Garda, Brescia, the toughest race of the entire weekend will take place: the BVG Run, sponsored by Oxyburn, a trail running event featuring two ultra-distance races, a 75k with 4,350 meters of elevation gain and a 50k with 3,400 meters of elevation gain, as well as a 25k course with 950 meters of elevation gain. Meanwhile, in Baudenasca di Pinerolo, Turin, everything is set for the Trail del Ghisone, a 20k race with 50 meters of elevation gain.

But the highlight of the event will be Sunday, April 10, when the “La Scarpa della Val Trebbia” trail race will take place in Bobbio, Piacenza—a 35k trail race with 2,070 meters of elevation gain—and in San Savino Predappio, Forlì-Cesena, “La Camineda Trail,” a 34k race with 2,000 meters of elevation gain or a 20k race with 1,200 meters of elevation gain. In Chiaverano, Turin, everything is set for the Trailaghi, a team trail race featuring two distances: a 28k course with 1,000m of elevation gain and an 11k course with 500m of elevation gain, just as in the Province of Verbano–Cusio – Ossola, wherethe Ossola Trail will feature two courses: a 27k course with 1,900m of elevation gain and a 17k course with 1,200m of elevation gain.

In Merate, Lecco, the Parco del Curone Trail will take athletes on a journey through the Montevecchia Regional Park and the Curone Valley along a 25k course with 400 meters of elevation gain; in Altavilla Monferrato, in the province of Alessandria, it will be time for the Valle Rio Trail, a 23k course with 450m of elevation gain; in Bordano, Udine, the picturesque Trail delle Farfalle will take place, a 21k course with 1,900m of elevation gain and a 14k course with 900m of elevation gain; and in Sora, in the province of Frosinone, the San Castro Sky Trail will take place—a 21k course with 1,900m of elevation gain.

The Bione Half Marathon Monte Prealba, in the Brescia area, is also extremely popular and well-regarded. a 21k race with 1,337m of elevation gain through Monte Prealba, one of the most fascinating “open-air gyms” in the Bione area and a prime setting for numerous trail and winter trail races. Among the most evocative events of the weekend in the Veneto region will be the Traversata dei Colli Euganei, starting in Villa di Teolo, in the Padua area, a 42k course with 2,000m of elevation gain or a 21k course with 1,200m of elevation gain, accompanied by two 5k and 2.5k routes designed for teens and children.

In Tuscany, in Livorno, the “Giro delle Colline Livornesi” walk will take place, featuring 18k, 11k, and 6k routes: all three routes will have a fairly gentle elevation gain. Also in Tuscany, in the Arezzo area,the “Ecocorsa del Lago di Sansepolcro” will take place—an 11.5k race with 200m of elevation gain; in Amalfi, Salerno, the “Trail delle Ferriere,” a 14k race with 950m of elevation gain; in the Novara area, in Meina, the “Minitrail Valcabbia,” offering 9k and 3.8k courses with 350m and 170m of elevation gain, respectively; and, finally, in Morbegno, in the province of Sondrio, it will be time for the Colmer Trail, a sort of skyrun just 3.2 km long with an elevation gain of a whopping 650 meters.