TRAIL RUNNING IN MADEIRA

It seems more and more athletes are discovering trail running on Madeira. We´ve encountered a growing number of runners during our hikes on the island. This trend sport combines exercise and nature. Madeira is the perfect location, with trails leading you through varying landscapes providing both maximal physical challenge as well as pristine and wild nature.

Official trails

Madeira was quick to respond to the trail running trend. Several official trails have been opened in the past few years. Furthermore, several organizations are even offering trail running tours with professional guides. The official trails vary from relatively easy to very hard. Most of the levada routes are on pretty even terrain, whereas the mountains will leave you gasping for air. The Madeira tourism website doesn´t have the trails listed yet, like they have done for the official hiking trails. But once on a trail, the routes are signposted very well. This website by 2MADEIRA does have a large number of trails listed.

RACES

If you´re into trail running races: Madeira’s got you covered. There is at least one race a month, during the entire year. The races vary from small local competitions to big international events like Madeira Island Ultra Trail (MIUT) and Ultra Skymarathon Madeira (USM). These two races attract professional athletes from all around the world.