Restonica Trail by UTMB, live.

Out of Corte and straight up the Restonica

Every race of the weekend starts in Corte, in the middle of Corsica, and every one of them begins by climbing.

The 2027 edition runs from 8 to 10 July. The organiser lists four races that start and finish in Corte: the Ultra-Trail di Corsica (UTC100M), 110 km with 7,200 m of climbing, which leaves Cours Paoli at 23:00 on Thursday 8 July with a 48-hour limit, the Restonica Trail (RT100K), 69 km and 3,950 m, on Saturday 10 July with a 19-hour limit, the Tavignanu Trail (TT50K), 33 km and 2,400 m, at 05:30 the same Saturday, and the Giru di Tumbone (GT20K), 17 km and 650 m, from the town-hall roundabout at 18:00 on Friday 9 July.

What sets the ground here is the first hour. The organiser describes an ascent of around 1,400 m straight out of town, above the Tavignanu valley and toward the Monte Rotondo range. The long courses then reach the Padule sheepfolds, Lac de Ninu and the Capitellu and Melu glacial lakes. The 110 km crosses Bocca Crucetta, the high point of its profile at over 2,400 m, close to Monte Cintu. The 33 km and the 17 km finish through Corte’s old town.

In mountains like these, the people at home mostly see nothing between two aid stations. On Livebib the runner shares a link, and family and friends open it in a browser without an account or an app. They see the position on the course line, the distance covered and a finish estimate that updates as the race goes. When the phone loses signal in a gorge or behind a ridge, the position is carried forward along the course and marked as estimated, so it doesn’t freeze. The runner decides who gets the link.