Cortina Runcation: Best Trail Runs in the Dolomites in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Province of Belluno, Italy

Runcation Travel

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29 reviews

Aug 5 - 11, 2023

Group size: 8 - 14

Cortina Runcation: Best Trail Runs in the Dolomites

Cortina d'Ampezzo, Province of Belluno, Italy

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Runcation Travel

Facebook verified

29 reviews

$NaN

Aug 5 - 11, 2023

Group size: 8 - 14

Cortina d'Ampezzo, set like a jewel in a crown of Dolomite mountains, will be your base camp for this highlight tour of some of our favorite trail runs in the area. You'll enjoy breathtaking trails in the Italian Dolomites with a private trail running guide for the day and get a chance to enjoy the comfort of a Cortina d'Ampezzo hotel by night. We've curated special routes where you'll visit classic landmarks such as the Tre Cime di Lavaredo, Sorapiss Lake, the Cinque Torri, and many more that promise plenty of adventure for your days on the trail. With your Dolomites trail running guide you'll enjoy guided transport up to the highest peaks and trails in the region and enjoy rolling descents and moderate amounts of uphill climbing. There will be plenty of stops at famous Italian rifugios for coffees, pastries, and pasta. In your free evenings you can enjoy the culture and history of this northeastern corner of Italy by visiting museums, spas, lakes, vistas, and fabulous cafes and restaurants in your afternoons and evenings. This is our Runcation for all levels of runners. Learn more below!

Trip Difficulty:

Level 1 (Learn More at https://runcation.org/which-trip-is-right-for-me)

This retreat adventure is open to ages 15 and up of any pace and all levels. Please see detailed itinerary for mileage and elevation gain/loss per day. Optional 12-week training package available from an experienced running coach to ensure you're trained and ready to go for this adventure of a lifetime!

Trip Requirements:

This trip requires a minimum of 6 to run. Please do not purchase flights until confirming with retreat organizer.

Trip logistics of route planning, lodging, and transportation reservations

A 8:1 ratio of guide to participants

A 4-star hotel in Cortina d'Ampezzo for 5 nights (pricing based on double accommodation)

A 4-star hotel in San Cassiano for one night including access to a wellness spa (pricing based on double accommodation)
A full breakfast spread daily including coffees, teas, juices, fresh-baked pastries, cereals, fruits, yogurts, eggs, pancakes, and more

Baggage transport from accommodations

Transportation from Cortina to day trip trail run locations each day, including private vans, lift tickets, and entry fees

Knowledgable guide and running coach along the entire route*

*Please note, this Runcation includes private trail running guides during the trail running portion of the day from early morning until late afternoon. In your afternoons and evenings you will be unguided and free to explore!

International airfare

Alcoholic beverages, dinners, and lunch/snacks during the day

Travel Insurance

Trip Difficulty: Level 1

More Info Here on Trip Levels:

https://runcation.org/which-trip-is-right-for-me

Passport:

Must have a valid passport valid through 6 months upon date of travel.

Travel Insurance:

Must have travel insurance prior to start of trip.

Fitness/Pacing:

While this trip accommodate a variety of paces for attending runners, this trip requires participants to cover the mileage and elevation gain as described in the itinerary. It is suggested that you be able to maintain an average pace of 15-20 minutes/mile and must be able to run/jog the flats and downhills (most of the uphills are hiked). Training for this trip is highly recommended, and you can participate in the 12-week group training program designed specifically for this trip as a package add-on to ensure you're able to tackle the trails and get maximum enjoyment of this running retreat!

Weather:

Although the weather in late summer is often ideal, weather in the mountains is variable and trail conditions are subject to change on an hourly basis! Route subjective to change based on the safety of conditions and climate of the trail.

Welcome to Cortina!
Welcome to Cortina!
Day 1
Day 1: Our trip will start early afternoon with a meet-and-greet and orientation meeting to meet the guides and go over the logistics and itinerary of the upcoming week! Your guide will get you checked in at the hotel and you'll enjoy a flat shakeout run after long days of travel.

~4 miles

Hotel: Included
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Sorapis Lake Run
Sorapis Lake Run
Day 2
Day 2: After a delicious breakfast with Italian coffees, pastries, cereals, fruits, eggs, and more, your guide will meet you at your hotel for your first day on the trails in the Dolomites. Your destination today is the famous Lago di Sorapis, famous for its turquoise blue waters surrounded by pale Dolomite limestone. It will be a day to acclimatize to the trails in the area with paths through forests opening to views of some of the mountain groups Cristallo, Popena, Cadini di Misurina and Tre Cime di Lavaredo. Enjoy views from the scenic alpine lake sitting under the “Dito di Dio” (“God’s Finger”) formation towering almost 9,000 feet above. On the way back you'll stop for a late lunch or snack before returning to Cortina.

~7-9 miles

+/- 2,000 feet elevation gain

Cortina Hotel: Included

Breakfast: Included
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To Tre Cime!
To Tre Cime!
Day 3
Day 3: After breakfast you'll get an early start to one of the most famous formations in the entire Dolomites. Along the way you'll pass Lago Misurina with the option for a short stop before continuing towards the Tre Cime, or "Three Towers." Your route for the day circumnavigates these massive limestone towers that shoot up into the sky. If you look closely you might spot climbers scaling the walls of these cliffs! You'll enjoy a rolling singletrack run with views of the towers as well as beautiful mountains that extend far into the distance. You'll have the chance to stop at an Italian rifugio along the way for a coffee or larger meal and arrive back into Cortina by the afternoon and continue exploring this Italian mountain town.

~7 miles

+/- 1,200 feet elevation gain

Breakfast Included

Hotel Included
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Top of the Mountain
Top of the Mountain
Day 4
Day 4: After enjoying breakfast at the hotel, your guides will meet you for an adventure to one of the most jaw-dropping mountain huts in the Dolomites. You'll bypass thousands of feet of climbing and be dropped off with views stretching back to Cortina and over into the surrounding valleys. Watch climbers and hikers scale the via ferrata up to the base and enjoy a coffee from the sun deck before the running starts! Today you'll enjoy some incredible downhill in a mixture of smooth and runnable fire roads to more technical terrain (at this point in the week you'll be ready for it)! You'll descend from the mountain crossing mountain passes famous amongst cyclists and finish with a singletrack trail through a meadow to enjoy lunch with a view! You'll make your way back to Cortina impressed by the transition of landscapes and culinary environments in this special place.

~ 5-8 miles (depending on group)

+/- 0-2,000 feet elevation gain (depending on route)

Hotel Included

Breakfast Included
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Cinque Torri to Cortina
Cinque Torri to Cortina
Day 5
Day 5: After enjoying a leisurely breakfast, your guides will meet you for another day of Cortina trail running highlights. Today you'll pass through an important area in Dolomite history dating back to World War One. You'll start off the run with transport up to the impressive Cinque Torri area and have a chance to visit nearby vistas and outdoor museums dedicated to the history of the area. After plenty of photos and delicious treats from well-stocked rifugios, you'll make your way back down from an alpine rock and trail playground into dense microclimates of Dolomiti forests. Enjoy another flowing singletrack run into the town of Cortina.

~7-8 miles

+500-1,000 feet/ -3,000 feet

Breakfast Included

Hotel Included
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Cortina to San Cassiano!
Cortina to San Cassiano!
Day 6
Day 6: For your final full day on the trail, you'll enjoy a final breakfast in Cortina before your final big adventure on the trails. As you ascend out of town you'll pass waterfalls, fields of marmots, and the best cappuccino and apple strudel stop in the Dolomites. Celebrate the end of your climbing before running through towering formations and descending into the adjacent valley, home to San Cassiano. Your 4-star hotel for the evening has multiple spa treatments, saunas, jacuzzis, and wellness center amenities to enjoy along with an excellent bar and restaurant to celebrate your week in the Dolomites. Enjoy your final evening in this special place!

~14-15 miles

+/- 3,200 feet

Hotel Included

Breakfast Included
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Departure
Departure
Day 7
Day 7: For your final morning, you'll enjoy an early breakfast and coffee at your hotel before departing back to Cortina in the morning. You'll say goodbyes to new running friends and the Dolomites and depart with tons of memories.
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Welcome to Cortina!

Day 1

Day 1: Our trip will start early afternoon with a meet-and-greet and orientation meeting to meet the guides and go over the logistics and itinerary of the upcoming week! Your guide will get you checked in at the hotel and you'll enjoy a flat shakeout run after long days of travel.

~4 miles

Hotel: Included

Runcation Travel

29 reviews

Runcation Travel creates international running adventures for runners. Instead of having to squeeze in a run on vacation, your run becomes the vehicle to explore and learn different cultures, countries, and landscapes. Our current runcations and trail running trips include hut-to-hut running adventures, retreats, training camps, and guided trail tours of the best trail running in the Italian Dolomites, Chamonix Mont Blanc, and Argentinian Patagonia, and more in group and custom itineraries. Our Runcations are for every level of runner.

This trip exceeded our expectations on every level. All of the accommodations booked by Runcation were great. We had a good mix of hotel and refuge/hut stays, and they were all very comfortable. Some were quirkier than others, but it was all part of the charm. They were all clean and had warm showers, so it beat camping by a long shot. We were also very grateful for the luggage transfers, which all worked flawlessly. It was SO NICE to only carry a daypack each day. We did a self-guided trip, which meant that Runcation provided us with a brief description of each day's trek along with the GAIX track for each day. It was perfect for the style of trek/travel that we like to do. When paired with a book about the Tour du Mont Blanc, we had all the info we needed. Runcation did the heavy lifting on the logistics which meant that we could just enjoy the trails, scenery, and food :-) We would definitely book with Runcation again.

By Erin G for Erin + Friends Custom Self-Guided TMB Sept 9-18, 2023 on Sep 29, 2023

I had the best experience - great people, challenging terrain, beautiful views, and I am already planning to do it again in 2024

By Bock M for Yosemite + Mammoth Lakes California Trail Running Vacation Sept 2023 on Sep 25, 2023

Where to begin?! This trip was as advertised then some! Liz was approachable, friendly, knowledgeable and for others. She brought on another running buddy Ben to help (who does tour guiding professionally) and as a team they led us well and provided a space for hard work, seeing beauty in the world and in the others in our group. They treated us by showing us the best that Mammoth Lakes and Yosemite had to offer. I felt like a local rather than a tourist with them. Even though both of them were beasts at trail running they were able to serve all levels of runners there no matter the level of skill. But yes you do need to train to be able to be strong enough to complete the mission. And as I reflect on the trip, the experience is more than just the few days there. It’s also the training that led to it that made it all the more special. The routes were challenging but well thought out! I mean, some of the most beautiful trails I’ve been on… photos for days! And they took a pulse of the group to see how we were feeling physically and were quick with contingency plans / alternate routes. One of them would lead the group and the other would sweep to ensure no one would get lost or left behind. I could write about every detail of the trip, but you just need to experience it for yourself. I’m already looking to doing it again and maybe even exploring some of the other trips. Some of the chillest and real cats I’ve ever met! Infinity stars out of 5. Can’t recommend this enough if you love exploring, running, and being outside. This business needs to blow up because the quality and service is JUST THAT GOOD! Bravo. Standing Ovation. Runcation forever.

By Mitch K for Yosemite + Mammoth Lakes California Trail Running Vacation Sept 2023 on Sep 20, 2023

I would give this trip and experience more stars if I could. It was so well planned and SO much fun. A runcation is absolutely the perfect vacation for me! Our group was the greatest mix of kind, fun, friendly people, and we had the best guides. The runs were incredible--the perfect combination of challenging and fun--and our guides did a great job navigating some tricky weather to make sure we still had a terrific experience. Liz really knocked it out of the park in planning this runcation! The hotels were AWESOME, I loved having group dinners at night, and the runs and views were spectacular. All around such a great experience, and one that I definitely hope to do again some day!

By Caitlin M for Trail Running Vacation South Tyrol Dolomites + Slovenia Runcation 2023 on Aug 14, 2023

An unforgettable experience. The Italian Dolomites are spectacular. Each day was filled with challenging runs, great food and great company. Our guides were fantastic. The rifugios vary and the shared accommodations in them may not be for all, however overall the experience is excellent and I would highly recommend it to anyone considering it.

By Rayburn M for Italian Dolomites Runcation: Hut-to-Hut Trail Running July 14-20 2023 on Jul 31, 2023

Thank you Rayburn! We're so glad to hear you enjoyed the unique hut to hut experience and hope to see you again!

By Runcation Travel on Aug 14, 2023

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My husband and I went on the Hut to Hut run in the Dolomites, July 2022. What a luxury to have all accommodations booked and luggage transport taken care of, for us! The scenery was unimaginable, and you just can't imagine the beauty-you have to be there! We had 8-15 miles runs each day and felt challenged by the ascents and terrain, but not defeated. (We are from Ohio, NO moutains.) The runcation organizer, Liz and guide, Dario took care of all of the logistics and it was amazing to just have to cover ground an eat a bunch of great food! Thanks for a fantastic experience.

By Amanda F on 21 Jul, 2022

The tldr: Do it! This was an amazingly well planned trip (thoughtful planning, clearly),, the runs and views were unforgettable, and I'm already looking at the next one I can go on. The longer version: Runcation in Patagonia was amazing. Every thing was well-planned, the views were unforgettable, the crew was the best you could ask for, we stayed at nice spots with great staff...I could go on and on. Also, as someone who is super type-A, I really appreciate all of the early communication of expectations, what to pack, itineraries, and super quick responses from Liz.

By Marne P on 05 Jan, 2020

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