2026 race report
By VEMAX Sport · 22 Oct 2026 · 2 min read
The Montes de Fuencaliente, at the southern tip of Ciudad Real province and already inside Sierra Morena, hosted the fourth Desafío Cucón on Sunday 18 October. Organised by DxT Chip Run with the support of Fuencaliente town council, the event closed entries with 258 participants across three options: a 29-kilometre long trail with 1,400 metres of climbing, a 13-kilometre short trail with 500 metres, and a walking route over the same distance.
The race also carried federation weight: it was round four of the Castilla-La Mancha Mountain Running Cup and the penultimate stop of the regional federation's second hiking circuit, whose members got an early registration window for the long trail this year. The course was the same as in 2025, run entirely through the Montes de Fuencaliente on technical singletrack with constant ups and downs that never let runners switch off.
The weather was typical of a damp autumn in the hills. According to Open-Meteo's hourly data, the morning started at around 14 °C under a fully overcast sky, with some showers early on; the rain then stopped and temperatures rose slowly to 17 or 18 °C by early afternoon, with almost no wind. Wet ground at the start, then, and pleasant running temperatures for the rest of the day.
In the long trail, 74 runners reached the finish, 57 men and 17 women, according to DxT Chip Run's official results. The men's race was a fight to the line: the winner clocked 2:33:06 and the top three were separated by less than two minutes. In the women's race, the winner covered the 29 kilometres in 3:09:07, almost seven minutes ahead of the next finisher. The last runners home took around five hours, which says a lot about how demanding the course is.
If you are thinking about next year, be aware that this is not a race for a first taste of the mountains: the technical trails and the accumulated climbing call for experience and legs that can handle descents. In return, it offers the landscapes of Sierra Morena and options for almost everyone, from the walking route to the full challenge. Federation members in Castilla-La Mancha should watch the organiser's website from early summer, as registration opened in mid-June this year.