LOST WORLD’S TRAIL SERIES:

A series of 100k and 50k trail ultras taking you to the world’s most beautiful and inspiring World Heritage sites. Races in area of matchless and enduring beauty.

This will be a series of non-stop 100k and 50k races in some stunning locations for anyone who can run or walk to the finish line. The format welcomes individuals or teams. You have to check it out and then you have to make a plan, train hard and make it happen!

These are not just remote race venues. Our routes offer a great excuse to to visit areas so unique that they’ve been singled out by the United Nations and designated as World Heritage sites. This prestigious title has only been given to a select group of locations across the world. Many of these places are widely known for their otherworldly beauty and mystery but the rugged and scenic trail selected by our experienced race staff is going to be the main feature of each event.

Each race is a qualifier for a final 100 mile race set in a very unique location with limited entries allowed. Those  entered in the full 100k or 50k distance categories will be have first options to participate in this 100 miler when its location is announced in 2013.

In order to participate in the 100 mile final race you must qualify by either completing two of our 50k or 100k races in the series or by placing in the top 25 percent of the field at any of the qualifying races and categories.

Upcoming races:

Tuscany Crossing,  Italy – April 27, 2013

Causeway Crossing, Ireland. 2nd Edition – May 4, 2013

Ladonia Crossing, Sweden  - May 11, 2013  

Add-on travel and trips after the race.

We want to encourage our participants to extend their stay and explore each country beyond where the routes will take you for the Lost Worlds Trail Series.

With that in mind, we have partnered with Combadi Experience Travel who specialize in unique travel itineraries and have customized tour  options for all of our races and for our participants planning to extend their stay .  Jump here to see post-race travel descriptions and options.

News for spring 2013

In continuing a course aimed at staging  more European races we are happy to announce the recent confirmation for staging a race in Sweden on May 11^th, 2013.

We hope some of you will consider the Causeway Crossing  in Ireland  Tuscany Crossing  in Italy or Lost Worlds: Sweden, Ladonia Crossing. These races are all on fantastic routes with much local participation numbering in the 100s.

Find more information

Tuscany Crossing,  Italy – April 27, 2013

Causeway Crossing, Ireland. 2nd Edition – May 4, 2013

Ladonia Crossing, Sweden  - May 11, 2013

Causeway Crossing: 100k ROUTE: The 100k starts in Glenarm on the eastern coast of Ireland. It heads north and west past the halfway point of Ballintoy, where it stays along the northern coast and past the Giant’s Causeway. It goes past Ballycastle and on to Dunluce Castle. Runners then turn back East to the finish line in Ballintoy.The 100k is also a 2 point qualifying race for Ultra Trail Mont Blanc (UTMB)

 

Ireland does seem to beckon to us here in the Americas. She offers to enfold us in her old-world mystique, rolling green fields and crystalline coastal waters if we would only slow down, sit a spell and listen to her warm and affable tales. If we would kick back and watch as the waves crash against her rugged cliffs and misty shores we might somehow discover the gift of self-deprecating charm or the ability to deliver an amusing anecdote to anyone within earshot. We might even hear a familiar but long forgotten music well up within us while nursing an afternoon pint in a village pub.

Yes, there may be quiet cobblestone streets, fishing boats, thatched cottages and castle ruins to be found. There you may find standing stones, millstones and the timeless and impressive legion of basalt stone columns along The Giant’s Causeway. Fair skinned children may scamper about and red-tressed women perhaps break into song at random moments, transporting a crowded room to another time and place.
You may find all of this if you go looking for what seems a carefully crafted and romanticized version of Ireland, one meant entice the tourists. There are sure to be many such rich cultural moments to experience on this storm-tempered island sandwiched between the North Atlantic and North Sea. The very fact that I find myself referring to the Emerald Isle as a “she” is proof that like so many others I’ve also been lulled by her siren-song.

Fact of the matter is that while pockets of this cherished version of Ireland may still be well preserved, you will also find a country that is more varied, more interesting and heaps less “quaint” than we’ve been led to believe. The trick is not to look too hard for any particular slice of Ireland. As one writer put it, “Ireland can be that place that you missed as you traveled around Ireland, looking for Ireland.”

Things have changed here as the country modernizes and gets more involved and engaged with European Union membership. A period of economic expansion and growth brought with it a growing multiculturalism. In that time people from all over the world came seeking opportunities to live and work on the Emerald Isle and the face of the country changed.

Over that time once big farms were transformed into subdivisions and suburbs. Villages gave way to towns while some towns are now no longer recognizable as such.

While Ireland attempts to preserve it dreamy landscapes and proud cultural heritage there are some things that have thankfully remained unchanged. The ability to speak and drink easily and mirthfully is one such thing that, through the years, has never been exaggerated. Doing both skillfully and breezily with a kind of calming rhythm is not unlike breathing here. Wallflowers will not necessarily flourish here but shyness seems to shed away in this lively and outgoing environment. Nor will braggarts, blowhards or dullards be suffered for long, unless they are local and then they have a bit of immunity. Whether enjoying spirits or not, a gregarious wit and sense of humor are keys to the kingdom here. It is the stock-in-trade in both polite and impolite society. If you can’t sing or play an instrument you can still get by if you can tell a good yarn or speak without sounding like a half- wit. Wonks, wankers and the witless are unceremoniously shown to the door. All others will come and for some good craic.

It it’s not your day to be clever it might be better to go somewhere and sit quietly and ruminate on life for awhile, a place where you can enjoy the wind, the sun or the rain and sea-spray upon your face. Sit and listen to the lapping of the waters along the shore while sea birds mock you with their shrill cries. Either way, best not to go looking for Ireland. Spend enough time there and when she’s ready she’ll find you.

- Lost Worlds Racing

published in Adventure Traveler Online July 2011

Where - Ireland, Antrim Coast

When - May 4, 2013

Distance -  100k/50k/10k

Team options - 100k relay/50k relay/50k trek

Terrain - 85% trail, single track, forest, glens, coastal cliff trail, bogs, beach and headlands.  

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