25th June 2027 – La Sportiva Lavaredo Ultra Trail is a dream of all trail runners. It takes place in one of the most evocative landscapes of the UNESCO World Heritage Dolomites, Cortina d’Ampezzo, which hosted the 2026 Winter Olympics. The event offers 5 race distances, the most important of which is the Lavaredo 120K, with an elevation gain of 5,800 metres. It had been on Lorna’s radar for years – after an unforgettable holiday there last summer, it became the obvious choice.
Unfortunately, all did not go to plan in the lead in to this one – a run of illness, injury and even a minor operation wiped out most of her training year. She shifted focus to hiking and biking, slowly rebuilding fitness… until a heavy fall three weeks before race day left her tailbone, hip and shoulder with yet more damage. You genuinely couldn’t make it up. Still, her flights were booked, accommodation sorted – and missing a wee jolly to Italy simply wasn’t happening.
So at 11pm last Friday, Lorna found herself on the start line in Cortina D’Ampezzo with the race’s iconic Ecstasy of Gold soundtrack charging the night air. The introductory run through town quickly gave way to the first of many brutal climbs. She knew cut-offs would be tight, but the early kilometres went surprisingly well. Those long hiking days paid off, and the cool darkness kept the heat manageable. A glorious Dolomite sunrise carried her to marathon distance at the stunning Lake Misurina before the temperatures began to soar.
Fatigue crept in, though she wasn’t alone and she finally found some suffering companions from Bulgaria, Serbia, Italy and, brilliantly – Gourock. Ultra camaraderie at its finest. Against the odds, she reached the 97km checkpoint and began to believe she might get the finish. But as the second night fell, everything began to go wrong. Her watch died, and the charger was nowhere to be found; her phone and headtorch both needed power. Worse, the fatigue began to cause hallucinations. Disorientated, she crawled up yet another monstrous climb toward what she thought was the final cut-off checkpoint.
Relief turned to despair when another runner casually mentioned it wasn’t the main CP — that was another 4km away, and of course up another hill. She pushed anyway, agonisingly, arriving seven minutes past cut-off with nearly 106km completed. 5,594m climbed out of 5,800m. But UTMB rules are UTMB rules, and this meant it was Lorna’s first DNF in thirty‑odd ultras and marathons.
Will she try again next year? She’d like to think training couldn’t possibly go as disastrously – but who knows. Whatever happens, this was one unforgettable adventure in the Dolomites.
