Trail du Lomont

The Trail du Lomont is a 42-kilometer trail race with 1,600 meters of elevation gain in the Lomont massif, in the Doubs department. This event crosses a little-known mountain range of the Franche-Comte Jura, a territory of deep forests, limestone cliffs, and high pastures that offers a serious sporting challenge in a preserved and authentic natural setting.

The Lomont is a long east-west limestone ridge marking the geological boundary between the folded Jura and the Doubs plateaus. This massif, peaking at 844 meters at the Signal du Lomont, is covered with mixed forests of beech, oak, and conifers, interspersed with meadows and pastures where Montbeliarde cows graze. The landscape is that of a discreet and wild mid-mountain, seldom visited by hikers and even less by trail runners.

The Trail du Lomont course follows the massif's ridges and valleys, chaining climbs to high points and descents into wooded combes. Runners discover natural viewpoints from which the view extends over the Doubs valley, the first foothills of the Jura, and, in clear weather, the Alpine peaks. The trails are varied: limestone ridge paths, technical forest singles, passages through meadows and pastures, and steep descents into ravines.

The 1,600 meters of elevation gain are distributed across numerous hills that punctuate the course without respite. The Lomont's karst terrain, with its lapiaz, dolines, and sinkholes, adds a technical dimension to the race. Passages on limestone slabs, sometimes smooth and slippery, demand attention, while forested areas offer softer but often root-filled ground.

The Lomont massif is a territory rich in geological and natural heritage. The caves and sinkholes piercing the limestone are the domain of speleologists, and the cliffs shelter colonies of peregrine falcons and ravens. The calcareous flora, with wild orchids and gentians, colors the meadows in spring and summer.

The Trail du Lomont passes through villages of character, with their Franche-Comte bell towers, stone fountains, and massive farmhouses adapted to the rigors of winter. Rural life is still very present in this part of the Doubs, and runners sometimes encounter herds heading to pasture or farmers mowing meadows.

Aid stations celebrate Franche-Comte gastronomy: Comte, cancoillotte, Montbeliard sausage, and Arbois wine. The atmosphere is that of a terroir race, intimate and warm, where volunteers welcome runners as friends. The Trail du Lomont is a discovery, an invitation to explore a little-known Jura massif that holds treasures of natural beauty and rural heritage.