Trail du Pont du Gard

The Trail du Pont du Gard is a 28-kilometer race with 600 meters of elevation gain held in Vers-Pont-du-Gard, in the Gard department, around one of the most iconic monuments of Roman antiquity. The Pont du Gard, a three-tiered Roman aqueduct bridge spanning the Gardon River at 49 meters in height, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985 and is the best-preserved piece of Roman engineering in the world. This race offers the rare privilege of running at the foot of this two-thousand-year-old masterpiece, in a natural setting of Mediterranean garrigue of striking beauty.

The Trail du Pont du Gard course crosses the garrigues of the Rhône-side Gard, that typically Mediterranean landscape composed of holm and kermes oaks, boxwood, thyme, rosemary, and cistus whose fragrances fill the dry, warm air. The trails follow the Gardon gorges, a capricious river that winds through a spectacular limestone canyon before joining the Rhône. Runners discover exceptional viewpoints over the Pont du Gard from the surrounding ridges, offering an aerial perspective on this monument that the Romans built in the 1st century CE to supply water to the city of Nîmes from the springs of Uzès.

With 600 meters of elevation gain over 28 kilometers, the profile is rolling and technical, characteristic of garrigue terrain. Climbs on the limestone hillsides are short but steep, on stony trails where white limestone outcrops everywhere. Descents, sometimes slippery on polished rock and gravel, demand caution. Mediterranean heat can be a significant aggravating factor, with temperatures regularly exceeding 30 degrees Celsius during summer editions, and shade is scarce in the low garrigue. Managing hydration and heat is a key element of race strategy.

The Pont du Gard region is a concentration of history and civilization. Beyond the aqueduct itself, the course crosses a territory marked by two millennia of human occupation: Gallic oppida perched on hilltops, remains of Roman villae, capitelles — those beehive-shaped dry stone huts built by shepherds —, and Provençal farmhouses with blue shutters. The nearby town of Uzès, France's first duchy with its elegant ducal palace and its Tour Fenestrelle unique in France, is worth a visit in its own right. Nîmes, the ancient Roman Nemausus with its arena and Maison Carrée, is just a few kilometers away.

The Trail du Pont du Gard offers an exceptional running experience where sport and ancient culture converge in a unique way. Its 28 kilometers through the Gard garrigue provide an accessible format that allows full appreciation of the site's magic without committing to an excessive distance. Aid stations celebrate the local products of the Gard and Provence: Nîmes olives, Pélardon goat cheese from the Cévennes, fougasse bread with grattons, tapenade, and wines from the Costières de Nîmes. For international runners, this race represents a unique opportunity to tread the same ground as Roman legionnaires, in a setting that has hardly changed in two thousand years.