It all started in 2008, in what was also the first trail running event ever organized in Madeira. But the truth is, since 2004, there was already a group of members of the Clube de Montanha do Funchal who, every year, had the habit of attempting to cross the island in less than 24 hours. Some of those elements are still today the basis of the executive team of MIUT®.
Paulo Perdigão, Noel Perdigão, Nuno Gonçalves, Vítor Sousa, Marcelo Gaspar, Honório Teixeira, Sérgio Perdigão and Sidónio Freitas, in 2004, at the Ponta do Pargo lighthouse, at the start of an Island crossing...
And so was born the embryo that would embody MIUT® - Madeira Island Ultra Trail. On the 1st edition, in 2008, 141 adventurers embarked on the challenge of linking the lighthouse of Ponta do Pargo to the city of Machico. The following year, the starting place was Porto Moniz, with 82 participants. In 2010, the event didn’t take place. In 2011 due to the wildfires that had plagued the region in August of the previous year, the course format was designed in a circular fashion, with departure and arrival in Porto Moniz, in an event attended by 128 participants. In 2012, 303 participants returned to the island crossing format, but in the reverse direction of travel, ie starting in Machico and with the finishing line in Porto Moniz. From 2013, it was definitively decided to use the current event format, departing from Porto Moniz and finishing in Machico. The 2013 edition, with 449 participants, also marked the entry of the event into the National Ultra Trail Circuit and it was also choosen as Portugal’s Ultra Trail Championship, thus deciding the national champions that would compete in the Ultra Trail World Championship, an event status that would be repeated in 2015. In 2014, the event grew again with the number of participants reaching 749. The 7th edition (2015) reached the record number of 1329 participants from 36 countries, and raised the sporting level of the event, integrating the restricted UTWT - Ultra Trail World Tour circuit, with the status of “future race”. In 2016's edition as one of the UTWT circuit races MIUT reaches a new record of 2041 runners from 41 countries. The 9th edition of MIUT® (2017) brought more runners from abroad than ever and it was reached a new record of 2490 runners from 45 countries. In 2018 it was our 10th edition and 10th anniversary. In this year registered 2487 runners from 55 different nationalities. In the 2019 edition, the number of participants increased again compared to previous years, reaching 2,724, of which 1,435 foreigners of 57 nationalities.
