7 Cidades Ultimate Trail (7CUT) was born from the will of Prof. Carlos Martins Medeiros, president of the Açoriano Triathlon, Trail and Tourism Club in boosting the 7 Cidades region, one of the 7 Natural Wonders of Portugal (2010).
The 7 Cidades volcanic complex has a very rich cultural, geological and human history, which deserves to be explored. In addition to the natural beauty with the volcanoes and lagoons, it is also an area of great sensitivity, as it is one of the main water basins for human consumption, namely in the city of Ponta Delgada.
The event was planned to take place in 2020, but due to the pandemic it was postponed in 2020 and 2021 and had its first edition in 2022.
7CUT was born as “7 Cidades Ultra Trail” in 2022, but due to legal imperatives related to the name, namely the registration of the words “Ultra Trail”, it had to be changed to 7 Cidades Ultimate Trail, maintaining the acronym 7CUT.

1st edition - 2022
The event was organized on Sunday, May 29, 2022 and had 3 associated races.
The 7CUT50 race with 51km and 2600m d+ (which was changed to 45k, due to lack of authorization from some owners), had 19 participants and started in Lagoas Empadadas. The winners were: Arsénio Santos from AGIR with 4h59 and Claire Price with 6h00.
In the 7CUT30 race with 35k and 1640m d+ 46 athletes participated. It started at Lagoa das Empadadas. The winners were Paulo Miranda from HL Runners with 2h41 and Mónica Cardoso from HL Runners with 3h11.
The 7CUT15 race with 17.4km and 822d+, had 215 athletes and could be done in running or walking mode. The departure and arrival was in the avenue of the São Nicolau church in the center of the parish of 7 Cidades. The winners were Luís Melo from Clube Operário da Lagoa with 01h39 and Joana Oliveira from Juventude Ilha Verde with 01h53.
The event had a total of 280 athletes. The race was accredited by UTMB.index, ITRA, ATRP and CTSMI.
The weather conditions were stable, being cold and drizzling. All races ended in the center of the parish of 7 Cidades in the avenue of the São Nicolau church.
The race had the support of Morcegos Trail, Ponta Delgada City Council, Parishs Councils of 7 Cidades, Ginetes, Mosteiros and the Decathlon PDL store.

2nd edition – 2023
This second edition was organized on Saturday, May 20, 2023 and had 3 associated races.
The 7CUT40, with 40.5km and 1957d+/2399d-, started near Lagoas Empadadas, covering this area of Pico do Carvão, Serra Devassa, Lagoa Verde, Mosteiros, Pico de Mafra and the 7 Cidades tunnel. The winners were Joel Moreira from Juventude Ilha Verde with 03h49 and from Switzerland Flávia Naf with 04h49. There were 82 athletes registered.
The 7CUT20 started in Ferraria, a thermal area with hot water baths in the parish of Ginetes and traveled through Pico das Camarinhas, Várzea, Pico do Escalvado, Mosteiros, Pico de Mafra and the 7 Cidades tunnel. The race was 21km and 1082d+/888d-. The top places on the overall podium went to Eugénio Medeiros from CD Vila Franca (Pretos da Vila) with 02h05 and Andrea Silva from Juventude Ilha Verde with 02h23. 182 athletes registered.
The shortest event was the 7CUT10, which combined the race for youth athletes and walking, with no competitive nature. This event started from Poças dos Mosteiros and covered the Uphill Pico de Mafra, Pico de Mafra and the 7 Cidades tunnel. The winners were Henrique Sá from Clube Desportivo Operário da Lagoa with 01h05 and Yara Vaz from CAL Clínica with 01h24. There were 207 athletes registered: 98 in the walk, 108 in the run and 1 youth.
The event had a total of 482 registrants. 4 nationalities present, 57 athletes from the mainland, 1 from Madeira and 5 of the 9 azores islands represented.
The weather conditions were not perfect with some clouds and intermittent rain, but they allowed the athletes a good experience.
The base of the event was in the center of the small rural parish of 7 Cidades next to Casa do Povo, with the finish line at the avenue of the beautiful São Nicolau church. The main partners were Ponta Delgada City Council, Mosteiros, Ginetes and 7 Cidades Parish Councils, and also Loja Decathlon PDL and Electrolaranjo.
7CUT had international accreditation from UTMB.index and ITRA. It was a qualifying race for the ATRP Portuguese Cup (7CUT20) and for the Circuito Trail São Miguel (7CUT20, 7CUT10).

3rd edition - 2024
May 11, 2024, Saturday, was the day chosen for the 3rd edition of the 7 Cidades Ultimate Trail.
In this edition, the 3 races were repeated: 7CUT40, 7CUT20 and 7CUT10, but with renewed routes. What this organization aims to do is offer the best experience to the athlete with visits to the best locations in the 7 Cidades volcanic crater area. We showed what we could and more remains to be seen.
The finish was set up in front of the Casa do Povo das 7 Cidades, as the avenue of the church of São Nicolau (usual location of the goal) was closed due to the procession. The weather conditions were very favorable with good weather, sunshine, no wind, cold or heat. Only in the highest areas of the race (Pico da Cruz, Éguas, Carvão) was it cloudy.
7CUT40 started in 7 Cidades, in the finish line at 07am. Went towards Lagoa Verde and along the DH of Portal do Vento, Vista do Rei, Hotel Monte Palace, Serra Devassa, Miradouro da Grota do Inferno, Lagoa do Canário, Pico das Éguas, Pico do Carvão, Lagoas Empadadas, Pico da Cruz , Cumeeira Grande, Atalho dos Vermelhos trail, DH Pico de Mafra, Pico de Mafra and Túnel das 7 Cidades. With 42k and 2020 d+. The winners were: Paulo Miranda from HL Runners Club with 04h29m and the South African KUU Watermeyer with 05h30. It should be noted that the male winner took victory on the finish line, having won the race by 1 second. 56 athletes were confirmed.
The 7CUT20 was the race with the largest number of registrations with 192 confirmed athletes. The race covered 21.7k and 870d+ with 1360 d-, and started at 9am at Lagoa do Canário and passed through Miradouro da Grota do Inferno, Lagoa do Canário, Pico da Cruz, Cumeeira Grande, Atalho dos Vermelhos trail, DH Pico de Mafra, Pico de Mafra and Túnel das 7 Cidades. The winners were: Eugénio Medeiros from Clube Desportivo de Vila Franca (Pretos da Vila) with 01h43m and the Estonian athlete Ariadna Golubenko with 02h06m.
The 7CUT10 included the competitive race and a walk. The start was set up at the Vista do Rei viewpoint and covered the Hotel Monte Palace trail, the Portal do Vento DH trail and Lagoa Verde. It was 12k long with 585d+ and 870d-. The male winner was the athlete from Clube Operário Desportivo, Márcio Azevedo with 01h00m and the Madeiran athlete Rubina Perestrelo from the AD Galomar club with 01h23m. In this event, 137 athletes registered for the run and 106 for the walk.
In total, 505 athletes registered, which is a new record for registered participants in 7CUT. 11 nationalities were present with 35 athletes, athletes from 6 of the 9 islands of the Azores, 146 athletes from the mainland and 11 from the Madeira island.
7CUT had international accreditation from UTMB.index and ITRA. It counted towards qualifying for the ATRP National Trail Circuit (7CUT40) – series 100; ATRP National Trail Sprint Circuit (7CUT20) – 150 series; ATRP National Youth Circuit (7CUT10) – 150 series and for the São Miguel Trail Circuit - 7CUT40 – Trail and 7CUT20 – Trail Sprint.