Warning: Mountain running can be seriously addictive; reader discretion is advised. Ultra- running is not particularly recommended for children under 18 and pregnant women.

Hi EF Berglaufers/Aspiring Berglaufers,
This is a compilation of mountain races for intermediate/advanced runners in and around CH. For more local and smaller races you can subscribe to www.datasport.ch for regular updates. If you fancy an introductory run feel free to do a friendly run

I have intentionally been selective in drawing up this list: to reduce information overload. If you know of a nice run not included here, please add your comments or share your race intentions below in this thread or by pm to me, and I will keep updating this post to reflect the additional information, so we have everything in one place neatly.

So here we go:

Mar 2010

• 21 Mar 2010: Petit Ballon D Alsace

April 2010

• 12 April 2010: Signes Trail Salomon 46km, D+/- 2200m
• 25 April Trail des Balcons Dazur 52km, 33 km and 17 km (17 km race reserved for women) for runners and 17 km for walkers, with a respective vertical gain of 2400 m, 1800 m and 900 m respectively.

May 2010

• 22 May 2010: GREAT RAID 73: Allibert Trail, Location: Massif des Bauges Forest reserve (France). Possible to see Mont Blanc in good weather. Options are 73kms (5000m D+) and 23 kms (1600m D+)

June 2010

• 12 June 2010: Liechtenstein LGT Alpin marathon Profile: 42.2 kms, D+ (ascent): 1870 m, D- (descent): 720m. Read Advntur's race report from last year
• Sky Race International (last year it was held on 9 Jun 2009; 2010 version not yet up). The race starts from Italy, Lanzada (982m - località Pradasc) and the arrival is at Poschiavo, Switzerland (1014m – townhall square). 31km (D+ 1800m/ D- 1850m).
• 10-12 Jun 2010: Biel 100: 100 km, 42 kms
• 19 Jun 2010: Defi International Ranging from 74.3 km (2943 +/- m) to 42k, 21k and 11 k with proportionate climbs
• Date TBD Alpenmarathon des Alpages ½. Website not yet open. Ask Kate for a race feedback.
• 26 Jun 2010: Graubünden marathon (Chur-Rothorn): 42.1 km, +2222m / - 506m. Ask advntur who did it last year. Route map Smaller variants: 20 Miles: +1268 m / -402 m; Scalottas-Run: +954m / -104m; Graubünden-Halbmarathon: +755m / -402m
• 27 Jun 2010: Marathon du Mont Blanc : 42k plus smaller versions
• 27 Jun 2010: Aletsch ½ marathon Bettmeralp Half marathon: This one looks damn cool; it starts at a height of 2000m, and continues right on top of the ridge, ending at a 2700m summit. 21k (+900 m).

July 2010

• 3-4 Jul 2010: Verbier Saint-Bernhard trail : From the race website: “The Verbier Saint-Bernard Trail (TVSB) is comprised of one loop (la Boucle) of appr. 110km and appr. 6,900 positive vertical meters, starting and finishing in Verbier; the traverse (la Traversée) is appr. 61km long with 4,100 positive vertical meters, starting at la Fouly.
• July 10 Zermatt marathon 42.1k, +1944m/ -444 m
• Swiss jura marathon Geneva to Basel multi-stage race will not be held in 2010
• 11 July 2010 Zugspitz Extremberglauf Approx 20 km, 2100 m climbs. My feedback: Nice place; Finish point is the summit of the tallest mountain in Germany, just over 3000m high. Race starts from Austrian side (Ehrwald village in the valley) and ends on the German side. Ehrwald region in the Tirolean Alps is lovely and cheap, I used it as a 3-4 days hiking holiday. Purely from race point, it is not well-organized though (I am not saying this because 2 strong, perfectly healthy runners died in the 2008 race, but because of the organisers' apparent failure to learn and improve in the 2009 version), steep race fees, horrible stuff for drinks (Red bull ), so overall negative feedback.
• 11 Annécime : 40 km for women, 80km for men Nat. trail challenge www.salomonendurance.com
• 31 July Swiss Alpine Marathon Davos A wide range, from the classic K78 and 42 k, to 42c (culture theme with less climbs), 21k, and 11 k and Mini. A very popular race; read Advntur's race reports/blogs from last year or ask PTKate. Fraser's report on the K21 The race fills up fast, so register asap.
• Somewhere around this week (TBD): Stockhorn Half Marathon www.stockhorn-halbmarathon.ch

August 2010

• 1 Aug 2010: Thyon-Dixence half mara 16 km, 700m D+. Interestingly much of the race happens at altitude over 2000m! See race reports by PTKate and Bigskyboy
• Leysin ½ +1650ms
• 8 Aug 2010: Rigi Berglauf. 11.3 km, 1400m D+ Place: Arth, just half an hour from Zurich.
• Championnat du Canigou : 34 km for everyone
• Gstaad-Glacier 3000 top 26k +2015ms
• Sierre-Zinal 31km +2200ms
• 14-15 Aug Rady’s Mtn marathon. This is sort of orienteering race over 2 days to finish the course.
• 21 Aug (Or 20th: TBD) Schilthorn Inferno ½ marathon 21.1k, +2175ms. My full race report is on their website. And here's a nice picture race report I found on the net. I would rate this race very highly in all aspects: well-managed, easy access, low race fee, safe and well-suited for debutants.
• 24-29 Aug 2010 The UTMB races. The name says it all; sort of Tour de France in trail running and at the mecca of mountain-lovers. The website is a highly recommended read for any mountain runner, even if you never intend to do these super-league races. For Training tips, knowing about the risks associated with ultra-endurance running, general appreciation of the sport etc. You can also read their list of qualifying races from across the world. Advntur's race report is one of the many excellent race reports in English available on internet.

Sep 2010

• Sept 5 Jungfrau marathon +1829ms
• Sep 5-12 Transalpine (pairs) Germany-Italy
• Sep 12 Ultra Trail du Sancy : 70 km for everyone Nat. trail challenge www.salomonendurance.com
• 26 Sep 2010 Trail de Aiguilles Rouges 51 km, 3900 m D+ for the 2010 version (it will run through a different route, and roughly in the opposite direction as 2009). My race report from 2009: Semi-autonomous race, not suited for debutants, but highly recommended if you enjoy the mountains, scrambling a lot nearly hugging the mountains :-). Quoting Kate: "It's alot less well known than the MT Blanc ultra therefore easier to get into , has less running in the dark and covers some fantastic terrain, plus isn't in the height of summer heat."

Last year we have done most of our runs alone; this time I hope we can find partners for the journeys and races and this thread can serve as a meeting point for that.

Happy Trails!



Acknowledgements:
I must thank a lot of EF folks, especially some of the active discussants in the 2009 race calendar thread, for sharing useful info and opening opportunities for newcomers.

Here's my race wishlist or shortlist for 2010:

11 April 2010: Milano Marathon This is a fast flat city marathon. This will fit into a week-long touristic trip to Italy we have planned with the family.

22 May 2010: GREAT RAID 73: Set within a mountainous forest reserve in France (not quite far from CH), this run will also fit inside a 3-4 day holiday with the family. They seem to have some activities specifically to engage supporters/families. I am hoping I didn't misread them that they don't have any qualifiers for this race though.

21 Aug Schilthorn Inferno ½ marathon: Can be a single day-trip from home, so quite economical and fun. Hoping the weather and views will be good this time. I am also hoping to meet some newcomers the forum doing this run, or the full triathlon.

26 Sep 2010 Trail de Aiguilles Rouges : Gorgeous views, very tough, slow route, and my favorite. Hope this time it will be redemption of my previous failed attempt. Note: this is a hard-core race and not particularly family-friendly.

Will be happy to have company for the races, travel etc. Also, note that registration fees increase substantially closer to the date of the run, so it makes sense to register as early as possible.

This one sounds amazing, i'd love to do it, but i haven't done any big mountain runs before . Perhaps i should wait until i have a few more marathons under my belt.

I personally don't think this one is any tougher than a flat city full marathon (which I haven't tried). You'll probably take the same time as your marathon, if you do this on a good day.

That's about all the convincing i need . Ill see how my Luxembourg Marathon goes in May and make a decision then. It would be great to meet some other EF'ers there too.

Just found this interesting thread. How are things going with the EF trail runners? What races are you guys planning to run? Anyone doing the Swiss Alpine in Davos? Are there better alternatives for a first timer?

For personal reasons I am not doing most of the events posted earlier, my interest in tilting more toward climbing/mountaineering, and need to save time/money for that.

There are two races on the calendar for people of different interests though:

Zugerberg and Mt Rigi


Happy trails,
N

I am doing Davos again this year. I did it last year and while I am a bad middle part of the 78km run, I really did enjoy it and would definately recommend it. The have also extended the time for the 78km this year as it is the 25th anniversary, so perfect race to enter if you plan a slow run.

I am also running :
11 Apr 2010: Paris Marathon
22 May 2010: Grand Prix Bern - Just because i live in Bern and like doing this race
19 Jun 2010: Defi International
26 Jun 2010: Graubünden marathon
3-4 Jul 2010: Verbier Saint-Bernhard trail : I did this one last year (55km) and totally underestimated what the course would be like. In fact I didnt even look at it as I was using it as a training run for Davos. Great run and the local support was fantastic. You can even use sticks...amazing!
31 July Swiss Alpine Marathon
24-29 Aug 2010 The UTMB races. I am doing the 100km as I didnt get in for the 166km but hope to do that one next year.

I live in Bern and would be really intersted if anyone wants to get together in the mountains over the weekends for some training runs anytime or wants to do some training around Bern.

hello! signed up yesterday for my first berglauf... never done anything remotely similar and I'm starting off easy with a 7,8km climb up to Gempen.

Are these usually run on road or along the trails?
Thanks

looks interesting. If there are any adventurous runners wanting to do this a few days before the race as a fully autonomous friendly berglauf I am up for it (in that case I won't go for the actual race).

What happens is, they mark the route a few days prior to the race. We just study the route, carry enough rations and do it on our own. More fun, no commercial fees, and more time to enjoy the scenery than in a race and faster recovery time. Not motivated enough to do it alone (too far from home), but if I have a partner with a city marathon time in the region of 3:30 +/- 30 mins, and enjoys the mountains, we can team up. Give it a thought. My target time for this run would be 5.5-6.5 hours but flexible.


It looks like a road run to me but I am just guessing; people who can read German and know the area can correct me.

Scottydeb/Patul: All the best, and pl share your experience after you are done.

Cheers,
N

Paris marathon completed. I surprised myself and managed a time of 3:26.

I don't usually do long road races as I prefer being in the mountains but I am glad I did it, as now I have a great base of training to build on for the next challenges.

I have already entered the Graubünden Marathon otherwise I would have taken you up (Niranjan) on the challenge to do it outside the race.

We should try for another weekend to get a group together to do some training.
Debs

Cool time, congrats

Same here, I dislike running on roads, I worry about the long term health issues surrounding such runs too.

I have posted the next friendly berglauf; hope you can join.

Cheers,
N