Eiger Ultra Trail by UTMB

Results: 2026

425 of 567 starters finished.

The E101 ran its original course in 2026; only the E250 was shortened for weather. UTMB Live’s counts cover the ranked E101 only: it lists another 77 runners, 75 of whom finished, in an unranked group for those who left the course at Burglauenen and ran straight to Grindelwald without Running Stones. UTMB Live prints the women’s winner as Alina Wylezalek, without diacritics.

Source: UTMB Live — 2026 E101 Ultra Trail ranking. Checked October 25, 2026.

Next edition: July 17, 2027. The 2027 event runs July 14 to 18, with the E101 starting at 4:00 AM on Saturday, July 17, and the E250 on Wednesday, July 14. E101 places were allocated by lottery in September and October 2026, and the race list showed E101 registration closed on October 25, 2026; the E250, E16 and Trail Surprise are first come, first served.

Event Overview

A 101 km mountain loop from Grindelwald over the Faulhorn and Männlichen to the foot of the Eiger North Face, with about 6,700 m of climbing.

Course & Terrain

Mountain loop starting and finishing in Grindelwald: over Grosse Scheidegg to First, a loop down to Bort and back to First, on over the Faulhorn and past Schynige Platte down to Burglauenen, then back up through Wengen to Männlichen, Kleine Scheidegg and Eigergletscher and down along the foot of the Eiger North Face via Brandegg and Pfingstegg.

Key course features to know before comparing this race:

• Grosse Scheidegg (1,957 m), the first climb, 1,006 m up in 8.8 km
• The First Cliff Walk, crossed at the First checkpoint
• The Faulhorn (about 2,680 m), the highest point, with a helicopter-supplied aid station
• The traverse past Schynige Platte and the long descent to Burglauenen (898 m)
• Männlichen (2,228 m) and the Lauberhorn
• Eigergletscher (2,334 m) and the Eiger Trail along the foot of the North Face

The 2026 runner guide gives the course as 101.5 km with 6,640 m of climbing and descent, between 898 m at Burglauenen and the Faulhorn, which at about 2,680 m is the event’s highest point. The first 35 km hold three big climbs: 1,006 m from Grindelwald to Grosse Scheidegg, 640 m from Bort back up to First after a loop down from First, and 669 m from Feld to the Faulhorn. From the Faulhorn the route traverses past Schynige Platte and loses about 2,250 m over 20 km to Burglauenen, the low point at km 55. The second half climbs 1,742 m in 13.7 km through Wengen to Männlichen (2,228 m), crosses the Lauberhorn to Kleine Scheidegg, climbs again to Eigergletscher (2,334 m) and follows the Eiger Trail below the North Face down toward Brandegg, before a last 524 m climb to Pfingstegg and the drop to Grindelwald. The 2026 briefing warns of signed sections with a risk of slipping or falling, where runners must use the fixed ropes, and of road and railway crossings; after Burglauenen, crossing the tracks while the barrier is down is forbidden. Way markers are reflective and no paint is used, and runners who use poles must carry them from the start.

The E101 starts at 4:00 AM, so the first climb is run by headlamp, and slower runners reach Eigergletscher and the Eiger Trail late on Saturday night, with the finish closing at 5:00 AM Sunday. Long sections run above 2,000 m, and mid-July conditions have varied widely. In 2023 runners raced in heat, and the organizer waived the cold kit for a sunny forecast; in 2024 the route had to be cleared of snow before the race, runners still crossed some snowfields, and heat proved the bigger problem; in 2025 a thunderstorm forecast cut the E101 to about 69 km; and in 2026 changeable, at times intense weather shortened only the E250, while the E101 ran its original course. The equipment page lists a cold kit for the E101, waterproof overtrousers and an insulated down or synthetic jacket, and marks it mandatory, and the organizer can add gear for the forecast. The 2026 briefing tells runners caught in a thunderstorm to leave exposed ground, trees, water and masts and to crouch on their pack.

Format & Support (as run)

Why This Race Matters

The Eiger Ultra Trail was launched in July 2013 by the Running Grindelwald association, founded by five local residents, as the first ultra-trail event in the Bernese Oberland; the first edition drew 1,155 entries from 27 nations and sold out every race. Ralph Näf led the organizing committee from the launch until 2026, when he handed over to Lukas Hediger, and founding member Werner Marti leads the technical management. The event joined the Ultra-Trail World Tour in 2015 and has been part of the UTMB World Series since 2022, organized on behalf of Ironman Switzerland AG; in 2026 about 4,000 runners from more than 80 nations took part, according to Plattform J. The E101 is its 100K-category race: finishers earn 3 Running Stones and a UTMB Index, the top three men and women qualify directly for the CCC, the 100K race of the UTMB World Series Finals, and Western States accepts it as a qualifier with a 22-hour standard. Past winners include Iker Karrera (2013), Caroline Chaverot (2015), Pau Capell (2018) and Andrea Huser, who won the women’s race in 2016 and 2017; the E101 was not held in 2020 or 2021 because of the pandemic, and in 2025 a thunderstorm forecast cut it to about 69 km. Since 2022 the event has also staged the E250 UNESCO Jungfrau-Aletsch Trail, a race of about 250 km and 18,000 m for teams of two or three that awards no Running Stones. In 2026 a forecast of thunderstorms, heavy rain and hail pushed the E250 start back a day and moved it to Kandersteg on a route cut to about 200 km, while the E101 ran its full course and was won by Stian Dahl Sommerseth (11:44:03) and Alina Wyleżałek (14:01:24).

Historical benchmark notes in the directory record (verify current records with the linked official sources):

• Men: Jiasheng Shen (China), 10:44:38, 2022, per the organizer’s records page
• Women: Caroline Chaverot (France), 12:45:41, 2015, per the organizer’s records page
• Course changes: UTMB lists the E101 at 101 km in 2022, 103.7 km in 2023 and 100.5 km in 2024, so the records come from different versions of the route
• Shortened course: the 2025 race ran about 69 km after a thunderstorm forecast and was won by Tomáš Fárník (07:13:12) and Daniela Oemus (08:11:21)

Preparing for a Race Like Eiger Ultra Trail by UTMB

The fixed-distance race guide covers the format as a whole. These guides go deeper:

• Walking strategy for ultramarathons: When and how to walk by terrain, effort and cutoffs.
• Crew and aid-station strategy: Crew tables, aid stops, drop bags and runner preferences.
• Hydration and sodium for ultramarathons: Fluid, sodium, thirst, sweat rate and hyponatremia risk.
• Tapering for ultramarathons: Plan the taper and race week around your own recovery.

Best Fit

• Runners with a valid UTMB Index who want 3 Running Stones and a Western States qualifier from a high-alpine 100K
• Experienced mountain runners comfortable with big climbs, long steep descents and finishing in the dark
• Runners whose supporters want to follow the race by lift and train rather than by car

Planning Notes

• Train for terrain-specific fatigue. Technical trails and mountain courses demand downhill durability, hiking efficiency, and reliable night lighting.
• The directory does not mark this as having simpler logistics. Confirm qualification, terrain, support, registration, medical, and withdrawal requirements before planning around it.

Event FAQs

Related Preparation

• Compare this race in the full 2026 calendar
• Open the Fixed-Distance format guide
• Compare all race formats
• Use the timed-race pace calculator
• Plan checkpoint arrivals and cutoff buffers
• Build a crew and drop-bag plan
• Build a race-specific gear checklist