Zugspitz Ultratrail by UTMB

Results: 2026

184 of 245 starters finished.

Heat and thunderstorms led the organizer to shorten the race from the planned 166 km and 8,205 m to 107 km and 5,280 m, the Ultratrail route. UTMB Live lists 74 more finishers on a 100 km variant and 18 on an 88 km variant, rates the shortened race in the 100K category with 3 Running Stones, and gives no stones for the variants. The organizer’s race report and Runner’s World spell the women’s winner Joana Tallmann.

Source: UTMB Live: 2026 ZUT100 results. Checked October 25, 2026.

Next edition: June 17, 2027. The 2027 event runs June 17 to 20, and the ZUT100 starts at 8:00 PM on Thursday, June 17, with a 42:30 limit. Entry moved to a lottery held October 5 to 12, 2026; on October 25 the ZUT100 was still listed as open at €386, and places left after the second payment window go on general sale from October 27.

Event Overview

The ZUT100 is a 166 km loop from Garmisch-Partenkirchen around the Zugspitze through Bavaria and Tyrol, with about 8,200 m of climbing.

Course & Terrain

Loop from Garmisch-Partenkirchen around the Zugspitze massif, crossing into Tyrol, Austria. It follows the Ultratrail route and adds a loop of about 57 km from Hämmermoosalm through Straßberghaus, Arzkasten and Biberwier, so runners pass Pestkapelle and Hämmermoosalm twice.

Key course features to know before comparing this race:

• Eibsee, the lake below the Zugspitze, at km 10.5
• Pestkapelle (1,616 m), passed at km 27.5 and again at km 91
• The loop of about 57 km through Straßberghaus, Arzkasten and Biberwier in Tyrol, with a helmet section on the climb back to Pestkapelle
• The Scharnitzjoch crossing toward Hubertushof and Mittenwald
• Schloss Elmau at km 132
• Hochalm (1,701 m) and the Osterfelder climb before the descent into Garmisch-Partenkirchen

UTMB’s course data runs from 697 m at the start in Garmisch-Partenkirchen to a high point of about 2,204 m, reached around km 31 between Pestkapelle and Hämmermoosalm. The first 41 km climb past the Eibsee to Gamsalm in Tyrol, reach Pestkapelle at 1,616 m and drop to Hämmermoosalm in the Gaistal. The 100-mile route then adds a loop of about 57 km through Straßberghaus, Arzkasten and Biberwier before climbing back to Pestkapelle, and helmets are mandatory on a stretch of about 2 km on that climb. The last 66 km follow the Ultratrail route over the Scharnitzjoch to Hubertushof, through Mittenwald and Schloss Elmau, and up past Hochalm toward the Osterfelder, the climbs the runner guide names on this section. The guide’s time chart shows about 350 m of climbing and 1,350 m of descent in the final 16 km from Hochalm. The organizer calls the trails technical, high and exposed. The course is marked with flags and reflective signs about every 250 m, without paint, and runners must carry the GPX track on a watch or phone. Poles are optional, but runners who use them must carry them from the start.

The race is held in mid-June, but the runner guide warns that snow and freezing temperatures are possible in the higher areas. The 8:00 PM Thursday start means the whole field crosses the high point at night, and slower runners spend a second night out before the Saturday afternoon cutoff. Recent editions have been hot. In 2025 the organizer reported great heat on the Friday of the ZUT100, more than 40% of starters dropping out, and over 30 °C at midday on the Saturday. In 2026 heat and thunderstorms led the organizer to shorten the ZUT100, the Ultratrail and the Ehrwald Trail. In 2024 Ehrwald Trail winner Ida-Sophie Hegemann said the snowfields got to her, according to the organizer. The organizer can change courses, start times and cutoffs for weather, and it sends changed cutoffs by text message.

Format & Support (as run)

Why This Race Matters

Heinrich and Uta Albrecht’s PLAN B event company founded the Zugspitz Ultratrail in 2011, with the start and finish in Grainau at the foot of the Zugspitze. Grainau hosted the race for many years until the field outgrew the village, and the event is now based in central Garmisch-Partenkirchen, where the organizer bills it as Germany’s biggest trail running event. Winners of its classic Ultratrail include Miguel Heras (2011), Julien Chorier (2012), Philipp Reiter (2013), and Tofol Castanyer and Caroline Chaverot (2018). In 2016 the UTMB Group trademarked the term “Ultra Trail” and clashed with the race, which refused to rename itself, according to Runner’s World. The ZUT100, which the organizer calls Germany’s first alpine 100-mile race, was added in 2025, and Thomas Ungethüm and Joanna Tallmann won its first edition. On November 4, 2025, UTMB announced that the event would join the UTMB World Series in 2026. Runner’s World reported that the UTMB Group was buying the race and that PLAN B would keep running it, while the current regulations name IRONMAN Germany GmbH as organizer. The first UTMB edition, June 18 to 20, 2026, drew nearly 5,000 runners from 49 nations, but heat and thunderstorms forced the organizer to cut the ZUT100 to 107 km. Tobias Fritz won in 12:04:35, and Tallmann defended her title in 14:26:28.

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

• Men, full course (run once, in 2025; 164 km and 8,496 m in UTMB’s results): Thomas Ungethüm (Germany), 24:00:45
• Women, full course: Joanna Tallmann (Germany), 24:57:22, 2025, third overall
• Shortened 2026 course (107 km, 5,280 m): Tobias Fritz (Germany), 12:04:35, and Joanna Tallmann (Germany), 14:26:28
• The organizer publishes no official record list, and its 2025 race report gave the winning times as 24:00:40 and 24:57:20

Preparing for a Race Like Zugspitz Ultratrail 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 UTMB Index in the 100K or 100M category who want an alpine 100-miler in Germany
• Runners collecting 4 Running Stones or a Western States qualifier in June
• Runners who want a festival finish: nearly 5,000 runners across seven races end in central Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Planning Notes

• Prepare for sleep decisions, weather swings, and aid-station discipline. The distance is only one part of a multi-day fixed-distance race.
• 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