Jungfrau-Marathon 2027 Registration Opens February 14. When Do 6 Other Mountain Marathons Open?

Zermatt, Switzerland

1Zermatt Marathon: 42km From a 1,116m Start to the Finish at Riffelberg (2,585m)

The Gornergrat Zermatt Marathon in Valais, Switzerland, opened registration for 2027 back on September 1, 2026. Marathon entry costs 159 Swiss francs through October 31, 179 Swiss francs from November 1, and 199 Swiss francs from March 1, 2027. Registration closes at noon on July 3, 2027, but the 2026 field was capped at 2,222 runners.

The fee includes a Swiss Runners Ticket, good for free public transportation across Switzerland for seven days before and after the race. In a car-free village, that actually comes in handy. The race starts at 1,116m in St.

Niklaus, on the floor of the Mattertal valley. The finish is at Riffelberg, 2,585m above sea level, with 2,075m of total climbing. The runner behind the YouTube channel Rafael Hidalgo raced the course for the sixth time in 2026 (in the ultra, which continues past Riffelberg to Gornergrat) and passed 25km in 2 hours 30 minutes: “25 km in about 2 hours and a half and 800 m climbed.

Now we're starting the section right up the mountain.” That's less than half the official elevation gain in the first 25km, which leaves the rest packed into the final 17km. Above Sunnegga, at 36km: “Kilometer 36, 1,600 m of elevation.

4 hours 23 minutes in. Uh yeah, not easy. I can feel it.”

On race day, the Matterhorn looked different than usual: “The north face is unusually bare.” Intermediate cutoffs are 11:50 a.m.

at the station square in Zermatt (21.1km), 1:45 p.m. at Sunnegga (32.4km), 2:55 p.

m. at Riffelalp (39.1km), and 3:45 p.m.

at the finish. With an 8:30 a.m.

start, as in 2026, that's 7 hours 15 minutes to the finish. A 57-year-old club runner who finished the ultra in 2025 recalled passing the marathon finish at Riffelberg in an interview on the YouTube channel Andreas Butz: “I think I would still have had half an hour to spare up there at Riffelberg.”

Gornergrat Zermatt MarathonSat, July 3, 2027 · D-230 · Zermatt, SwitzerlandSee race details

Schmiedefeld am Rennsteig, Germany

2Rennsteiglauf Marathon: 42.2km Along the Thuringian Forest Ridge, With a 500m Climb Just Before the Finish

The GutsMuths-Rennsteiglauf in Germany's Thuringian Forest holds its 54th edition on Saturday, May 22, 2027. Marathon entry costs €65 through October 31, 2026, €80 through March 18, 2027, and €95 after that. The fee includes a voucher for the Thuringian potato dumplings (Klöße) served in the start town the evening before the race.

In 2026, the marathon alone had 2,489 starters. The marathon starts in Neuhaus am Rennweg at 9 a.m.

and runs 42.2km to Schmiedefeld am Rennsteig: 769m up, 844m down, with a high point of 841m. Those numbers look small next to the Alps, but the ups and downs never let up. The runner behind the YouTube channel FeliXtrem passed halfway in 2026 in 1 hour 45 minutes, at 5 minutes per kilometer, then had to walk the climbs.

“Every hill is a slap in the face.” The 18km aid station serves oat porridge (Haferschleim). The cutoff at Großer Dreiherrenstein, at 33.4km, closes at 4:30 p.

m. That's 7 hours 30 minutes from the start—the time it takes moving nonstop at 4.5km/h. The finish closes at 6 p.

m. For the runner behind the YouTube channel Sarah just runs, back for a fifth time, the start line in Neuhaus on the morning of May 9, 2026, was “seriously cold.” At 27km: “Everything hurts.”

The last aid station hands out dark beer. What comes after it, in the runner's words: “The last 500 m go straight into Schmiedefeld … it's all uphill. That's really, really brutal all over again.”

GutsMuths Rennsteig RunSat, May 22, 2027 · D-188 · Schmiedefeld am Rennsteig, GermanySee race details

Annecy, France

3Annecy MaXi-Race Marathon: Applications Open October 1–7, and Organizers Pick the Field

The Marathon-eXpérience, the marathon at France's MaXi-Race in Annecy, takes online pre-registrations from 10 a.m. on October 1 to noon on October 7, 2026.

It's not first come, first served. Applicants put a card authorization on file, organizers select entrants October 7–10, and the waitlist starts moving on October 13. The race starts in waves at 6 a.

m. on Sunday, May 30, 2027, from Boulevard de la Corniche on the lakefront. The course is 38–42km with 1,600–1,800m of climbing.

The official information doesn't commit to a single distance. The high point is the summit of Semnoz, above 1,500m, overlooking Lake Annecy. The time limit is 8 hours 10 minutes, and entry costs €85 through October 31 and €96 from November.

Of the four Alpine races, it has the least climbing. But because the distance isn't fixed at 42.195km, it won't suit runners who want an official marathon finish on their record. As long as you apply within the window, order doesn't matter.

There's no opening-morning scramble.

MaXi-RaceSat, May 29, 2027 · D-195 · Annecy, FranceSee race details

Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France

4Marathon du Mont-Blanc 42km Reserves 40% of Entries for Runners Arriving by Train or Bus

The 2027 Marathon du Mont-Blanc in Chamonix runs June 24–27. The official website says only that 2027 registration details are coming “soon.” The 2026 system is the best guide.

The 2,300 spots in the 42km were split three ways. Ten percent, or 230 spots, went first come, first served on October 20, 2025, to Chamonix Valley residents traveling by public transportation, on foot, or by bike. Another 40 percent, or 920 spots, opened first come, first served on October 22 to runners who pledged to arrive by train or bus.

The remaining 50 percent went to a free lottery, October 23–30. Runners with a train-and-bus spot had to cover more than half the distance from home to Chamonix by train or bus, and anyone who failed to upload a round-trip ticket showing the race date by May 4, 2026, had their entry canceled without a refund. Since 2025, every entrant has also paid a carbon contribution, however they travel.

Emissions are calculated from round-trip distance and mode of transportation, at €60 per metric ton of carbon dioxide. In 2025, runners paid €55,000 and organizers added €15,000, sending €70,000 to the Association Française d'Agroforesterie. The share of runners arriving by train or bus rose from 25 percent in 2024 to 48 percent in 2025.

The 42km entry fee was €80 in 2026, with the contribution paid separately. With 2,540m of climbing and 2,540m of descent, it's the roughest of the seven courses. A French runner behind the YouTube channel Jéjé le runner, racing it for the second time in 2025, called the climb to Aiguillette des Posettes “the big difficulty of the marathon.”

After cresting the high point at 17.8km, the runner took a 20-minute break in Vallorcine, then labeled the later climb to La Flégère “a climb that destroys the thighs.” Cutoffs are measured from each wave's start time. For the last wave, they're 2 hours 45 minutes to Le Tour (13.5km), 5 hours 30 minutes to Vallorcine (23.5km), 8 hours 30 minutes to La Flégère (34.2km), and 10 hours to the finish.

At the June 28, 2026, race, Tove Alexandersson ran 3:55:07 to become the first woman under 4 hours—and the first woman to finish ahead of the men's winner. There's one more way in that skips the lottery: commit to a train ticket.

Marathon du Mont BlancJune 2027 · expected · Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, FranceSee race details

Llanberis, United Kingdom

5Marathon Eryri (Wales): A Loop Around Yr Wyddfa and a Ballot in the First Week of December

Marathon Eryri in North Wales started in 1982 and was known as the Snowdonia Marathon until 2023. The 42nd edition is on Saturday, October 24, 2026. Entry is by ballot only.

For the 2026 race, the ballot opened at noon on December 1 and closed at midnight on December 8, 2025. Results came out January 1, 2026, successful applicants had until January 31 to claim their spots, and a second draw followed on February 2. The draw is split by age category.

Entry costs £50. Ballot dates for 2027 haven't been announced. If the timing matches 2026, the ballot opens the first week of December 2026.

The race starts at 10:30 a.m. just outside the village of Llanberis, loops around Yr Wyddfa, the highest mountain in Wales, and returns to Llanberis.

Unlike Zermatt and Jungfrau, which top out above 2,000m, its two high passes are Pen y Pass at about 335m (1,100 feet) and the final climb, Bwlch y Groes, at about 365m (1,200 feet). The course mixes road and mountainside, with 12 aid stations. There's one time to remember.

You have to pass Ysgol Waunfawr at mile 22 (about 35.4km) by 4:30 p.m., within 6 hours of the start.

The official information lists no overall time limit. Of the seven races, this 42km is the closest to a road marathon—a bridge into the mountains for runners who have only raced on the road.

Marathon EryriSat, October 30, 2027 · D-349 · Llanberis, United KingdomSee race details

Interlaken, Switzerland

6Jungfrau-Marathon: The Walk Up the Wengen Slopes Begins at 26km

Registration for the 2027 Jungfrau-Marathon opens at 8 a.m. local time on February 14.

The 34th edition is on Saturday, September 11, 2027. There are 4,000 spots, and the race sells out every year. In 2026, 3,350 runners signed up in the first 12 hours, and all 4,000 spots were gone in under four weeks, according to Swiss outlet plattformj.

The 2026 fee was 179 Swiss francs on opening day and 199 Swiss francs from 8:01 a.m. on February 15—so the entire discount window was one day.

Of the 2026 finishers, 43 percent, or 1,777 runners, had run the course at least twice. The race starts at 8:30 a.m.

on the Höheweg in Interlaken and climbs 1,953m over 42.195km to the finish at Eigergletscher (2,320m), below the Eiger's north face. The runner behind the YouTube channel Jasons Running strained a calf in August and toed the line in 2026 “undertrained.” The plan was to save the legs on the flatter first half—“not to burn the legs out before climbing 2,000 m.”

Then came the second 10K: “The second 10k is definitely steeper than I thought.” Past Lauterbrunnen, the climb toward halfway kept going: “But it's runnable, but it's constant.” At 16 miles, about 26km, the running stopped.

This is the slope up to Wengen. Runners must reach Wengen station (30.7km) within 4 hours 25 minutes and the Wixi turnoff at Wengernalp (38.5km) within 5 hours 50 minutes. At 32.5km, the math: “I've got 2 hours 20 to meet the cut off.”

Around 35km: “It's just hard to breathe even walking up.” Snow was right there. Finish time: 6 hours 3 minutes.

“That was without a doubt the hardest physical challenge I've ever taken on.” A German runner behind the YouTube channel PHILIPP VINNEN hit halfway in almost exactly 2 hours but was cramping from 27.5km on, calling it “brutally hard.” However well your first half goes, for most runners the 16km after 26km is a hike.

Jungfrau-MarathonSat, September 11, 2027 · D-300 · Interlaken, SwitzerlandSee race details

Manitou Springs, United States

7Pikes Peak Marathon: A 42km Out-and-Back to a 4,302m Summit

Colorado's Pikes Peak Marathon started in 1956 and, according to the race, is the longest continuously running marathon in the United States. The September 20, 2026, race was the 71st running. The 2027 date hasn't been announced.

Registration for 2026 opened at 5 a.m. MST on March 1, with fees rising from $200 in March to $225 in April and $250 in July.

The field size is set by a U.S. Forest Service permit, and registration closes when it sells out.

The race starts in Manitou Springs at about 1,950m (6,412 feet), follows Barr Trail to the 4,302m (14,115-foot) summit, and returns the same way. The climb alone is about 2,380m (7,800 feet). Cutoffs are 3 hours at Barr Camp (mile 7.6), 4 hours 30 minutes at A-Frame (mile 10.2), 6 hours 15 minutes at the summit turnaround, and 10 hours at the finish.

A local runner behind the YouTube channel Rachel Runs High ran a second-ever marathon here in 2025. Starting in the sixth wave, the runner took the early switchbacks at a “steady power hike.” Above tree line, runners already heading down from the summit called out “Runner, runner” to clear the trail.

Summit: 5 hours 22 minutes. A mile below the top, hail came down, and thunder rolled twice. Finish time: 8 hours 46 minutes.

Another runner, behind the YouTube channel 55 Miles, finished the same year in 5:50:15 and put it this way: “a fast time for most people don't come from a fast start, but rather from a fast 8 mi at the top of the mountain.” In the 2026 runner guide, the race director and executive director told entrants: “the mountain always has the final say.” Of the seven races, this one climbs highest and longest.

Save it for after you've run a mountain or two.

Pikes Peak MarathonSun, September 19, 2027 · D-308 · Manitou Springs, United StatesSee race details