5 Mountain Marathons That Take You Through the Alps

Annecy, France

1Comparison table of 5 Alpine mountain marathons, climb, final altitude, time limit, 2027 submissions

Official information from each race as of October 27, 2026. Cutoffs and start times are from the 2026 editions, since 2027 details haven't been announced. · Jungfrau Marathon (Interlaken, Switzerland) — weekend of September 10–11, 2027 · 42.195 km, 1,953 m elevation difference, finish at 2,320 m · 4 hours, 25 minutes at 30.7 km; 5 hours, 50 minutes at 38.5 km · Registration opens February 14, 2027, at 8 a.

m. local time; field capped at 4,000. · Gornergrat Zermatt Marathon (Sankt Niklaus, Switzerland) — July 2–3, 2027 · 42.195 km, 2,075 m of climbing, finish at 2,585 m · 8:30 a.

m. start, 3:45 p.m.

finish cutoff · Registration open; marathon entry currently 179 Swiss francs (through February 28, 2027). · Marathon du Mont-Blanc 42K (Chamonix, France) — race week June 24–27, 2027 · 2,540 m of climbing and 2,540 m of descent · 10-hour maximum · Registration expected in several phases starting November 2026; field capped at 2,300. · UTMB (Chamonix, France) — 2027 dates not yet announced (2026 race week: August 24–30) · 174 km, 9,700 m of climbing · 45 hours, 30 minutes · 2027 registration schedule not yet announced.

· MaXi-Race Marathon-eXpérience (Annecy, France) — May 28–30, 2027 · 38–42 km, 1,600–1,800 m of climbing · Pre-registration closed; waitlist planned. Sort them by climbing and the order is Annecy, Jungfrau, Zermatt, Mont-Blanc. The highest finish belongs to Zermatt, at Riffelberg.

Start with Annecy, which climbs the least. The MaXi-Race's marathon, the Marathon-eXpérience, runs through the mountains around Lac d'Annecy in France and covers 38 to 42 kilometers with 1,600 to 1,800 meters of climbing. Organizers explain that distance and elevation gain are listed as ranges because your watch may record them differently depending on its settings.

The marathon page describes a loop of about 40 kilometers that starts and finishes in Annecy and passes the summit viewpoint on the Semnoz, above 1,500 meters. There's no minimum level, but the race is blunt about it: you need to "run on the flats and downhills to pass the time barriers." Runners start in nine waves at five-minute intervals beginning at 6 a.

m., and waves are assigned by Betrail index and can't be changed. As at Mont-Blanc, cutoffs are counted from the last wave's start.

Bib pickup is the day before the race (May 29) only, at a time slot you book. The same weekend also features a 100 to 103 km loop of the lake (5,300 to 5,500 meters of climbing), a 104 to 108 km version split over two days, and a 55 to 58 km half loop. Pre-registration for the 2027 race (May 28–30) ran October 1–7, 2026, and is now closed.

The official site says only that it plans to set up a waitlist. So if Annecy is your target, that list is the only door left.

MaXi-RaceSat, May 29, 2027 · D-205 · Annecy, FranceSee race details

Zermatt, Switzerland

2Zermatt Marathon, 3 hours 20 minutes for 21.1 km — two-thirds of the elevation gain comes after that.

The 2027 Zermatt Marathon is July 2–3, and of the 5 races, it's the only one open for registration right now. Marathon entry was 159 Swiss francs through October 31. Right now (November 1 through February 28, 2027) it's 179 Swiss francs, and it rises to 199 Swiss francs starting March 1.

The Swiss Runners Ticket included with your entry covers a free public-transit round trip from home to Zermatt, valid from 7 days before the race. The catch: It's good only for travel within Switzerland. The course climbs the valley below the Matterhorn.

It starts in Sankt Niklaus, on the floor of the Mattertal (Matter Valley), at 1,116 meters. Through Herbriggen, Randa, and Täsch to the village of Zermatt (1,604 meters) at 20.3K, the altitude rises less than 500 meters. Over the remaining 22 kilometers, via Sunnegga (2,262 meters) and Riffelalp to Riffelberg at 2,585 meters, it rises by nearly 1,000 meters.

Much of the 2,075 meters of total climbing is packed into those last 22 kilometers. The ultra goes 3.4 kilometers farther, to Gornergrat at 3,089 meters. In 2026, the elites and corral 1 started at 8:30 a.

m., with the remaining corrals going from 8:33 a.m.

There are four cutoffs: the Zermatt station square (21.1K) closes at 11:50 a.m., Sunnegga (32.4K) at 1:45 p.

m., Riffelalp (39.1K) at 2:55 p.m.

, and the finish at Riffelberg at 3:45 p.m. That's 3 hours, 20 minutes to reach 21.1K.

Looks generous. The next stretch is the tight one. From Zermatt station to Sunnegga, you get 1 hour, 55 minutes for 11.3 kilometers, and between the village of Zermatt (1,604 meters) and Sunnegga (2,262 meters), the altitude climbs more than 650 meters.

Hidalgo was eyeing the heat from early in the race: "It's going to get really, really, really hot uh this afternoon." Past 25K, turning onto the mountain trail, came "Starting to get really hot." By 36K, the sentences had gotten shorter: "Uh yeah, not easy.

I can feel it." Even so, after the finish, Hidalgo called this course under the Matterhorn "The best race, the most beautiful race in the world with the Matter Horn."

Gornergrat Zermatt MarathonSat, July 3, 2027 · D-240 · Zermatt, SwitzerlandSee race details

Interlaken, Switzerland

3Jungfrau Marathon, 30.7km Wengen in 4 hours and 25 minutes — after the final, bib to Grindelwald

The 34th Jungfrau-Marathon takes place the weekend of September 10–11, 2027, and online registration opens February 14, 2027, at 8 a.m. local time.

The 4,000-runner field fills every year, so put the opening time in your calendar. The race starts in downtown Interlaken, with everyone going off together at 8:30 a.m.

You can already see the Jungfrau from the start line. The course follows the shore of the Brienzersee (Lake Brienz) and passes through mountain villages before finishing at Eigergletscher, 2,320 meters up at the foot of the Eiger and Mönch. The official numbers: 42.195 kilometers and 1,953 meters of elevation difference, with water and first aid every 5 kilometers.

Eigergletscher is a train station high on the mountain. Your bib gets you a free ride down to Grindelwald, and you'll collect your valuables and checked bag in Grindelwald, not Interlaken. Public transit from the finish back to Interlaken on race day is also included in your entry.

There are two cutoffs. Wengen station (30.7K) closes at 1 p.m.

, and the Wixi junction at Wengernalp (38.5K) at 2:25 p.m. As the organizers put it, "the time is the determining factor."

Reach those points after the cutoff and you can't continue; you won't be ranked, and you won't get aid, a finish time, a medal, or a finisher T-shirt. If the sweep bike at the back of the field passes you, course officials can pull you from the race. In running time, you have 4 hours, 25 minutes to reach Wengen.

Covering 30.7 kilometers in that window takes an average of 8:38 per kilometer, so on paper there's room to spare. But what's waiting over the final 11.5 kilometers to the finish? Eigergletscher, at 2,320 meters.

Jungfrau-MarathonSat, September 11, 2027 · D-310 · Interlaken, SwitzerlandSee race details

Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France

4Mont Blanc Marathon 42km, climbing and descending 2,540m — the middle time limit starts from the start of the last wave

Race week for the 2027 Marathon du Mont-Blanc is June 24–27. Registration dates? Not yet.

The official site says registration will open in several phases in November 2026 and says only that the date for each phase will be announced soon. The 42K field is capped at 2,300. Officially, the 42K is a "semi-autonomous trail."

There are only three full aid stations on the course, plus one at the finish; in between, you carry your own water and food. Climbing and descent each reach 2,540 meters. Starts are split into six waves, and in 2026, elite women went off at 6:45 a.

m. and elite men at 7:15 a.m.

Cutoffs aren't set by clock time. They're counted from the moment the last wave starts. The Le Tour aid station (13.5K) closes 2 hours, 45 minutes after that, Vallorcine (23.5K) after 5 hours, 30 minutes, and La Flégère (34.2K) after 8 hours, 30 minutes.

The finish closes 10 hours after each wave's own start. So the earlier your wave goes, the more time you have to reach the checkpoints. In the last wave?

You have 2 hours, 45 minutes to cover 13.5 kilometers. Runners with a UTMB Index below 350 have a very low chance of finishing and are encouraged to pick another race, according to the organizers. The runner behind the French YouTube channel Jéjé le runner, racing the 2025 edition for the second time, heard the briefing on the next cutoff at the first aid station, then headed into the climb to Aiguillette des Posettes, calling it "the big difficulty of the marathon."

It's the high point of the course, at 17.8K. But what came after was longer. On a climb around 30K: "It's never-ending."

The same year, the runner behind the Dutch YouTube channel Remi Running heard a forecast of 32°C the day before the race and packed 1.5 liters of water, the mandatory jacket, and a cup. The La Flégère cutoff is 8 hours, 30 minutes, and right before it comes the last climb, fully exposed to the sun. In Jéjé's words, "It's a climb that destroys your thighs."

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

Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France

5UTMB, 45 hours and 30 minutes for 174km — Lottery entry begins with a completion certificate “Running Stone”

UTMB, a full loop around Mont Blanc, is on a different scale of distance from everything else on this list. You run 174 kilometers and climb 9,700 meters, with a time limit of 45 hours, 30 minutes. The 2026 race started from Chamonix at 7:45 p.

m. on the Friday of race week, August 24–30. Organizers note that the distance and elevation gain may change depending on terrain conditions.

Can you just wait for the registration page to open? No. To enter the lottery, you need at least one Running Stone, earned by finishing a UTMB World Series event within the past 24 months, plus a UTMB Index in the 100K or 100M category.

For the 2026 race, the lottery was open January 8–19, 2026. As of October 27, 2026, the 2027 race date and registration schedule haven't been announced. Shorter races such as TDS, MCC, and ETC run the same week.

As of 2026, finishing TDS earned four Running Stones, MCC two, and ETC one. If 174 kilometers still feels a long way off, why not get to Chamonix first with one of the shorter races?

UTMB Mont-BlancAugust 2027 · expected · Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, FranceSee race details