There are mountain ultras with good views, and then there is the Eiger Ultra Trail. Few races put you this close to something this famous: the course runs directly beneath the Eiger North Face, one of the most storied walls in mountaineering, on trails above Grindelwald in the Bernese Oberland.<\/p>\n
The 15th edition takes place from 14-18 July 2027<\/strong>, and it has grown well beyond its original format. Alongside the classic 101km there is now a 261km team ultra crossing the UNESCO Jungfrau-Aletsch region \u2014 one of the most serious races on the UTMB World Series calendar.<\/p>\n Here’s what you need to know about racing the Eiger Ultra Trail in 2027, whichever distance you’re eyeing.<\/p>\n \n \ud83c\udfd4\ufe0f Building toward a UTMB finals slot?<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n \n Running Stones, qualifying races, lottery entries \u2014 a UTMB campaign is a multi-year project with a lot to keep track of. RunningLog lets you log the races you’ve finished and plan the ones ahead in the same place, so you always know where you stand.\n <\/p>\n Start Your Race Log Free \u2192<\/a>\n <\/div>\n Event Dates:<\/strong> 14-18 July 2027 (15th edition) The headline addition, and a genuinely different proposition from the rest of the programme. The E250 traverses the UNESCO World Heritage Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch region, taking in Sefinafurgga, Hoht\u00fcrli, the Gasterental, the L\u00f6tschenpass, Valais trails, the Aletschgletscher and Fieschergletscher \u2014 the largest connected glaciated area in the Alps \u2014 then the Grimselpass and Haslital.<\/p>\n The mandatory team format is the thing to understand before entering. You are not running your own race with company; you are running as a unit for 95 hours across glaciated high terrain, and you finish together or not at all. Pick your teammates on temperament and pace compatibility, not friendship.<\/p>\n The classic Eiger race and the reason most people come. The route strings together the best viewpoints in the region: Grosse Scheidegg, First, Bachalpsee, Berghotel Faulhorn, Schynige Platte, Wengen and M\u00e4nnlichen \u2014 before the finish traverses the base of the Eiger North Face itself.<\/p>\n Note the ratio: 6,700m of climbing across 101km is roughly 66 metres per kilometre. That is steep by any standard, and it places the E101 firmly in “mountain ultra” territory rather than “long trail race”. A 25-hour limit for 101km sounds generous until you look at the profile.<\/p>\n The best-value scenery-per-kilometre race of the weekend. It runs to Oberl\u00e4ger via First and Bachalpsee, over the Faulhorn summit at 2,680m, with views across to Schynige Platte. The organisers’ own warning is worth repeating: the first ascent toward Grosse Scheidegg should not be underestimated. It comes early, it’s long, and runners go out too hard on it every year.<\/p>\n Don’t be fooled by the distance. 2,500m of gain in 35km is a higher gradient than the E101, and the route is relentless: up via Sp\u00e4tenalp to Wengen, then steeply up the notorious Gemsenweg \u2014 the “chamois way” \u2014 to crest the M\u00e4nnlichen ridge, on toward Kleine Scheidegg, and then a traverse directly below the Eiger North Face before descending the Eiger Trail through Trychelegg into Grindelwald.<\/p>\n For the scenery-to-suffering ratio, this is arguably the best race of the weekend. It gets you onto the signature terrain without requiring a 100km build.<\/p>\n The shorter E16 Pleasure Trail and the Trail Surprise (16 July) round out the programme, along with a Kids Race. These are the entry points if you’re travelling with family or want a first taste of alpine trail running without committing to a full day on the mountain. Check the official site for current distances and start times, as the short-course programme changes between editions.<\/p>\n The E101, E51 and E35 run on a lottery. The process works in two stages: pre-registration, then a draw. If you’re selected, you confirm by paying the entry fee within a deadline. If you’re not selected, you go automatically into a second draw \u2014 and runners rejected in both lotteries receive a guaranteed place for the following edition<\/strong> without needing to re-enter.<\/p>\n That last detail is the most useful thing in this section, and it changes how you should think about applying. An unsuccessful application is not a wasted year \u2014 it’s a queue position. If Eiger is on your list, entering early in the cycle is worth doing even if you’re not certain about the year.<\/p>\n For the E101 you’ll need a valid UTMB Index in any race category, which means you need a qualifying finish on record before you apply. If you don’t have one, that’s the first job \u2014 find an indexed race and get a result banked.<\/p>\n Lottery windows typically fall in September, roughly ten months before the race. Check the official site for the exact 2027 dates and fees, and put the window in your calendar rather than trusting yourself to remember.<\/p>\n Every race here climbs steeply. The E101 averages 66m of gain per kilometre; the E35 is steeper still. Flat-land ultrarunners routinely underestimate what that does to a pace chart. Your road or rolling-trail pace is irrelevant here \u2014 think in terms of hours and vertical metres, not kilometres per hour.<\/p>\n The climbing gets the attention, but the descents do the damage. Alpine trails are rocky, rooty and steep, and the quad damage from a long technical descent is what ends most Eiger races \u2014 not the ascents. Sustained downhill running is the specific skill this course demands, and it’s the one most runners train least.<\/p>\n The high points sit above 2,600m. That’s not extreme altitude, but it is enough to blunt performance for sea-level runners, and the exposure matters more than the thin air: high alpine sections offer no shelter, and a July storm at 2,600m is a serious event rather than an inconvenience. The mandatory kit list exists for this reason. Carry all of it.<\/p>\n Mid-July in the Bernese Oberland can give you 28\u00b0C in the valley and near-freezing conditions with wind and rain on the ridges, in the same race. Plan for both, in the same pack.<\/p>\n These are partial self-support races: you carry mandatory kit and manage your own food and fluid between checkpoints. Rehearse it exactly. Run long training days with the full race pack, eating only what you carry, so you know what your shoulders feel like at hour eight and whether the gels you’ve chosen still go down at hour twelve.<\/p>\n Grindelwald is an easy place to spend a week. If you can get there in advance, running even part of the course \u2014 the Eiger Trail section in particular \u2014 is worth more than any amount of elevation-profile study. If you can’t, use the official route maps and build a mental model of where the big climbs sit.<\/p>\n Whichever distance you’re running, the first sustained ascent comes early and feels manageable because you’re fresh. It isn’t. Go up at an effort you could hold for several more hours, let people pass you, and reassess at the top.<\/p>\n Sustained climbing at altitude suppresses appetite, and by the time you feel like eating in a mountain ultra it’s usually too late. Set a timer. Eat on it.<\/p>\n On long descents, shorten your stride, stay light, and resist the urge to let gravity do the work early on. The descent that feels free at kilometre 20 is the reason you’re walking at kilometre 70.<\/p>\n Partial self-support means checkpoints are less of a buffet than at some races. Know what’s available where, restock properly rather than efficiently, and don’t leave a checkpoint underfuelled to save two minutes.<\/p>\n Mountain ultras take more out of you than road marathons of equivalent duration, largely because of the eccentric load from descending. Expect a longer recovery:<\/p>\n Write down your finish time, your Running Stones, how each major climb felt, what you ate and when it stopped working, what your kit choices got right and wrong, and what the weather did. Mountain ultras teach specific, transferable lessons \u2014 but only if you record them while they’re sharp. A year later, when you’re planning the next one, that record is worth more than any training plan.<\/p>\n The Eiger Ultra Trail earns its reputation honestly. The North Face traverse is not a marketing line \u2014 you run beneath one of the most famous walls in the world, on trails that would be worth travelling for even without a race number.<\/p>\n It is also hard in a specific way: steep, technical, exposed, and demanding of skills that road runners and rolling-trail runners rarely have. Train the descents, rehearse the self-support, respect the first climb, and carry everything on the kit list.<\/p>\n Entry runs through a lottery with a guaranteed place after two rejections, so the sensible move is to apply early in the cycle and treat an unsuccessful year as a step toward a successful one. Get your UTMB Index sorted if you’re going for the E101, and start building vertical now.<\/p>\n Planning your 2027 trail season? Track every race \u2014 finished and planned \u2014 at RunningLog<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Run the Eiger before, or targeting it in 2027? Share your experience or ask questions on Instagram<\/a> or Threads<\/a>!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There are mountain ultras with good views, and then there is the Eiger Ultra Trail. Few races put you this close to something this famous: the course runs directly beneath the Eiger North Face, one of the most storied walls in mountaineering, on trails above Grindelwald in the Bernese Oberland. The 15th edition takes place […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-races"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/runninglog.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/runninglog.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/runninglog.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runninglog.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runninglog.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=303"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/runninglog.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":304,"href":"https:\/\/runninglog.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303\/revisions\/304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/runninglog.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runninglog.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runninglog.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Eiger Ultra Trail 2027: Event Overview<\/h2>\n
\n Location:<\/strong> Grindelwald, Bernese Oberland, Switzerland
\n Series:<\/strong> UTMB World Series event \u2014 finishers earn Running Stones
\n Format:<\/strong> Partial self-support \u2014 mandatory kit, and you feed yourself between checkpoints
\n Terrain:<\/strong> High alpine, technical in places, with sustained steep climbs and descents
\n Weather:<\/strong> Mid-July alpine \u2014 warm valleys, cold and exposed high ground, weather that changes fast<\/p>\nThe 2027 Races<\/h2>\n
E250 \u2014 UNESCO Trail<\/h3>\n
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E101 \u2014 Ultra Trail<\/h3>\n
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E51 \u2014 Panorama Trail<\/h3>\n
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E35 \u2014 North Face Trail<\/h3>\n
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E16 \u2014 Pleasure Trail, Trail Surprise and Kids Race<\/h3>\n
How to Enter<\/h2>\n
What Makes Eiger Hard<\/h2>\n
The Gradient, Not the Distance<\/h3>\n
Technical Descending<\/h3>\n
Altitude and Exposure<\/h3>\n
The Weather Can Do Anything<\/h3>\n
How to Prepare<\/h2>\n
Training Priorities<\/h3>\n
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Self-Support Practice<\/h3>\n
If You Can, Recce<\/h3>\n
Logistics and the Grindelwald Setup<\/h2>\n
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Race Day Execution<\/h2>\n
Pace the First Climb Honestly<\/h3>\n
Eat Before You’re Hungry<\/h3>\n
Manage Your Quads Deliberately<\/h3>\n
Use the Checkpoints Properly<\/h3>\n
After the Race<\/h2>\n
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Log It Properly<\/h3>\n
Is Eiger Right for You?<\/h2>\n
Eiger is Great If You:<\/h3>\n
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Consider Other Options If You:<\/h3>\n
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Final Thoughts: Eiger Ultra Trail 2027<\/h2>\n
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