The 25th Jungfrau Marathon was held on September 9. Interlaken, Switzerland, is the venue for this well-known mountain race, which lies in the Bernese Oberland region. The promotion  logo of the race refers to, “the World’s most beautiful Marathon course,” which might be true.

However this year the runners had no chance to enjoy beautiful views to the surrounding mountains Jungfrau, Eiger and Monch as all the peaks were covered in rainy clouds. But there is no doubt that the Jungfrau Marathon is one of the best organized mountain races in Europe, comparable to the top road marathons. Global organization including all competition and logistic aspects is perfect – every aspect runs like clockwork and side events like the children races and “one-mile run” make the event atmosphere even more interesting for the runners and spectators. This year organizers introduced “VIP relay” with Suisse top sportsmen. This inclusion in the race program was also well accepted.

When looking at “bucket list” events, runners should include Jungfrau Marathon on this list. Jungfrau Marathon already hosted the World Long Distance Championships in 2007 and 2012 when they celebrated 15 and 20 anniversaries. 

This year the top field was not so strong, but still more than comparable to any other year and any other race. In the men’s race Columbian Cardona Jose was the strongest on the steep upper sections of the 42km-long course, which included 1600 meters of elevation gain. The fastest woman on the day was Suisse runner Mathys Maude who set a new course record. Read more HERE

Story: Tomo Sarf, Secretary, WMRA

Photos: swiss-image.ch