Grossglockner Ultra-Trail 110k

14 min read

The Grossglockner Ultra-Trail is a 110 km loop around the Grossglockner (3,798 m), Austria's highest peak. It follows the hiking trails of the Glocknerrunde through the Hohe Tauern National Park, starts and finishes in Kaprun, and goes off at 9:30 PM on Friday night, so everyone runs the first six or seven hours in the dark. Four passes sit above 2,500 m, more than half the course averages over 2,000 m, and the organisers put the total climbing at 6,500 m. I finished in 23:53, 103rd overall and 31st in M40. This is how it went.

Distance	Elevation +/-
110 km (68.4 mi)	6,500 m (21,325 ft) ↗️ 6,500 m (21,325 ft) ↘️

Race facts

• 110 km, 6,500 m of climbing, 5 ITRA points
• Start and finish at Salzburger Platz in Kaprun, 9:30 PM Friday
• 29-hour overall time limit; finishing under 28 hours makes it a Western States 100 qualifier
• Four passes over 2,500 m: Kapruner Törl (2,639 m), Kalser Tauern (2,515 m), Stockerscharte (2,465 m), Untere Pfandlscharte (2,663 m)
• Capped at 500 starters; around 400 of us went off in the 110k
• Roughly 80% of the course is on technical trail, with two to four snowfield crossings in a normal year
• Drop bags go from Kaprun to Kals and back

How I trained for it

Six months, early January through mid-July, averaging around 100 km a week. The sessions that mattered were back-to-back long runs on the weekends, which taught my legs to start climbing again on top of yesterday's fatigue.

Two big trips did more for me than any structured block could. A through-hike of Madeira in May put steep, technical vert in my legs for days at a time. Then, two weeks out, I fastpacked the Peaks of the Balkans loop: 177 km and over 10,000 m of climbing in five days. That was the single best preparation for the elevation gain on this course.

It came with a cost. After a week of hiking uphill and walking downhill, my legs had forgotten how to run. The taper turned into a readjustment period more than a rest, and I spent the last ten days reminding my body what a running stride feels like.

My benchmark going in was l'Échappée Belle 96k in the Belledonne the previous August: 97 km, 7,367 m of climbing, just under 25 hours on a badly sprained ankle. Less climbing here, slightly more distance, and healthy legs. Sub-24 felt fair.

Getting to Kaprun

I flew into Salzburg on Thursday afternoon and took the train to Zell am See, then a bus to Kaprun. Arrived early evening, checked into a hotel near Salzburger Platz, and kept the rest of the night simple: dinner, gear check laid out, early to bed.

Friday looked like this: pick up the bib and pass the mandatory gear check in the morning, eat properly in the early afternoon, sleep for a couple of hours, then a final meal a few hours before the 9:30 PM start. Sleeping in daylight before a night race is its own skill, and I only half managed it, but two hours horizontal was worth more than two hours of pacing around.

For l'Échappée Belle I turned up two weeks early, and by race morning I had spent a fortnight with nothing to do but think about it. Here I had one afternoon of logistics, a nap, and a meal, then the gun went off. Much better.

Start to Mooserboden

Section	Time	Pace	Rank (M40)	Rank (Men)
Start–Mooserboden	2:25:32	8:49/km	14th	42nd

The race left Salzburger Platz at 9:30 PM. Pavement out of town, forest road past the Gletscherbahn lift, then climbing trail to the dam wall at the Mooserboden reservoir. About 1,000 m of gain in the first stretch, all of it in the dark, headlamps strung out above and below.

I hit Mooserboden at 11:55 PM in 2:25, averaging 8:49/km. 42nd overall, 14th in age group. Strong start, well inside the cutoff, and I felt comfortable holding the pace. The key was starting conservatively and letting faster runners go, then picking off the ones who went out too hard as the climb steepened.

Mooserboden to Rudolfshütte

Section	Time	Pace	Rank (M40)	Rank (Men)
Mooserboden–Rudolfshütte	2:54:14	12:37/km	17th	52nd

Over the dam wall, then technical trail and a snowfield before Kapruner Törl at 2,639 m. The last pitch to the pass is loose scree, and doing it by headlamp means you can only see the next two or three placements. Poles down, short steps, no rhythm to settle into.

From the Törl, a descent to the Tauernmoos reservoir then straight back up to the Berghotel Rudolfshütte at 2,315 m. This is where I got cold. Descending at night, you stop producing heat but keep losing it, and by the bottom I was shivering. I stopped to put layers on rather than push through. Soup at Rudolfshütte fixed the rest. Five minutes, hot liquid, back out.

The pace dropped to 12:37/km here and my overall rank slid from 42nd to 52nd. Fair trade for 2,639 m of altitude on loose scree in the dark.

Rudolfshütte to the Kalser Tauernhaus

Section	Time	Pace	Rank (M40)	Rank (Men)
Rudolfshütte–Kalser Tauernhaus	1:58:34	13:37/km	31st	100th

Another snowfield, then the Kalser Tauern at 2,515 m. The second of the four high passes. What follows is the descent the organisers describe as long and technically difficult, dropping into the Dorfertal valley. They aren't overselling it. Loose ground, sustained grade, a grind that goes on well past the point where you expect valley floor.

This was my worst section on the rankings. I went from 52nd to 100th overall. Technical descending is the gap. Plenty of runners I had kept pace with on the climbs flew past me on the loose downhill.

I reached the Kalser Tauernhaus around 4:48 AM and something switched. Second wind, real running again, legs that had spent six hours climbing and descending suddenly happy to turn over. The sky was greying out.

Kalser Tauernhaus to Kals

Section	Time	Pace	Rank (M40)	Rank (Men)
Kalser Tauernhaus–Kals	59:15	6:18/km	24th	79th

Flat and then gently downhill out of the Dorfertal to Kals am Grossglockner. This is the one stretch of the course you can genuinely run, and I used it. 6:18/km over 9.4 km, jumping from 100th to 79th overall and back to 24th in age group. This confirmed what I already suspected: on runnable ground I can compete, and I was strong at this point in the race.

I was into Kals at 5:47 AM, about 8 hours 17 minutes into the race and roughly 48 km in. That's the drop-bag point, which is exactly why it cost me. I sat down, changed things, resupplied properly, ate a real meal, and generally treated it like a break instead of a refuel. It felt earned. It shows up in the finish time.

Kals to the Lucknerhaus

Section	Time	Pace	Rank (M40)	Rank (Men)
Kals–Lucknerhaus	2:34:29	17:09/km	35th	108th

The hardest climbing on the course starts here, and it comes in daylight after a night of racing. A long ascent out of Kals to the Greiwiesen meadows, then a short drop to the Lucknerhaus with the Grossglockner filling the skyline.

17:09/km tells the story. This is sustained steep hiking, not running. My rank dropped from 79th to 108th because this is where the specialist mountain runners pull away. The legs were fine; the gradient simply doesn't allow much else.

Lucknerhaus to the Glorerhütte

Section	Time	Pace	Rank (M40)	Rank (Men)
Lucknerhaus–Glorerhütte	1:47:34	26:53/km	53rd	176th

The climb from the Lucknerhaus to the Glorerhütte at 2,642 m through beautiful flower meadows. This is the high point of the entire race. 26:53/km over 4 km, the slowest section on the course for everyone. I fell from 108th to 176th overall here, which sounds dramatic but this is also where I fell in with Denny from Berlin.

We hiked the rest of this section together, past glaciers, talking about nothing in particular. Twelve hours into a race, company changes what your legs are willing to do. I'd been alone since Kals and would have moved worse without him.

Glorerhütte to the Glocknerhaus

Section	Time	Pace	Rank (M40)	Rank (Men)
Glorerhütte–Glocknerhaus	2:23:30	13:40/km	41st	132nd

From the Glorerhütte, slightly downhill trails to the Salmhütte, then up to the Stockerscharte at 2,465 m with a full view of the Pasterze glacier. A technically demanding descent over the Margaritze reservoir dam, then the climb up to the Glocknerhaus.

I clawed back from 176th to 132nd here. Once the terrain turns more mixed (up, down, rolling) rather than pure climbing, I found my rhythm again. 13:40/km isn't fast in absolute terms, but it's consistent and it was passing people.

Glocknerhaus to Ferleiten

Section	Time	Pace	Rank (M40)	Rank (Men)
Glocknerhaus–Ferleiten	4:20:17	16:47/km	42nd	140th

From the Glocknerhaus, across a snowfield to Untere Pfandlscharte at 2,663 m, the highest pass of the four and the last look back at the Grossglockner. Then down, and down, and down. Roughly 1,400 m to the Trauneralm, flat from there to Ferleiten.

This was the longest section by time. 4:20 for 15.5 km, with the altitude, snowfield, and then a monster descent. My rank barely moved (132nd to 140th), which means everyone was suffering equally at this point. Nineteen hours in and the race is just about surviving the descent intact.

Ferleiten to Fusch

Section	Time	Pace	Rank (M40)	Rank (Men)
Ferleiten–Fusch	1:29:30	11:37/km	49th	154th

Gently downhill on trails to Fusch an der Glocknerstrasse. Runnable ground again, and I picked up the pace from the previous section. 11:37/km is nothing to brag about at hour twenty, but the legs were still turning over and the stomach was fine.

Fusch to the finish in Kaprun

Section	Time	Pace	Rank (M40)	Rank (Men)
Fusch–Finish	3:00:18	12:06/km	29th	73rd

One final climb out of Fusch, then the descent into Kaprun. I passed around fifty people on this section, going from 154th to 73rd overall and from 49th to 29th in age group. I ran the last few kilometres at about 4:30/km after more than twenty hours on my feet, which I did not expect to be capable of. It was the strongest I felt all race.

Crossed the line at Salzburger Platz in 23:53:14. Sub-24 by seven minutes.

Checkpoint	Passage time	Section time	Pace	Rank (M40)	Rank (Men)
Start	0:00	—	—	—	—
Mooserboden	2:25:32	2:25:32	8:49/km	14th	42nd
Rudolfshütte	5:19:47	2:54:14	12:37/km	16th	50th
Kalser Tauernhaus	7:18:21	1:58:34	13:37/km	20th	61st
Kals	8:17:35	59:15	6:18/km	19th	61st
Lucknerhaus	10:52:05	2:34:29	17:09/km	21st	69th
Glorerhütte	12:39:39	1:47:34	26:53/km	28th	91st
Glocknerhaus	15:03:09	2:23:30	13:40/km	29th	94th
Ferleiten	19:23:26	4:20:17	16:47/km	32nd	104th
Fusch	20:52:55	1:29:30	11:37/km	33rd	109th
Finish	23:53:14	3:00:18	12:06/km	31st	103rd

Tips for running the Grossglockner Ultra-Trail

1. Learn the profile pass by pass. Kapruner Törl, Kalser Tauern, Stockerscharte, Untere Pfandlscharte. Knowing which one you're on and what's left after it was the most useful mental tool I had.
2. Treat aid stations as refuels, not rest stops. My passage-time data shows I lost significant time at Kals and a few other stations. Set a target time per station and hold yourself to it.
3. Layer at the top of descents. The night descent from Kapruner Törl to Tauernmoos is where you get cold, not the pass itself.
4. Bank time before Kals. The first 48 km is the most runnable part of the course. The section after it is the hardest climbing.
5. Plan your drop bag in advance. Kals is the only place you'll see it. Know exactly what you're doing there before you arrive.
6. Practise sleeping in the afternoon. A 9:30 PM start means the race begins at the end of a normal waking day, and how you spend Friday afternoon matters.
7. Train technical downhills. My rank dropped from 52nd to 100th on the descent from Kalser Tauern alone. The final section proved I have the strength; what I lacked was confidence on loose ground.

Reflections

23:53:14. Sub-24 by seven minutes. 103rd out of roughly 400 starters, 31st in M40.

What I'm happiest about is that nothing broke. Nutrition held from the start line to the finish, no crash, no stomach trouble. I was still strong at Kals (48 km, 8:17 elapsed), which is further into a race than I've managed before. Running the final section at 12:06/km after twenty hours, passing fifty people, told me the fitness is there.

The ranking data tells a clear story. I climbed well (14th M40 at Mooserboden), lost places on every technical descent (52nd → 100th over the Kalser Tauern), and regained them on runnable flats and the final push (154th → 73rd from Fusch to finish). The gap is singular: downhill speed on loose, technical ground.

The aid station time is the other lever. Between passage-time gaps and section-time data, I estimate I gave away two to three hours in total stops across the race. Even half of that back puts me near 22 hours and well inside the top 50.

Next: another mountainous 100k with more runnable sections, where end-strength counts for more. Between now and then: downhill work, aid station discipline, and the same fuelling plan, which is the one thing I wouldn't change.

Thanks to Denny for the company on the Glockner side, and to the volunteers who stood on those passes all night.

Thanks for reading. If you have questions or want to chat about the race, get in touch or find me on Instagram: @andrewtpham.

Happy trails!