Gore-Tex Transalpine Run 2018

The 14th edition of GORE-TEX Transalpine Run will feature a brand new race: RUN2. The idea is to give runners a chance to complete only the first two stages of the original GORE-TEX Transalpine-Run, thereby taking their first steps towards one day completing the full alpine crossing.

The GORE-TEX Transalpine-Run is unlike any other race in the world. In the space of seven days, 600 runners in teams of two complete 250 kilometres and 16,000 vertical metres across the Alps on foot. It is a challenge. Many trailrunning enthusiasts dream of one day taking part in the GORE-TEX Transalpine-Run, which has earned a reputation as the best, most emotional and without a doubt most famous trailrunning stage race in the world. However, many are intimidated by the scale of the challenge at hand. Can I do it? Do I have the right partner? Am I fit enough for seven days, 250 kilometres and 16,000 vertical metres?

Now the organisers and creators of the Transalpine-Run want to give ambitious runners the chance to take those all-important first few steps towards realising their dream. This year’s 14th edition of the GORE-TEX Transalpine Run will be the first to feature a brand new race, RUN2, where teams of two will have the chance to run the first two stages only. The two stages which will make up the RUN2 are not to be underestimated. Stage one starts in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (at around 700 metres above sea level) and leads 43.7km through the Wetterstein Mountains to Nassereith. The highest point on day one is at 1868m, with runners completing a total of 2470 vertical metres of uphill. Day two begins in Nassereith and takes runners to Imst. After already completing one long day out on the trail, runners taking part in the GORE-TEX Transalpine-Run RUN2 can look forward to 27.6 kilometres and 1624 vertical metres. Short, sharp and breathtakingly beautiful – that is the best way to describe stage two in the holiday region Imst.

“We are keen to support runners who have maybe thought about taking part in the GORE-TEX Transalpine-Run but so far never actually dared to do so. We want to make the race accessible to everyone and remove the fear factor,” explains Uta Albrecht, Head of Organisation at the PLAN B event company.

While the RUN2 participants complete their introduction to the world of transalpine running at the end of stage two in Imst, those taking part in the full seven-day version of the GORE-TEX Transalpine-Run still have 184.1 kilometres to go to the finish line in Brixen, Italy.

Registration opens on 7 February at transalpine-run.com/en/run2