Swiss Canyon Trail

Friend runner, get ready for a muscular clash with the "Green Fairy"! 🧚 We’re taking you to the Neuchâtel region, in the heart of Val-de-Travers, for a challenge that will make you forget your on-road interval sessions. The Swiss Canyon Trail isn’t a simple stroll in the park; it’s a pilgrimage for calves chasing adrenaline 🦵, scheduled at the end of May 🌸. Here, we don’t joke around with terrain: it’s wild, it’s rugged, and it’s above all a big slice of tradition from the Jura history. It’s Switzerland, after all! 🇨🇭 We’re far from sanitized courses where you check your watch every two seconds ⌚️. Here, if you don’t watch where you step, you’ll be tasting the scenery up close ⛰️. Trail running in all its glory! 😉

This Swiss weekend lineup offers plenty so no one gets left out 😇. The main event, the Ultra 111K with its 5 294 mD+, is what we call a "peace judge". To give you an idea, it’s a bit like climbing and descending the Eiffel Tower eighteen times in a row, but with rocks 🪨, roots 🌲, and a much nicer view of the Jura 🧗. It’s pure Ultra-Trail ruggedness! Right behind, the 81K (3 491 mD+) and the 51K (2 632 mD+) aren’t here for fashion statements 📿: these formats "step up the game" and demand a metronome-like pace 🕰️. For those who like the tempo to pick up a bit, the 31K (1 380 mD+) and the 16K (577 mD+) offer a concentrated dose of adrenaline on trails that keep pushing forward ⚡. And because passion doesn’t wait for age, the Youth Challenge complements this lineup so young trail runners can also taste the local mud 🧒. Between alpine paths, mountains, forests and cliffs you should find your happiness 🙃. The memories will be even better, we guarantee! 💯

But the real secret of this race is its past as a smuggling route. The Val-de-Travers, birthplace of the Absinthe 🍾. In the 19th century, when the drink was banned 🚫, locals used these same steep trails to move their bottles out of sight 🕵️. Running here is walking in the footsteps of those rebels. It’s even said some clandestine distilleries still hide in the valleys 👀. In short, if you meet a green fairy at kilometer 80 of the 111 km 🧚, it’s either the region’s story catching up with you 🤪, or your glycogen stores giving you a remix of theInception 🌀.

You’ll scramble along the ridges of the Creux du Van, a monumental stone cirque 🏞️. The view is so vertigo-inducing that even chamois sometimes wonder what they’re doing there 🐐. The vibe is as sturdy and welcoming as the locals 🤲. This isn’t a faceless crowd; it’s an authentic community where you’ll feel at home 🏠. Between technical sections, you might hear cowbells ringing, your personal fanfare 🐮. Once you cross the line, you’ll forget energy bars and treat yourself to local specialties, especially the Neuchâteloise fondue. The Anniviers charcuteries and mountain Valaisan cured meats of remarkable quality will also thrill your taste buds 🥩. Seems only fair after you’ve pushed your legs a bit... 😜 Moreover, the Jura-Neuchâtel has enough to fill a whole weekend 🤩. Neuchâtel deserves a post-race getaway: its medieval castle overlooking the lake 🏰, its Romanesque collegiate church from the 12th century, its academic vibe and its quays are one of the most balanced urban tableaux in French-speaking Switzerland 🖼️.

Whether you’re on your 111 or your 31, the Swiss Canyon Trail will surely open you up with open arms 🤗. So what are you waiting for?