Saturday September 7th, 2019
Interlaken, Switzerland
Distance: Marathon
The Jungfrau-Marathon presents the most beautiful marathon course in the world - marvelous mountains scenery and the excellent change of the landscape between the start in Interlaken and the finish on Kleine Scheidegg. The difference in altitude of 1829 meter (6000 feet) is a challenge for everybody. There is no Marathon in Europe with such great dimensions. Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau the most famous mountains peaks of the Alps loom majestically over the course!
Marathon Course Records: Men - 2003 Jonathan Wyatt (NZL) 2:49:01 Women - 2001 Marie-Luce Romanens (SUI) 3:21:03
There is no Marathon in Europe with such great dimensions. Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau the most famous mountains peaks of the Alps loom majestically over the course! The Jungfrau Marathon is one of the most popular mountain marathons.
The first Jungfrau Marathon was held in 1993. Approximately 3,500 runners from 35 different nations participate. The Jungfrau Marathon takes place each year in September. The 2007 edition of the competition incorporated the World Long Distance Mountain Running Challenge and attracted 4200 participants from 50 countries.
| Division | Time | Name | Age | Home |
| Male | 2:56:31 | Simpson Robbie | 27 | GB-Banchory |
| 2nd Male | 3:01:37 | Davies Andrew | 39 | GB-NEW Town Powys |
| 3rd Male | 3:03:48 | Mekonnen Birhanu | 31 | ETH-Adis Ababa |
| 4th Male | 3:05:38 | Leboeuf François | 33 | SUI-Aigle |
| Female | 3:14:36 | Strähl Martina | 31 | SUI-Horriwil |
| 2nd Female | 3:29:25 | Maier Michelle | 27 | GER D-Rosenheim |
| 3rd Female | 3:33:11 | Segalada Michela | 28 | SUI-Winterthur |
| 4th Female | 3:33:56 | Troxler Simone | 22 | SUI-Chardonne |
| Division | Time | Name | Age | Home |
| M 40-49 | 3:13:38 | Green Daniel | 44 | AUS -Braddon |
| M 50-59 | 3:34:25 | Enzmann Michael | 50 | La Neuveville |
| M 60-69 | 3:57:01 | Süess Stefan | 60 | Schönenberg |
| M 70+ | 4:33:33 | Grütter Christian | 71 | Niederönz |
| F 40-49 | 4:00:185 | Iozzia Ivana | 45 | I-Lurate Caccivio |
| F 50-59 | 4:13:24 | Vollmeier-Casanova Paola | 51 | Cadro |
| F 60-69 | 4:32.:33 | Iseli Verena | 61 | Kilchberg ZH |
| F 70+ | 5:44:50 | Risch Karin | 72 | D-Darmstadt |
The first 10 km of the courseis flat. The race begins in central Interlaken and circles around the town centre before moving east to Bönigen, where runners briefly run along the shore of Lake Brienz.
The race proceeds southwards to Wilderswil at the 10km mark. From there the course heads upward through Zweilütschinen (at 15km) to Lauterbrunnen (at 20km). The course loops for 5km south of the town before returning to Lauterbrunnen and then heading eastward up the alpside. It is at this point that the race is steepest, zigzagging up the hillside and climbing 450m in the 5km to Wengen.
The course heads southeast and relentlessly upward over the Wengernalp, turning east and then northeast beneath the Eiger toward the finish. It reaches its highest point of 7,234 feet around the 40km point, and then heads steeply downhill for the last kilometre to the finish at Kleine Scheidegg at an altitude of 2061m.
Wilson Kipsang, former marathon world record holder and a My Best Runs scout, picked this marathon as one of his favs. After checking it out and getting some comments from runners who have completed it, I can see why this is known as one of the most beautiful marathon courses in the world. I know I have put it on my Bucket List.