1300 meters of altitude

This is probably the toughest mountain run in Austria!

Last year, great athletes from Kenya triumphed at the Grossglockner Mountain Run.(Bild: Bernhard Graessl)

The Großglockner Mountain Run is the ultimate challenge for mountain runners. That's right, mountain runners, not trail runners, because the race takes you from Heiligenblut up to the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe directly below the mighty Großglockner.

Athletes have to conquer 1300 meters of altitude over a distance of 13.3 kilometers in the Großglockner Mountain Run, which is the only mountain run in Austria to be represented in the Valsir Mountain Run World Cup this year.

"A top-class field of participants is guaranteed," says organizer Michael Kummerer: "The world elite from Argentina to New Zealand will meet in the Hohe Tauern and ensure an international starting field that has never been seen before in Austria."

The last vertical meters to the finish(Bild: zVg)

Towards the end, the route is not only technical, but also really steep.(Bild: zVg)

There is little time to enjoy the scenery on the Grossglockner Mountain Run.(Bild: zVg)

The Großglockner Mountain Run takes place from 4 to 7 July and also offers an attractive program for children and amateur runners. There is a Junior Mountain Run, a Bambini Run and the King of Heiligenblut, a competition for real running pros. On Sunday, July 7, the Grossglockner Mountain Run will start and 1500 runners will attempt to conquer the beautiful mountain running course through the Hohe Tauern National Park.

Last year, the Kenyan Patrick Kipngeno only needed one hour and nine seconds and 39 hundredths to cover the 1300 meters in altitude and 13.3 kilometers.