The longest relay in the Alps
Crossing Switzerland Ekiden 駅伝
400K with 25'000 m+
THE MAGIC OF THE EKIDEN - the ultimate team relay
3, 4 or 5, that's the number of team-members you'll need to find to cross Switzerland from East to West in an exceptional relay through some of the most legendary places in the Alps: Eiger's North face, Oeschinensee, Engelberg, Adelboden, not forgetting a magnificent joint finish on the shores of Lake Geneva in Montreux.
In addition to the 7 individual relay sections ranging from 68 to 23 km, 3 sections in patrol format with the whole team will make it possible to reach the 400 km on the menu of this unique race.
The term "ekiden" comes from two Japanese characters, "eki" (駅), meaning station, and "den" (伝), meaning means of transport. It essentially symbolises the transmission of information or movement from one station to another. The concept is inspired by historic modes of transport, with the first ekiden road relay taking place in Japan in 1917. Don't worry, you won't be asked to pass on any information ...
The original ekiden consisted of a 42.195 km marathon, split between six team members, each covering varying distances from 5 to 10 km. In short, we're taking the liberty of adapting this Japanese tradition slightly, while retaining the spirit of solidarity symbolised by the 'tasuki', the scarf, which is passed from one runner to the next, covering the entire distance thanks to the combined efforts of all the team members.
Details of each section of the route are available below.
Practical Information
Start
Finish
Sunday 19 July 2026 - Bad Ragaz - 08:00
Montreux, Switzerland until Sunday July 26, 2026, 16:00
Race bib
Distribution
Saturday 18 July, Sunday 19 July 2026 in Bad Ragaz only
Exact time and place will be communicated soon
Base camps &
Refreshment posts
Base camps*
Rüti GL
Altdorf
Meiringen
Adelboden
Les Diablerets
Refreshment posts*
Pizolhütte, Alp Ramin, Elm Obererbs, Klausenpass, Blackenalp, Engelberg, Grindelwald, Gspaltenhornhütte (self-service), Kandersteg, Iffigenalp (self-service), Saanenland, Le Sépey, Luan, Col de Chaude
Maximum time
Time limits
176 hours
Mandatory equipement
Water reserve (1 litre minimum), waterproof jacket with a hood (10’000 mm/h), headlamp with spare batteries, spare headlamp, personal beaker, survival blanket, whistle, food reserve, long running trousers (leggings or a combination of leggings and long socks allowed), warm long-sleeved shirt (arm sleeves allowed), mobile phone working in Switzerland turned on.
The organization reserves the right to add equipment depending on weather conditions
If you choose to be accompagnied by a person/team please note that all mandatory items need to be with you at all times during your race. Additional items like spare shoes, clothes, towels, etc. can be given to you only at the designated locations. In case you run completely solo, the organisation will transport your additional items to the next base-camp.
Recommended
equipement
Spare T-shirt, gloves and shoes, cap or bandana, sunglasses, sun cream
10 Stages (click on pictures to see more details about each section)
Distance : 68,5 km Type : SOLO M+ : 5'158m. M- : 5'050m. Posts : 3
Distance : 41,2 km Type : SOLO M+ : 1'934m. M- : 2'090m. Posts : 1
Distance : 29,8 km Type : PATROL M+ : 1'932m. M- : 1'388m. Posts :1
Distance : 36,3 km Type : SOLO M+ : 1'868m. M- : 2'275m. Posts :1
Distance : 23,3 km Type : SOLO M+ : 1'609m. M- : 1'103m. Posts :0
Distance : 20,2 km Type : PATROL M+ : 1'175m. M- : 1'486m. Posts :0
Distance : 55,6 km Type : SOLO M+ : 4'362m. M- : 3'822m. Posts :2
Distance : 60,1 km Type : SOLO M+ : 3'579m. M- : 3'587m. Posts :2
Distance : 14,5 km Type : PATROL M+ : 736m. M- : 1'094m. Posts :0
Distance : 36,3 km Type : SOLO M+ : 2'638m. M- : 3'235m. Posts : 2 From Haut-de-Caux, the entire team is allowed to accompany the solo runner all the way to Montreux. In any case, the final kilometer must be completed jointly by the whole team.
Accommodation
During Crossing Switzeland only the participants are allowed to sleep at the indicated locations (base camps).
Our local partners provide information about hotels, restaurants. Please check the Roadbook to find information per city, region.
Car park &
Transportation
We organise 2 shuttle busses leaving from Montreux to the start location on :
-
Friday 17 July
-
Saturday 18 July
More information will be provided in the roadbook*
In Montreux a parking zone nearby (free of charge) is available for the runners that want to park their car the whole week of the event (from Friday 17 July onwards). More information in the roadbook.
In case you want to make use of the parking in Montreux, please make sure that you put our parking indication visible behind your windshield. You can download it a few weeks before the race start here.
Difficulty
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ : Have you ever done several trail runs in 5 days or 7 ?
FEES
Ekiden team:
18.07.2025 - 30.06.2026
01.07.2026 - 12.07.2026
1'200 CHF
1'500 CHF
Roadbook
The roadbook will be available in Spring 2026
Rules
Crossing Switzerland
Download the Rules here.
From Haut-de-Caux, the entire team is allowed to accompany the solo runner all the way to Montreux. In any case, the final kilometer must be completed jointly by the whole team.
GPX & MAP
Click here to go to the designated page with the map & gpx files
