Black Forest ULTRA Trail Run: Course, Elevation & Route Profile

Course & Elevation

The race gets down to business straight out of Kirchzarten. The first seven and a half kilometres climb without a break to the Hinterwaldkopf, first around 3.5 kilometres at just under nine percent, then from the Höfener Hütte at kilometre six another 3.5 kilometres averaging almost 14 percent. After that the gradient eases: by way of the Raimartihof and the Seesträßle the route works up to the Feldberg, the highest summit in the Black Forest, in two calmer steps.

A long, flowing section drops down to Todtnau, where the scenic centrepiece of the course sits: the Todtnau waterfalls and the BlackForestLine, a 450 metre suspension bridge and one of the longest in Germany, crossed mid race on the way to the Stübenwasen. Anyone uneasy with heights can take an official bypass. From kilometre 33 the price is two climbs back to back, 2.25 kilometres at close to 13 percent followed by 5.5 kilometres at around ten percent onto the Stübenwasen.

After the technical descent to St. Wilhelm and the crossing to Oberried, the Schauinsland waits from kilometre 58: 5.6 kilometres averaging 13 percent with ramps beyond 27 percent, the only top category climb on the loop. From the summit station a playful descent carries you all the way back to Kirchzarten. Barely six percent of the course is flat and more than half of it sits on steep gradients, up or down. In mid September that means a start in darkness, mist through the early hours and air on the ridges noticeably colder than down in the valley.

Pacing Strategy

The profile asks you to give away the first seven and a half kilometres on purpose. The Hinterwaldkopf climb comes cold out of the start and its second half, at almost 14 percent, is steep enough that hiking with poles is the faster and cheaper option for most runners. Running it because your legs feel fresh is paid for six hours later.

The middle section down to Todtnau is the only stretch where time can be gained without an expensive bill: flowing, barely technical kilometres where an even rhythm beats any surge. It is also where the main trap sits, because the long descent into Todtnau invites you to let go and it costs the quadriceps you still need on the steep drop to St. Wilhelm.

The race is decided on the Schauinsland from kilometre 58. Arrive there with intact legs and you climb 5.6 kilometres at a steady effort; arrive over-spent and you lose an hour. Treat the Oberried aid station at kilometre 57 as the last proper stop before it, and start the climb deliberately below threshold.

Training plan for Black Forest ULTRA Trail Run: 12-week build

For a typical age-group runner the BFUTR 79 means somewhere between ten and fifteen hours on the move, and the 16 hour limit is tight enough that the intermediate cut-offs matter. The demand is not a steady aerobic one but a constant alternation: 26 percent of the course is steep climbing, 28 percent is steep descending and only six percent is flat. There is almost nowhere you can simply hold a pace.

The two ends decide the race. The opening climb to the Hinterwaldkopf sets the state you enter the long middle section in, and the Schauinsland from kilometre 58 sets the result. Both are climbs that most of the field will largely hike. Train fast uphill hiking as a skill in its own right, with poles, which have been explicitly permitted since 2026, and over blocks of 45 to 70 minutes at a time.

Downhill durability matters just as much. More than 3,600 metres of descending on partly technical, rooty trails wrecks quadriceps that are not used to it long before the finish. Long runs containing several real descents, and specifically descents run on tired legs immediately after a long climb, prepare you far better than volume alone.

Then there are the conditions. A 5:30 start in mid September is a start in the dark, the Feldberg and Schauinsland are distinctly colder and damper than the Dreisamtal even at midday, and morning mist is part of the season here. Practise running with a head torch on technical ground, test the mandatory kit in the rain rather than on race day, and build a fuelling plan that still works after ten hours instead of only after three.