GutsMuths-Rennsteiglauf Training Plan & Preparation

Course & Elevation

The Supermarathon is the centrepiece of the GutsMuths-Rennsteiglauf, Europe's largest cross-country race, which draws around 15,000 runners to the Thuringian Forest each year. From Eisenach, below Wartburg castle, the course follows the historic Rennsteig ridge trail for 73.9 kilometres to the finish in Schmiedefeld, point to point on forest tracks and paths, with 1,865 metres of climbing and 1,377 metres of descent. The net result is almost 500 metres uphill, and only 15 percent of the route is genuinely flat.

The climbing starts early. From kilometre 3 a first long ascent stretches over two kilometres with ramps of up to 16 percent. Between kilometres 22 and 25 comes the steepest passage, two climbs in quick succession, the second averaging nearly 12 percent. At kilometre 42, where an ordinary marathon would end, another two-kilometre climb begins, and from kilometre 59 the trail rises once more for almost three kilometres before rolling out toward Schmiedefeld.

The race carries its traditions with it: oat porridge at the aid stations, black beer at the finish and a dumpling party the night before. What began as an adventure by four students from Jena has grown into a folk race that more than 850 runners have completed over 25 times.

Pacing Strategy

This point-to-point knows no decisive climb — no mountain stands out, and the steepest section gains just 141 metres. That's precisely what makes it hard: almost 40 percent of the course runs uphill, but so evenly that it feels runnable for a long time. The trap is to treat the rolling terrain like a flat course and go out too fast. Hold a deliberately low, sustainable baseline effort over the first 40 kilometres and run the many false flats economically.

The route grinds net uphill to the high point around kilometre 64 — there, in the final quarter, rationing your energy pays off. Eat and drink regularly from the start, because this distance is decided over its duration, not at a single key section.

12-Week Preparation

For most age-group runners the Supermarathon takes between seven and eleven hours, a genuine ultra distance where aerobic endurance carries everything. The effort is a long, steady run repeatedly interrupted by climbs on which brisk hiking is often more economical than running. Almost 40 percent of the course points uphill, nearly 9 percent of it steeply.

Three phases decide the race: the double climb between kilometres 22 and 25, the long ascent at kilometre 42 right at the marathon mark, and the final 15 kilometres, where every minute run too fast in the first hours is paid back with interest. Runners who leave Eisenach with discipline and eat consistently at the aid stations pass hundreds of people late in the day.

Build your preparation on three pillars. First, long runs growing progressively toward four to five hours, ideally as weekend back-to-backs with a second, shorter run on tired legs. Second, elevation: train on forest tracks with changing gradients and deliberately practise power-hiking steep ramps, because the ability to hike strongly and transition straight back into running is worth gold on the Rennsteig. Third, fuelling: rehearse eating and drinking under load for many hours, using exactly what you plan to take on race day. Add downhill running under fatigue, since 1,377 metres of descent need absorbing too. Speed work plays a minor role in this preparation; patience plays the lead.