The trail running world heads to the Salzkammergut this Saturday, May 23, 2026, for one of the most picturesque ultras on the UTMB World Series calendar: the mozart 100 by UTMB. From the shores of Lake Fuschl to the dramatic ridgelines of the Schafberg and Zwölferhorn, the weekend brings together five distances, a stacked international elite field and forecasted bluebird weather above the Austrian lakes.
Weekend Program
The new heart of the festival is Fuschl am See, with starts spread along the surrounding villages of the Salzkammergut. Race Office, expo and athlete briefing run on Friday May 22 in the Fuschlseebad area, with the elite presentation scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
- 5:00 a.m. – mozart 100 (119 km / 5,700 m D+) – start in Fuschl am See
- 8:00 a.m. – mozart Ultra (72 km / 3,300 m D+) – start in St. Gilgen
- 10:30 a.m. – mozart Marathon (44 km / 1,600 m D+) – start in Faistenau
- 11:30 a.m. – mozart Half Marathon (28 km / 1,100 m D+) – start in Koppl
- 12:00 p.m. – mozart Lake Trail (12 km) – start in Fuschl am See
- 7:30 p.m. – Awards Ceremony in Fuschl am See
Weather: Bluebird in the Salzkammergut
Conditions for race day look close to perfect. Forecasters across the Salzburg region call for mostly sunny skies, scattered cumulus clouds building over the peaks during the afternoon, and only a marginal risk of brief showers. Morning lows in the valleys are expected between 5 and 12 °C, with afternoon highs reaching 22 to 26 °C. Rain risk sits at 0% for both Saturday and the Whit Sunday recovery day.
Front-runners on the long distances will still face cold dawn temperatures at the start in Fuschl am See and significantly cooler air on the exposed summits above 1,500 m, where the wind can change everything. On a course that climbs from 400 m to 1,783 m, layering and sun protection will be just as important as hydration once the afternoon sun hits the ridges.
The Principal Difficulties
The mozart 100 covers 119 km with 5,700 m of positive elevation, threading the lakes of the Salzkammergut and stacking two of Austria's most spectacular alpine climbs back to back.
- Schafberg – the signature ascent of the race. Steep, rocky and relentless, it tops out at 1,783 m above Lake Wolfgangsee and traditionally decides the front of the race.
- Zwölferhorn – a long, exposed ridgeline above St. Gilgen that punishes any runner who blew up on the Schafberg.
- Nockstein – the late-race technical section near Salzburg, often run in fading light by mid-pack runners and known for its abrupt, leg-shredding descents.
Between these landmark climbs, the route alternates rolling forest trails along Fuschlsee and Wolfgangsee with technical alpine singletrack. Surefootedness, not raw speed, is what gets runners to the finish.
Our Favorites
mozart 100 – 119 km
The men's race is wide open. Norway's Tobias Dahl Fenre (Hoka, UTMB Index 858) returns to Salzburg with unfinished business after a DNF on his first attempt — he comes in as the highest-indexed runner on the start list. Italy's Alessandro Affolati (853) and Austria's home favorite Alexander Hutter (Brooks Trail Team, 842) will press from the gun, with Sweden's William Englund (826) and France's Jérémie Marin (Ravanel & Co, 817) and Sébastien Leday (810) rounding out a deep top six.
In the women's race, Czech runner Jana Dobrovolná (Index 748) heads the start list and looks like the runner to beat. Britain's Sara Eydmann (707), Japan's Kimino Miyazaki (Hoka, 698), Poland's Claudia Chmielowska (695) and Bulgaria's Mariya Nikolova (La Sportiva, 688) will all be in the mix on a course where pacing the Schafberg correctly is half the battle.
mozart Ultra – 72 km
Spain's Andreu Simon Aymerich (Asics Trail Team) returns as the defending champion and overwhelming favorite. With a UTMB Index of 892 — the highest of the weekend — and a 2025 win on this very course (08:33:20), the Catalan athlete, who races with Type 1 diabetes, sets the standard. Slovakia's Martin Halász (Mount to Coast, 863) and Italy's Stefan Ungericht (Dynafit, 841) and Robert Oberhollenzer (821) will be best placed to challenge if Simon Aymerich falters.
The women's Ultra is led by Norway's Mari Wetterhus (Team Schmund, 704) and Germany's Juli Brüning (Craft Elite Run Team, 692), with Severine Petersen (Mammut, 674) the next-best on paper.
mozart Marathon – 44 km
Italy's Tobias Geiser (Dynafit) sits alone at the top of the men's start list with a remarkable UTMB Index of 897 — he is the highest-rated runner of the entire weekend. The women's race promises a closer fight, headed by Spain's Anna Tarasova (Norda Trail Team, 805), Slovakia's Silvia Schwaiger (Salomon, 739), Poland's Urszula Paprocka (Beskidy Trail, 723) and Austria's Isabell Speer (721).
How to Follow the Race
The race will be streamed and tracked live via the official UTMB Live platform. Expect leaderboard updates from each major aid station, with the front of the mozart 100 likely to come through the Schafberg checkpoint between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. on Saturday — a moment that almost always reshuffles the podium.