Entries have officially opened for the 30th-anniversary edition of the Laugavegur Ultra Marathon, Iceland’s oldest trail race. Applications will remain open until midnight GMT on November 17, 2026.
Scheduled for Saturday, July 17, 2027, the event invites runners to traverse Iceland’s dramatic southern highlands across a challenging 55km course from the geothermal hot springs of Landmannalaugar to the lush glacial valley of Þórsmörk.
First established in 1997, the route condenses a traditional three-to-four-day hiking trail into a single day of racing. Participants navigate diverse and demanding terrain – including rhyolite hills streaked in ochre and green, steam vents, black obsidian fields, cold river crossings, and volcanic sand beneath the Mýrdalsjökull ice cap – before finishing in the birch woods of Þórsmörk.
Registration and qualification details:
- Entry Window: November 11 at 12:00 GMT to November 17, 2026, at midnight GMT.
- Selection Process: Entrants are required to hold an International Trail Running Association (ITRA) performance index of at least 370. The highest-ranking runners secure guaranteed places split evenly across genders, with all other valid entries entered into a lottery. Selected participants will be notified on November 25, 2026.
- Entry Requirements: Open to runners aged 18 and over. Competitors lacking an official ITRA index can submit equivalent results from the past 36 months proving their ability to finish a 55km distance within the 9-hour-and-15-minute course limit.
- Cut-Off Times: On race day, runners must pass Álftavatn (22km) within 4 hours and Emstrur (38km) within 6 hours and 30 minutes, aiming for a maximum finish time of 9 hours and 15 minutes.
Organised by the Reykjavík Sports Association (ÍBR) – which also produces the Reykjavík Marathon – the event has experienced steady growth, welcoming 584 starters in recent peak editions. The current men’s course record of 3:59:13 was set by Þorbergur Ingi Jónsson in 2015.
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