Trail Run Einsiedeln

The Trail Run Einsiedeln is a self-supported trail race in the Schwyzer Alps, in the canton of Schwyz in central Switzerland. Like the other events from the trail running club, Trail-Maniacs, it runs on a self-sufficiency model — no aid stations, with runners carrying their own food and water. It is the founding event of the series, and was first held in 2020.

There are four distances. The Ultra is 56km with 3,300m of elevation gain, with runners choosing their own start time between 1:00 and 8:00 a.m in order to allow as many runners as possible to finish before the 4:00 p.m. cutoff. The Ultra is the only distance that does not allow race-day registration.

The Einsiedler covers 30km with 1,700m of gain, and is named for the town. Einsiedeln means “place of the hermits” in German, a reference to the 9th-century monk Meinrad who settled in these forests.

The Flowige, meaning, roughly “the flowing one,” runs 17km with 880m of gain through terrain that the Trail-Maniacs describe as well-suited to smooth, rhythmic running.

The Knackige is the shortest course at 8km with 350m of gain, making it an accessible introduction to the trails around Einsiedeln. 

A kids’ course of approximately 700 meters is also available.

All distances start and finish in Einsiedeln, Switzerland, which sits about 30km southeast of Zurich. The town is served by direct rail from Zurich’s main station, with Zurich Airport roughly 45 minutes away by public transit.

Einsiedeln is dominated by the Benedictine Einsiedeln Abbey, a Baroque monastery founded in the 10th century and one of the major pilgrimage sites in Europe. The abbey’s Black Madonna has drawn pilgrims for centuries, and an estimated 800,000 visitors still come each year.