Swiss Canyon Trail 166K: The 100 Miles is back in 2027

166 kilometers in the heart of the Swiss Jura, over 8,000 meters of positive elevation gain, and hours spent on the trails of Val-de-Travers. In 2027, the 166K/100 Miles of the Swiss Canyon Trail returns.

After a first edition in 2025, the longest format of the Swiss Canyon Trail is back from June 4 to 6, 2027.

A challenge that inevitably changes the dimension of the race. Because between a 51K, an 81K, a 111K, and a 100 Miles, it's no longer just about adding kilometers. You have to learn to endure, manage your effort, and keep going even when fatigue sets in.

So why attempt a 166K in the Jura? And what makes the 100 Miles format so special?

A 100 Miles in the heart of the Swiss Jura

The Swiss Canyon Trail has been intimately linked to Val-de-Travers and its landscapes for over 30 years.

Deep forests, Jura pastures, ridges, gorges, technical trails, and long climbs: the Swiss Jura terrain offers a very different experience from other major Alpine ultra-trails in Europe.

On the 166K, this immersion takes on another dimension.

You see the landscape evolve over the hours. The light disappears, night falls, then day returns.

That's also what a 100-mile ultra-trail is: spending enough time outdoors to truly experience the territory.

166 kilometers: a challenge as mental as it is physical

The 100 Miles format, approximately 160 kilometers, holds a special place in the ultra-trail world.

For reference, the 2025 edition offered 166.4 km and 8,147 meters of positive elevation gain. In 2027, the route will evolve to meet the requirements related to nature and natural reserve protection, while retaining the identity and challenge of the Swiss Canyon Trail 100 Miles.

At this distance, speed alone is no longer enough.

You need to know how to manage your nutrition, hydration, equipment, temperature changes, and energy fluctuations. You also have to accept that everything probably won't go exactly as planned.

There will be times when everything works, and others when a few kilometers suddenly seem much longer.

This is often where the race is decided: staying lucid, finding solutions, and continuing to move forward.

From 81K or 111K to 166K: the next step?

For some runners, the Swiss Canyon Trail 166K is a natural progression built over several years.

There is obviously no mandatory progression. Each runner progresses at their own pace.

But having already spent long hours in a race helps to better understand ultra-management: pace, nutrition, energy variations, and the importance of not getting carried away in the first kilometers.

For those who already know the 81K or 111K of the Swiss Canyon Trail, the 166K opens a new door.

The same Jura territory, the same spirit, but a completely different experience.

A race that is prepared several months in advance

Preparation is built progressively: long runs, elevation gain, equipment and nutrition tests, sometimes night training, and especially a lot of regularity.

You have to learn what works for you.

What to eat after ten hours of running? What clothes to choose when the temperature drops? How do the legs react after several thousand meters of D+? How to manage a more difficult section without wasting too much energy?

Each training session provides part of the answer.

This is also what makes preparing for a 100 Miles in Switzerland motivating: for several months, the race becomes a real project.

Why attempt the Swiss Canyon Trail 166K?

Because a 100 Miles remains a unique experience.

Not necessarily because you always have to run further, but because certain distances force you to run differently.

More patiently. More intelligently. With more management.

The 166K of the Swiss Canyon Trail is a demanding ultra-trail in the heart of the Jura, but everyone comes to seek something different.

For some, it will be performance. For others, finishing. And for many, discovering how far they are capable of going.

Swiss Canyon Trail 2027: see you in June

The Swiss Canyon Trail 2027 will take place from June 4 to 6, 2027 in Val-de-Travers, Switzerland. Registration for the 166K – 100 Miles, as well as the 111K and 81K, will open on September 15, 2026. This distance will be limited to 400 spots.

Registration for the 51K, 31K, and 16K formats will open on October 1, 2026.

If the 100 Miles has been on your mind for some time, 2027 might just be the year you decide to embark on the adventure.

166K. Over 8,000 meters of elevation gain. A night on the trails. And the Jura as your playground.