As the name suggests, the race is 250km long and (depending on the route) covers approximately 18,000 metres of elevation gain.
Some years the route has changed depending on the weather and this year was no different. Major storms hit the region just a few days before the race and some trails were affected by falling rocks, so the route had to be adjusted.
The race started at 8am with about 150 runners and only a few of their friends and support crews watching.
There were two consecutive climbs that took the participants above 2,600 meters. Sometimes it was steep, but you could enjoy the beautiful landscape with snow-capped mountains.
Once they got higher up, Stevens was having trouble breathing, recovering from a cold. They just had to take it easy or risk not finishing.
The first night section took the duo high over the snow-covered Lochen Pass. The snow was only interrupted by large boulders, which made their progress slow.
The route from Jeizinen to Belalp had to be changed due to falling rocks and the pair walked along the mountains at around 1,000m altitude. It was so hot and steep that the pair were exhausted, but the locals in Finnen were on hand to put the runners out of their misery with their cowbells, accordion music, plenty of cold drinks and raclette cheese.
The route from Belalp to Bellwald started at around 2,000 m altitude and the duo had to descend to the valley and then climb all the way back up to visit the viewpoint over the Aletsch Glacier, followed by another descent to Bellwald. They kept climbing and eventually reached the viewpoint over the glacier – a truly magical moment, tinged with sadness, as the signs of melting ice are clearly visible even on this largest glacier in the Alps.
The Grimsel Pass to the finish was the last part and from there it was a marathon, starting with a long descent to the next base camp.
The reality was a very hard and technical descent over very slippery rocks and it was quite difficult to find the route in the dark. The friends were tired by now, but wanted to do it anyway, and halfway down the descent the path got better and they could run again. And in no time they arrived at the last life base of Geissholz – a helicopter station.
It was daylight again and they descended at top speed, encouraged by cheers and hundreds of high fives from spectators and runners – a truly amazing moment.
The pair completed the trek around the beautiful mountains in an astonishing time of 74 hours and 10 minutes.