Racing in the KAT100 – trail running in the Pillersee Valley

Your heart's racing. Sweat drips from your forehead. Breathing is difficult. With every step across the scree, your calves burn. Higher and higher, further and further. Just a few metres to the summit. Don't give up now! You look briefly down into the valley and clench your teeth once more. One foot in front of the other, you run up the mountain, passing relaxed hikers, your trail running sticks firmly in your grip. There's the summit cross! A rush of emotions overwhelms you at the sight of the gigantic mountain panorama. You rest your hands on your knees for a moment and your pulse slows down. "This is where I ran up?" Proudly your view wanders over the landscape. Clouds move slowly through the valleys, over green hills and sunlit peaks. Up here, you are very close to nature. Soon, you head downhill – fast. You take a sip from your water bladder and get going. The challenge has just begun – welcome to the KAT100, the longest Ultratrail in Austria!

The town of Fieberbrunn in the heart of the Kitzbühel Alps hosts the ultimate trail run, KAT100. The race combines running and nature to show you the most beautiful and challenging peaks and grassy mountains in the Pillersee Valley. You can test your limits on six routes of varying distance – from the smooth 5-mile (8-km) Easy Trail to the 54-mile (87-km) Enduro Trail to the monster KAT100 Miles (160-km) route which has almost 33,000 feet (10,000 m) of ascent. The Speed Trail, Marathon Trail or Ekiden Relay Trail are great intermediate distance routes. No matter which route you choose, beautiful nature is guaranteed.

To prepare you for this unique challenge, we have prepared five varied trails in the grassy mountains of the Kitzbühel Alps. Each trail is different so you can choose whether to take it easy on the original KAT100 Easy Trail competition course or to push your limits as an experienced trail runner on the Speed Trail. We’ve also included three demanding training loops: the Alpine roller coaster which takes you over numerous peaks, the downhill paradise route and the Panorama Challenge which includes the world’s largest accessible summit cross.

The Pillersee Valley region serves as an ideal basecamp. You can choose from a wide range of accommodation such as affordable guesthouses, rustic farms, or luxury hotels. If you aren’t quite ready for trail running in the mountains just yet, you can discover some wonderful hikes in the region too (komoot.de/collection/1660).

So are you ready to take on a new challenge? For a taste of what to expect, check out this video: