MOZART 100 HISTORY: 13 YEARS ON THE TRAILS AROUND SALZBURG
Mozart 100 started in 2013 in the Salzburg region of Austria, founded by Josef Mayerhofer, a former professional who left his career in 2012 to start an international ultra in his home country. The race covered 100 kilometers across the lake-and-mountain terrain north and east of Salzburg, finishing in the old town's Kapitelplatz. Thirteen editions later, the event sits within the UTMB World Series and runs across multiple distances from 10 kilometers to the flagship 100k.
The 2013 Founding
Mayerhofer's stated motivation was to bring an ultra-trail event of international caliber to Austria. He had finished several of the sport's classics as a participant before turning organizer, and the project drew on his understanding of what made races at Mont-Blanc, Western States, and the Alps function. His friend Micky shared the founding work, with both bringing experience as runners to the operations side.
The Salzburg region offered the geography for a substantial mountain ultra. The course used the Zwölferhorn and Schafberg peaks, with extended sections alongside the Fuschlsee and Wolfgangsee lakes. The finish through Mozart's old town, past Mozartplatz and Residenzplatz to Kapitelplatz, gave the event a distinctive urban conclusion uncommon among mountain ultras.
The Early Years (2013-2016)
The race's first editions established the course profile and built field size from a regional event toward an international one. Daniel Oralek of the Czech Republic won the 2015 men's race in 8:45:51, the fastest men's time the race has produced. Marija Vrajic of Croatia won the 2015 women's race in 9:50:04, the fastest women's time on record.
Gabor Muhari of Hungary won the 2016 men's race in 9:14:34. Francesca Canepa of Italy took the 2016 women's title in 10:58:14. The early years drew Central European runners primarily, with the field expanding outward to include Western European and American athletes by the late 2010s.
Pau Capell and the International Field
The 2019 edition produced one of the most internationally recognized winners in race history. Pau Capell of Spain won the men's race in 10:54:47. Capell, then a leading figure in European trail running who would go on to win UTMB later that summer, used Mozart 100 as part of a peak-fitness build. Sally McRae of the United States won the women's race in 14:38:59. McRae was a veteran of Western States and other major US ultras, and her appearance signaled that Mozart 100 had crossed into the awareness of the American trail community.
Florian Grasel and Martina Trimmel, both of Austria, won the 2018 men's and women's titles in 10:26:36 and 11:57:50 respectively. Their wins kept the home-country presence at the top of the podium even as the field internationalized.
The Pandemic Gap and UTMB Era
The race did not run in 2020 or 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions. It returned in 2022 with Janosch Kowalczyk of Germany winning the men's race in 9:36:09. Azara Garcia of Spain won the women's race in 12:00:28.
Mozart 100 joined the UTMB World Series in the years following the pandemic. The series affiliation provided runners a path to qualify for UTMB Mont-Blanc through the Austrian course, expanding the international entry pool. The race adopted the official name mozart 100 by UTMB.
Recent Editions (2023-2024)
Luke Grenfell-Shaw of the United Kingdom won the 2023 men's race in 10:24:50, with Eve Moore of the United Kingdom winning the women's race in 12:54:29. Both times sit as the current course records in the race's official records, though earlier editions produced faster times on what may have been a slightly different course profile.
Jack Chamberlain of the United Kingdom won the 2024 men's race in 11:19:37. Fiona Pascall of the United Kingdom took the women's title in 12:06:04. The 2023 and 2024 podiums showed strong British contingents, reflecting both the UTMB qualification incentive and the Salzburg region's accessibility for UK runners.
The Course
The Mozart 100 course covers approximately 100 kilometers with 5,400 meters of cumulative elevation gain. It begins outside Salzburg and climbs through the Zwölferhorn and Schafberg ranges, with extended traverses along Fuschlsee and Wolfgangsee. The course passes through villages and across mountain ridgelines that mix forest, alpine meadow, and rocky high points.
The Schafberg climb, reaching 1,782 meters, ranks as the course's most significant single ascent. Runners reach the summit roughly two-thirds of the way through the race, when fatigue is well established. The descent into the lakes basin and the final approach to Salzburg offer fast running before the cobbled finish through the old town.
The race weekend includes shorter distances at 10k, 25k, and 50k along with the 78-kilometer Mozart Ultra and the flagship 100k. The multi-distance format draws several thousand participants across all events combined.
Place in the Sport
Mozart 100 occupies a specific niche on the European trail calendar. It is not the longest race on the continent, nor the most technical. What distinguishes it is the combination of accessible Salzburg geography, the urban finish that few other ultras can offer, and the founding by a working ultra runner rather than a corporate organization.
The race's 13-year run has produced winners from a dozen countries and field sizes that have grown alongside the global ultra-trail movement. The 2026 edition will be the 14th running of an event that has weathered the pandemic disruption and the broader shifts in the sport's commercial structure to remain a fixture in late May on the European calendar.