Events/Black Forest ULTRA Bike Marathon

Black Forest ULTRA Bike Marathon

MTB

Date

Sat, 24 Jul 2027

Venue

Kirchzarten, southern Black Forest, Germany (loop start/finish)

Countdown

July

Distance

118km

Total climb

3,509m

One of Germany's biggest MTB marathons, and a HERO UCI Marathon World Cup round. On mostly non-technical forest road, nothing hides a lack of fitness. The climbing is the whole test: around 30m of ascent per kilometre.

Create a free training plan for the Black Forest ULTRA Bike Marathon

7-day free trial, no card required

Create my plan

The course

The route

The ULTRA covers 118km with around 3,509m of off-road climbing, high point near 1,239m, from a Kirchzarten start to a stadium finish. Shorter Marathon (71km), Speed (54km) and Short Track (46km) routes run too.

Weather

Late-July, Kirchzarten

23°CTypical high

13°CTypical low

5°CColdest in 20 years

57%Days with rain

Highs around 23°C and lows around 13°C, but it has dropped to 5°C. Rain on 57% of days.

NASA POWER data, 2006-2025, the week either side of race day

2024 results

Who finishes, and how

#RiderTimeAvg speed

01Irina Luetzelschwab5:31:12,726.2 km/h

02Vera Looser5:34:21,126.2 km/h

03Stefanie Dr. walter5:36:13,026.2 km/h

Women finishers

4:30:08

Median time

26.2 km/h

Median speed

Women · 2024 results, as published by the organiser.

How fast could you finish?

Get a prediction based on your recent training

Get my prediction

Training

Training for the Black Forest ULTRA Bike Marathon

We don't do generic plans. We combine deep knowledge of this race's demands with your recent training, then build a plan with you that progresses as you do.

Beina integrates directly with your existing tools to understand your current fitness, and synchronise your planned sessions.

Intervals.icu

What the ULTRA throws at you

Typical sessions

Five to eight hours of sustained off-road climbing, where power costs more than it would on tarmac

A relentless climb-then-descend rhythm, and the descents never fully recover the legs

Late-July heat, often 28 to 32°C, on exposed forest-road sections

A fast World Cup front end, so it is easy to over-cook the first climb in the crowd

What your weeks look like

Typical sessions

Sweet Spot Off-Road: 3 to 4 x 12 to 20min at 88 to 94% FTP on a gravel or forest climb, your core ULTRA-pace builder

Long Climb Rep: one 30 to 45min sustained off-road effort at around 90% FTP, a Schauinsland simulation

Long MTB days of 5 to 6 hours off-road with 2,000 to 3,000m of climbing, building durability under fatigue

Heat sessions in the final weeks: warm indoor Z2 rides and post-ride sauna to expand plasma volume

Not a generic schedule

Typical sessions

Built from your current fitness and the time you actually have

Adapts every week as Beina learns how you respond

Syncs your sessions straight to Garmin and Wahoo

One clear next session, never a wall of spreadsheet

Entries open now

Get your Black Forest ULTRA Bike Marathon plan.

7-day free trial, no card required.

Start my plan