Kaçkar by UTMB course maps and aid stations

The organizer calls it a 100K that feels like a 100 miler and tells anyone unsure to start with the 50K. It bills the course at 82 km and 5,600 m of climbing; the 2026 course data on the map gives 82.7 km and 5,489 m.

From Ayder you climb about 1,000 m through primary forest and river crossings to Hazindak, then on to Samistal and Yukarı Kavrun, the first crew point. Next is the rocky scramble to Mezovit Pass, the high point at about 3,200 m, and past two alpine lakes you come down to Yukarı Ceymakçur. After Palakçur comes a long traverse at 2,700 m to Avusor Lake and the Life Base at Avusor, where your drop bag and crew wait at 48.8 km. Dadala Pass, close to 2,900 m, leads down to Koçdüzü, and the last climb runs over the Huser ridge before a 1,100 m drop to the finish. You go longest without food from Koçdüzü to Huser, 15.2 km with only drinks at Aşağı Kaçkar, and from Hazindak to Yukarı Kavrun, 14.2 km with drinks at Samistal. The 13 km either side of Yukarı Ceymakçur have no stop at all. The cutoffs shown are 2026's.

The 50K follows the 100K to Hazindak, Samistal and Yukarı Kavrun, then skips Mezovit Pass and runs past high alpine lakes at nearly 2,900 m, close to its high point, on the way to Yukarı Ceymakçur. From there it climbs to the village of Palakçur and drops to Galer, the second crew point. On the way down to Ayder the cobbles give way to tarmac.

The 2026 course was 44.8 km with 3,007 m of climbing. That year the 50K went off in two waves, at 8:00 and 8:30, and the finish closed at 9 PM; the map's cutoffs are 2026's.

Most of the climbing comes at once. The 2026 course data has 1,079 m of its 1,280 m in the first 6.5 km, the forest climb from Ayder to Huser; the organizer bills the whole course at 20 km and 1,400 m. From the Huser ridge the course drops past waterfalls and narrow bridges to Peryatak, then down to Ayder. In 2026 it started in two waves, at 10:00 and 10:30, with the finish closing at 4:30 PM; the map's cutoffs are that year's.

The organizer calls it a good course for runners new to trail.

A short loop on forest single track and stone paths, through the green in the middle of Ayder, with no high mountain. The organizer gives it about 230 m of climbing, and the 2026 course data on the map 285 m. It needs no medical certificate, and the mandatory kit is a bib, a phone and an ID.