The only UTMB World Series event held in Türkiye returns to the Kaçkar Mountains this week. Kaçkar by UTMB 2026 runs from 11 to 13 September in Ayder, a small resort village in Rize Province on the Black Sea side of the Pontine Alps. With 100-kilometre, 50-kilometre, and 20-kilometre distances, the event draws both elite mountain runners and recreational participants into one of Turkey’s most remote and dramatic highland landscapes.
The Race Format
Three distances share the same network of high-altitude trails:
Kaçkar 100K — the flagship race, starting on the evening of 11 September and running through the night. The course crosses several passes above 3,000 metres, including the Kaçkar Summit area, before descending back to Ayder. Runners must complete it within 36 hours.
Kaçkar 50K — a single-day event on 12 September covering the mid-section of the high-mountain trail network. The course still crosses glacier-fed plateaus at 2,400–2,800 metres.
Kaçkar 20K — an accessible race on 13 September following trails through the Ayder Valley and lower alpine meadows, suitable for trail runners without high-mountain experience.
Entry for all distances was open through the UTMB World Series registration system. The 2026 edition is sold out for the 100K distance; the 20K still had limited spots as of 1 September.
The Kaçkar Mountains as a Travel Destination
The race aside, Ayder and the surrounding valleys are among the most undervisited highland landscapes in the country. The Kaçkar range receives significantly more rainfall than the Mediterranean side of Anatolia, which creates an Alpine-style environment of green pastures, glacial lakes, and rhododendron forests that looks nothing like the Turkey most visitors picture. The base village of Ayder sits at 1,300 metres and has thermal baths, small pensions, and teahouses. Most visitors approach via Rize on the Black Sea coast.
Race week brings the region its biggest crowd of the year, and accommodation within Ayder and nearby Çamlıhemşin books out. The nearest larger city is Trabzon, which is about 90 minutes by road and has direct flights from Istanbul. Rize itself is 45 minutes from Trabzon along the coast road.
For Spectators and Non-Runners
The race is genuinely spectator-friendly at its start and finish in Ayder. The 100K start on Friday evening draws a crowd, and the finish gantry through Saturday night into Sunday morning is consistently busy as runners come in. The mountain terrain between checkpoints is accessible to hikers who want to see the course in action — the plateau areas around Dilberdüzü and Büyük Deniz Lake are reachable on foot from Ayder in 4–5 hours.
If you’re in Istanbul looking for a weekend with more altitude, the Black Sea coast is only a short domestic flight away. Several tour operators based in Istanbul offer Black Sea and Kaçkar Mountain programmes outside of race week as multi-day trekking packages — the trail infrastructure the race uses is the same network available to regular hikers year-round.
The UTMB points on offer mean this race draws a genuinely international field. Race information and live tracking are available at kackar.utmb.world.