Ottonenlauf - on the Selke Valley Trail in the Harz

The Ottonenlauf is a nature-focused trail running event (Ottonenlauf) held in the Selketal area of the Harz. The race traditionally starts from multiple Harz villages — Stiege, Alexisbad and Meisdorf — and finishes in the UNESCO World Heritage town of Quedlinburg. The official event page lists the 18th Ottonenlauf on 01 August 2026 and confirms that online registration for the 2026 edition is open. The organiser and event hub is published at ottonenlauf.info.

The course is presented as a woodland experience, running largely on forest and forestry paths with some rugged sections and roughly 10% road on the longest distance. Route highlights described on the site include stretches alongside the Selketalbahn, passage by 11 Harz ponds, two castles, rock cliffs with valley views and two rock tunnels, and downloadable GPX and elevation-profile files for participant planning. The organisers note that the route is not officially measured; historically multiple distances have been offered (examples include ~71.8 km, 69 km, 67 km, 45.2 km, 26.1 km and 10 km) and full 2026-specific race specifications are available in the Ausschreibung 2026 documents linked on the site.