Vaduz Alpine Marathon

The Race

History

The LGT Alpin Marathon is organised under the rules of the Liechtenstein Athletics Federation (LLV) and its parent federations. The 2026 edition, on 13 June, is the 25th running of the race: the organiser’s own Hall of Fame results archive lists a result for every year from 2000 to 2026 except 2020 and 2021 (both cancelled for Covid), a clean arithmetic confirmation of the 25th-edition framing.

The race’s defining premise is that it crosses most of the length of Liechtenstein on foot, starting on the flat Rhine-valley floor in Bendern and finishing in the mountain resort of Malbun. The organiser’s own description calls it “the first mountain marathon of the season” each year. Course records: the men’s all-time best is Jonathan Wyatt (NZL), 2:56:27.1, set in 2008; the women’s all-time best is Aline Camboulives (FRA), 3:28:22.6, set in 2015. The 2026 winners were Vitaliy Shafar (UKR), 3:06:17.4, his third consecutive win, and Nadja Kessler (SUI), 3:57:54.3, her fourth.

The event also runs alongside a Half Marathon PLUS (finishing at km 25 in Steg rather than the conventional 21.1 km), a two-person relay called the LGT Staffel 25+17 (split into a 25 km Bendern-to-Steg leg and a 17 km Steg-to-Malbun leg), a children’s race, and a Pink Ribbon charity run. Runners who enter the full marathon but decide during the race to stop at Steg are automatically placed in the half-marathon ranking instead.

The course

The marathon starts at 09:00 at LGT Bank AG in Bendern, and does not return to its starting point: the finish, over 42 km later, is in Malbun. Two timed checkpoints structure the course: Vaduz at km 10.3, where control closes at 10:10, and Steg at km 25.4, where control closes at 13:00 and where the Half Marathon PLUS and the first relay leg both finish. Runners who miss either cutoff are removed from the race, or may continue at their own risk on a specially marked bib without further organiser support. Beyond Steg, marathon runners continue a further 17 km, climbing to the race’s high point before finishing in Malbun, where showers, a festival tent, and the awards ceremony (from around 14:30) are based.

A real finisher’s device recording of the course confirms the shape described above almost exactly: starting at 439m in Bendern, climbing steadily past Vaduz (473m at km 10.3), continuing up to 1,516m by km 21.5, dipping to Steg (1,308m at km 25), climbing a second time to the route’s true high point of 1,779m around km 34.5, then descending to finish at 1,605m in Malbun.

Km 0-10.3: Bendern to Vaduz, the flat opening. The race starts at 09:00 outside LGT Bank AG in Bendern, on the flat floor of the Rhine valley, running flat along the Rhine before passing Vaduz Castle and a short wooded section. The Vaduz checkpoint, at km 10.3, closes at 10:10; this early pace is genuinely easy relative to what follows.

Km 10.3-25.4: Vaduz to Steg, the climb begins. The course leaves the valley floor and begins the sustained climb that defines this race, reaching Steg, a mountain hamlet, by km 25.4. This is where the Half Marathon PLUS finishes and where the first leg of the two-person relay hands off; the Steg checkpoint closes at 13:00, four hours into the race.

Km 25.4-42.195: Steg to Malbun, the high mountain finish.Marathon runners and the second relay leg continue climbing from Steg toward the race’s high point, near 1,800m, before finishing in Malbun.

Logistics Map

The map below shows the full point-to-point course, plotted from a real finisher’s device recording: from Bendern, through the Vaduz and Steg checkpoints, to the finish in Malbun. Tap a marker for details.

Pacers

No official pacer programme exists for this race, and a conventional finish-time pacer table would misrepresent it: this is an effort-based mountain race with hard checkpoint cutoffs rather than even-split road racing. Pace around the two checkpoint cutoffs, at km 10.3 (10:10) and km 25.4 (13:00), rather than a target finish time.

What to wear

Official regulations state explicitly that because the race spans altitudes of 450m to 1,800m and typically takes 3 to 7 hours, very large differences in temperature and weather can occur within a single race. A mid-June start at valley level may be mild, but the climb to near 1,800m brings genuine mountain-weather risk, including wind, rain, and a significant temperature drop, regardless of conditions at the Bendern start. Walking poles and similar aids are explicitly banned and lead to disqualification if used.

Entry

Entry is direct online registration via datasport.com, open until race morning at 08:45, with no ballot. Limited late entry is available in cash only, Friday evening from 17:00 and Saturday morning from 06:30, at the race-number collection point.

Marathon entry costs CHF 99 online until 10 June 2026, rising to CHF 120 for late/on-site entry. The Half Marathon PLUS costs CHF 69 online, CHF 85 late. The two-person LGT Staffel 25+17 relay costs CHF 135 per team online, CHF 170 late. Minimum age is 18 for the marathon; the relay and Half Marathon PLUS allow entry from age 16 with written parental consent.

All finishers receive a functional finisher shirt and a memorial medal, along with cash and prize awards for overall and category winners. Non-starters receive no refund of the entry fee, but a start place can be deferred to the following year at no extra cost with a medical certificate; cancellation insurance is also available at the point of registration via Datasport. Bibs must not be transferred to another person, and folding a bib leads to disqualification.

There is no Boston- or London-style GFA route, and no charity or tour-operator entry pathway was found.

Fast Runner / GFA Standards

Not applicable. No evidence of a GFA or fast-runner entry pathway was found.

Race Weekend

Bib Collection

This race uses race-number (bib) collection rather than a large commercial expo. Collection is at LGT Bank AG, Schaanerstrasse 19, Bendern, on Friday 12 June 2026 from 17:00 to 19:00, and Saturday 13 June from 06:30 to 08:45. Changing facilities and massage are available at the bib-collection point. Runners bringing personal on-course nutrition must clearly label it and hand it in at the designated table by 07:40 on race morning; nutrition on course is otherwise supplied by Sponser Sport Food. A pasta party is held on Friday evening at the Alpen Hotel “Vögeli,” in the finish area near Malbun.

Race Morning

The race starts at 09:00 in Bendern. Runners are issued a labelled bag at bib collection for personal belongings, dropped at the start in the LGT Bank AG car park, then transported to the relevant finish (Steg for the Half Marathon PLUS, Malbun for the marathon and second relay leg).

Given the split start-finish geography, plan race-morning transport carefully: a 07:00 organiser shuttle runs from Malbun via Triesen to the Bendern start for runners and companions travelling from the finish end of the course, with pickup by flagging the bus down at the roadside. Runners staying near the start in Bendern, Schaan or Gamprin have a more straightforward race morning than those based in Malbun or Triesenberg. Parking in Malbun itself on race day is very limited; larger car parks exist around 200 m before the village, or the organiser’s shuttle buses should be used instead.

Nutrition on Course

On-course refreshment stations are confirmed, with nutrition supplied by Sponser Sport Food, though the exact station-by-station list was not extracted in research. Runners wishing to use personal nutrition must label it clearly and hand it in at bib collection by 07:40 on race morning, and must clearly signal their nutrition request to station staff as they approach each aid station.

Spectating

Spectating this race is fundamentally different from watching a city-loop marathon: the course does not return to its start, and the middle and upper sections are genuine mountain terrain rather than roadside. The most practical spectator plan follows the organiser’s own shuttle-bus infrastructure rather than improvised routes.

One option: see the start in Bendern at LGT Bank AG, Schaanerstrasse 19, from 09:00. A second: position in Vaduz, the first checkpoint at km 10.3 (control closes 10:10), a short distance from Bendern and easily reached independently. A third: use the organiser’s shuttle network, from 13:00 Malbun to Bendern, or from 09:15 a relay-specific shuttle from Bendern to the Steg exchange zone, to reach Steg or Malbun for the mid-race and finish action. The last shuttle from Malbun to Bendern departs 17:15.

Post-Race Food

No specific, sourced restaurant names in Malbun were identified in research beyond the confirmed pasta-party venue. The Alpen Hotel “Vögeli,” which hosts the Friday-evening pasta party, sits in the finish area and is a reasonable starting point for a post-race meal, though its race-day capacity and opening hours were not confirmed.

Where to Stay

This is the section where this race’s split-town geography matters most. Unlike most races, “stay near the finish” and “stay near the start” are genuinely different, several-kilometre-apart recommendations, and the organiser’s own accommodation page splits its suggestions the same way.

Bendern and Gamprin, near the start

The organiser’s own accommodation page lists three specific properties here: b-smart, Deutscher Rhein, and Fernsicht. This area offers the most straightforward race morning, since it removes any dependence on the 07:00 shuttle from the finish end of the course, but the organiser’s own listing notes accommodation supply here is limited.

Malbun and the finish area

The organiser’s own accommodation page lists five specific properties here: the Alpen Hotel “Vögeli” (also host to the Friday pasta party), Hotel Turna, Hotel Gorfion (linked directly to a marathon-specific special offer), Galina, and JUFA. This area suits runners prioritising the finish-line atmosphere, showers and awards ceremony, at the cost of needing the 07:00 shuttle (or private transport) to reach the Bendern start.

Vaduz

Liechtenstein’s capital and best sightseeing base, sitting directly on the course at the km 10.3 checkpoint, though not the start itself; runners choosing Vaduz still need to reach Bendern for the 09:00 start.

Buchs SG or Sargans, Switzerland

Confirmed by the organiser’s own accommodation page as further options, specifically a youth hostel in nearby Schaan-Vaduz, and a campsite in Triesen, which the organiser explicitly notes is not served by the marathon’s own shuttle buses and requires the regular line bus instead. Useful primarily as rail-connected bases for international travellers.

Recommended properties

Booking timeline

Book accommodation early. Liechtenstein has a small hotel base overall (the organiser’s own accommodation list names only eight properties across both ends of the course), and Malbun in particular is a small mountain resort where capacity can tighten around a marathon weekend. Entry itself stays open until race morning, but accommodation should not be left that late; book a cancellable room 6 to 9 months ahead, then confirm shuttle-based race-morning transport once travel plans are set.

See & Do

These sit directly on the course, or at either end of it.

Vaduz Castle

Passed directly on the course, around km 10.3. The private residence of Liechtenstein’s ruling prince, a hilltop medieval castle overlooking the capital, visible from the course itself as the race passes through Vaduz on its way toward the mountains.

Vaduz’s Museum Quarter

On the course itself, in central Vaduz. A compact cluster of museums including the Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein and the National Museum, walkable together in a single low-effort outing.

Malbun

At the finish itself. A small mountain resort at around 1,600m, with lift access and hiking trails for anyone extending their stay after the marathon.

Steg and the Valünatal

At the km 25.4 checkpoint. A small mountain hamlet between Vaduz and Malbun, a natural spectating point given its role as a checkpoint and race finish for two of the event’s shorter formats.

The Rhine valley floor between Bendern and Vaduz

The opening km 0-10.3 of the course. Flat, agricultural landscape offering easy, low-effort walking for a visitor exploring the start area rather than the mountain sections further along the course.

After the Race

Vaduz Alpine Marathon runs in June. These itineraries reach the capital passed on the course itself, a neighbouring country, and two onward Swiss cities.