Hengill Ultra

The course

The 53 km starts at 08:00 on Breiðamörk, the main street of Hveragerði, by the town hall. You run past the Skyrgerðin restaurant, through the town park and up the Varmá gorge, cross the road towards Hamarinn and follow a forest path and the old Kambar road onto a riding track that runs parallel to the ring road and into the valley. From the car park at the head of the valley a staked route climbs Rjúpnabrekkur into Reykjadalur, the valley of the hot bathing stream, then steeply up Klambragil onto the hiking path to Ölkelduháls, where the first aid station and toilets sit beside the power-line track.

From Ölkelduháls the route follows the line road through four valleys, Fremstidalur, Miðdalur, Þrengsli and Innstidalur, with a left turn over a stream just inside Þrengsli and a descent to the second aid station and drop-bag point at Sleggjubeinsskarð. You climb back up to the pass and take the black-staked ridge between Innstidalur and Húsmúli all the way to Vörðu-Skeggi (810 m), the highest point of the Hengill area with views over Þingvellir on a clear day. You descend the same way for a short stretch, turn south across the Hengill heaths to a signpost for Innstidalur and drop to a hut at the head of that valley.

The return retraces the outward route: back along the line road to Ölkelduháls, down Klambragil and Reykjadalur, along Hamarinn and down the gorge through the park to the finish on Breiðamörk, where a grilled burger and drink wait and the Laugaskarð pool is free to finishers. Timing is by chip with several split points on the course, and since 2026 every 53 km and 106 km runner carries a GPS tracker so supporters can follow them live. Weather on the massif changes quickly and the organiser's wording is that you should run with all the mandatory kit and be ready for anything.

How to enter

There is no qualifying standard or ballot; anyone born 18 or more years before race year can enter the 53 km and 106 km (16 for the 26 km). For 2027 the organiser opens a 72-hour pre-registration window from 12:00 on Sunday 18 October to 12:00 on Wednesday 21 October 2026, then closes entries until general registration opens later in the autumn. In 2026 the 53 km could be entered until 23:59 on 1 June, the 106 km until 1 May, and the 10 km closed when its 500 places were gone. When you register you must tick acceptance of the rules, and at bib collection you sign a declaration that you can finish the 53 km within 12 hours.

Fees rise in three steps. For the 2026 edition the 53 km cost ISK 27,500 until 7 October 2025, ISK 32,900 until 2 February 2026 and ISK 38,500 after that (about 190 to 265 euros); the 106 km was ISK 35,500 to 54,500 and the 26 km ISK 14,500 to 19,500. The 2027 price list had not been published at the time of research. The fee includes course and safety staffing, the live tracker, drinks and food at Ölkelduháls and Sleggjubeinsskarð, drop-bag transport to and from Sleggjubeinsskarð, timing, a medal, the post-race burger, showers and the pool, medical staff in Hveragerði and transport back for anyone stopped at a cut-off. Fees are not refunded and cannot be carried over to the next year, even if the race is cancelled by weather or volcanic activity, but a name change is allowed while online registration is open.

How to train for it

Train for 8 hours, not a marathon

The median 53 km finisher takes 7 h 40 min and a quarter of the field more than 8 h 52 min. Build long days of 5 to 6 hours mixing running and hiking, because the climbs to Ölkelduháls and Vörðu-Skeggi are walked by most of the field.

Rehearse steep, staked hiking trails

The hard climbing is on narrow hiking paths up Klambragil out of Reykjadalur and on the ridge to Vörðu-Skeggi, with mud and loose ground after rain. Practise on steep, uneven trails rather than gravel roads, and on descents, since you come back down the same paths tired.

Use the out-and-back to pace

The course turns around in Innstidalur, so your outward splits at Ölkelduháls and Sleggjubeinsskarð tell you what the way home will cost. Aim to reach the turn feeling you could do it again; the 106 km runners literally do.

Run with the kit you will carry

Waterproof jacket with hood, waterproof overtrousers, space blanket, whistle, cup and phone are mandatory in the 53 km and checked at the 07:00 to 07:30 safety inspection. Train with the same pack and the same jacket so the weight and the drinking routine are familiar.

What you need

• Mandatory in the 53 km: fully charged mobile phone, switched on, with the safety manager's number saved
• Mandatory: a plastic or rubber cup or bottle; aid stations have no disposable cups
• Mandatory: space blanket of at least 1.4 by 2 m and a whistle
• Mandatory: a breathable wind- and waterproof jacket with a fixed hood, and waterproof overtrousers; the organiser may reduce the list depending on the forecast
• In the 106 km, in addition: a pack for everything, at least 1 litre of fluid capacity, headtorch with spare batteries (200 lumens recommended), sports tape, 800 kcal of food, long trousers or tights, cap or Buff, warm hat, a spare warm non-cotton top and gloves
• A drop bag with dry socks, food and a warm layer for Sleggjubeinsskarð, which the organiser transports for you
• Trail shoes with grip for wet, muddy and geothermal ground; the 10 km wades the Varmá and the longer routes are muddy after rain
• Swimwear and a towel for the free visit to the Laugaskarð pool at the finish

Getting there and staying

Hveragerði is about 45 km east of Reykjavík on Route 1 and roughly 90 km from Keflavík airport; there is no railway in Iceland and most runners drive, with Hertz as the organiser's car-rental partner. In 2026 competitor parking was at Grýluvöllur (the old Hamarshöll site) and the roads around the start on Breiðamörk were closed from 06:00 to 23:00 on the Saturday.

Bibs for 2026 were collected at the Útilíf shop in Skeifan 11d, Reykjavík, on the Wednesday (16:00 to 18:00, followed by a route briefing and runners' evening), Thursday and Friday (12:00 to 18:00), or at the Expo in the Hveragerði sports hall on race morning from 07:00 to 13:30. 53 km runners have a compulsory safety check from 07:00 to 07:30 and a briefing at 07:30 in the Expo hall before the 08:00 start; the 106 km check and briefing are at 18:00 on the Friday before the 20:00 start.

The sports hall is the hub all weekend with an expo, bag storage and the briefings, and a street grill, DJ and live music run by the finish from late morning. Hótel Örk in the town centre is the organiser's official hotel, and the Greenhouse Hotel is the other option named by the organiser; Reykjavík is close enough to stay there and drive over in the morning.

History

The race was held for the fifteenth time in June 2026, putting the first edition in 2012. It has grown into the largest trail-running event in Iceland, with results published on timataka.net since 2019, over 400 finishers in the 26 km alone in 2026, and live GPS tracking for the two ultra distances introduced that year. The 2026 winners were Grétar Guðmundsson (4 h 44 min 54 s) and Dalrós Inga Ingadóttir (5 h 51 min 00 s) in the 53 km and Tómas Aron Viggósson (14 h 34 min 14 s) and Mafalda Sigmarsson (18 h 59 min 13 s) in the 106 km, where only 12 of 25 starters finished.

Where to find out more

• Hengill Ultra, official page (Icelandic) (opens in a new tab): Distances, fees, route descriptions, programme and registration for every distance.
• Hengill Ultra, English page (opens in a new tab): The organiser's English summary of the distances, fees and route.
• Mandatory kit list (opens in a new tab): What is checked at the briefing for the 53 km and 106 km.
• Rules and terms (opens in a new tab): Age limits, cut-offs, the declaration you sign at bib pick-up and the no-refund terms.
• Results 2026 (timataka.net) (opens in a new tab): Full results with splits for all five distances, used for the median time on this page.
• Car hire and hotels for Hengill Ultra (opens in a new tab): The organiser's page naming its car-rental and hotel partners in Hveragerði.