The 16th race of the series is set to push limits and showcase the world’s best athletes in one of the world’s most incredible destinations, at the foot of the mighty Matterhorn.
This Friday, the 22nd of August, at 8:00 a.m., the Matterhorn Ultraks Extreme—which boasts 27 km of unforgiving terrain, 3 175 m of vertical gain, and several glacier crossings—returns as a marquee stop on the 2025 Merrell Skyrunner® World Series.
The “Extreme” race is the highlight of the Ultraks weekend (22–24 August 2025), which also features distances tailored to different abilities. The Extreme course snakes through alpine lakes, rocky ridges, technical terrain, and even glacial sections—demanding not just foot-speed, but mountaineering savvy and high-altitude endurance.
Since its integration into the Merrell Skyrunner® World Series in 2019, the Matterhorn Ultraks Extreme has become a top-tier challenge, drawing elite runners from across the globe to Zermatt, Switzerland.
This year, many of the leading athletes in the overall ranking will, again, converge on Zermatt for the ultimate skyrunning test with winners of almost all previous editions present.
The women’s field includes:
- Anastasia Rubtsova – Russia – Defending champion, 2024 overall SWS champion and two-time winner of the Extreme – 2023 and 2024.
- Naiara Irigoyen – Spain – Open Team – Currently 2nd in the overall ranking.
- Iris Pessey – France – Team Scott Running
- Lucille Germain – France – Team Nnormal – Currently 3rd in the overall ranking and unbeaten this season so far.
- Kalie McCrystal – Canada
- Júlia Garigga – Spain – team FEEC / Dynafit
- Patrycja Stanek – Poland – Team Brooks
- Maria Christen – Switzerland – Team Scott Running
- Aina Cusi – Spain – Team Merrell
- Therese Arvik – Norway – Team Salomon
The men’s field includes:
- Martin Anthamatten – Switzerland – Team Adidas Terrex – Defending Matterhorn Ultraks Extreme champion.
- Manuel Merillas – Spain – Team New Balance – 2023 Matterhotn Ultraks Extreme winner.
- Alain Santamaria – Spain – Open Team
- Frederic Tranchand – France – Team Merrell – Currently 3rd in the overall ranking.
- William Boffelli – Italy – Team Kailas – Two-time Matterhorn Ultraks Extreme winner – 2020 and 2021.
- Gianluca Ghiano – Italy – Team Brooks
- Martin Nilsson – Sweden – Team VJ Sports – Recent Tatra SkyMarathon winner.
- Daniel Antonioli – Italy – Team Scarpa – 2019 Matterhorn Ultraks Extreme winner.
- Aitor Blanco – Spain – Team Basque Selekzioa
- Jules Delabelle – France – Team Merrell
The race starts this Friday, 22nd of August at 08:00 am local time.
More info HERE.
