Amazing organization, hundreds of cow bells along the way, superb Alpine trails, free and half prize tickets for the mountain train lines and some of the most challenging races in Europe.
These are only a few of the benefits of running in Switzerland. Here's some of the beautiful races you'll find there.
Swiss Alpine Marathon Davos
Known as well as the crazy peak experience, the Swiss alpine marathon offers several trail races for runners of different abilities.
From the K11 along the superb Davos Lake to the K78, there's an ultramarathon at an altitude of 2600 meters - it's not for the faint hearted!
The Davos Alphine Marathon
There are two differentt marathons, C42 and K42 each with different ascents and descents. Two half marathon, K21 and Nordic Walking trail, and K30 complete the weekend of running which is in late July.
To find out more visit www.swissalpine.ch
Lucerne Marathon
A marathon, a half marathon and the bizarre Schnuppermarathon (12.5km) are the 3 races in the beautiful city of Lucerne, right in the heartland of Switzerland.
The start and finish of the race are at the magical Museum of Transport and the course runs mainly along the lake and around the Horw peninsula.
The course runs along the stunning Lake Lucerne
Enjoy a relaxing weekend next October, visit the beautiful old town or add an extra day to visit Mount Rigi or the Rütli Meadow nearby.
Find out more visit www.lucernemarathon.ch
Zermatt Marathon
Zermatt is surrounded by a range of amazing peaks, it is famous worldwide for the Matterhorn (Mount Cervin) and it possibly offers the best mountain marathon in Europe which runs from Sunnega to Riffelalp.
The views are spectacular and a pint of beer is waiting for you at the end of the challenge in Gornergrat.
The 10th of July is the big day on the Alps to run the Zermatt Marathon, with 42,195 km and 1944 m of total slope, not exactly a stroll in the park!
Find out more visit www.zermatt-marathon.ch
Sierre-Zinal (the 5 peaks)
Also known as the Race of Five 4000m Peaks, the Sierre-Zinal is an unusual 31 km with 2200m ascent and 800m descent in the Canton Valais.
Despite the name, you do not need to climb the 5 peaks (Dent Blanche, Bishorn, Weisshorn, Zinalrothorn and Ober Gabelhorn) but do not underestimate the effort and the distance.
The race starts from Sierre (585m) and after some big climbs to reach Ponchette, Tignosa and Nava (2425m), the race finishes in Zinal (1680m), August 8th is race day.
Find out more visit http://www.sierre-zinal.com/
Lausanne 20k
Not ready yet for a challenging race in the mountains?
The 20km de Lausanne is the most popular race in Romandy. Starting in Lausanne city centre and then running through its most famous and hilly streets, from the quai d’Ouchy to the City Hall, from the Place de la Riponne to the Château de la Cité.
The start and finish are at the Pierre de Coubertin Stadium in Vidy. Be ready for the last weekend of April.
Find out more visit http://www.20km.ch/
Need more options? If you'd like to run a flat city marathon then Zürich is perfect (www.zurichmarathon.ch).
For an international race there's (http://www.sparkasse-marathon.at/) with just a few miles in Switzerland or a more quiet half marathon in the Bernese Alps (www.gantrisch-halbmarathon.ch).
Whatever you're ability, whatever your taste, the country of chocolate will surprise you!
Renato will be back next month with more from the Running Tourist. In the meantime check out the excellent www.runabroad.com.
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