The GAX 100 Miles, live.

A night on the Österlen coast

One hundred miles from a square in Ystad, inland over Österlen and back along the sea, with a night on the coast in between.

The GAX starts and finishes on S:t Knuts torg in the centre of Ystad. In 2026 the gun went at 10:00 on Saturday 18 July, and the finish closed at 18:00 on Sunday 19 July: 32 hours for an official result. The route mostly follows the orange-marked Österlen trail of Skåneleden, and the organiser gives just under 1,600 metres of climbing. The next edition is announced for 24–25 July 2027.

The first leg heads north-west to Snogeholmssjön, with a longer climb after Eriksdal at 34 km, and on to the first checkpoint at Magleberg, 44 km. From there the line goes through Alunsbruket and over Brösarps backar — ridges, deciduous woods and pasture — to Haväng at 80 km. Then the coast: south over Stenshuvud, through small villages and Simrishamn to Sandhammaren at 131 km, and west past Kåseberga and Ales Stenar on sand, rocky shore and hills, back to Ystad. Pacers are not allowed, and two headlamps are mandatory.

The gaps between checkpoints are long — 36 km, then 51 — and the organiser expects many runners to reach Haväng only after dark, so the night is spent on the coast. On Livebib the runner shares a link to their own broadcast; family open it in a browser, with no account and no app, and see the position on the course line, the distance covered and a finish estimate for Ystad that updates through the night. Where the phone loses signal in the woods or on an empty beach, the position is carried forward and marked as estimated instead of freezing. The runner decides who gets the link.