Inca Trail Marathon, live.

Between Salkantay and Humantay, down to the rainforest

Two races on Monday 8 November 2027, the marathon and the Incathon half marathon, both on the Salkantay Inca Trail and both finishing at Lucmabamba, near Machu Picchu. Erik’s Adventures has run the race since 2012 and holds it inside a nine-day tour in Peru, from 3 to 12 November 2027.

The marathon starts at 05:50 and the Incathon at 06:30. Every runner camps near the start the night before, which the organiser makes a condition of taking part, and a headlamp is on the kit list for running before dawn. Since 2023 the race no longer uses the Classic Inca Trail, where the Peruvian government has banned competitions. The course now runs on a section of Inca trail between the Salkantay and Humantay mountains.

The organiser’s description of the course: two high mountain passes, a glaciated peak of 20,000 feet close by, glacial lakes, and a descent into the high Amazon rainforest at the end, with a high point above 15,200 feet, about 4,630 m. The trail stays open to hikers and porters on race day. The marathon has one enforced cutoff, at mile 16 at 14:00. Aid stations carry water and snacks such as dried fruit, nuts, chicken and avocado sandwiches and coca, with first aid, radios and satellite phones, and each runner’s drop bag waits at the finish.

The organiser calls it a marathon in distance and an ultra in effort, and on this course the best times are well over six hours. On Livebib the runner shares a link with whoever they choose. Family and friends open it in a browser, no app or account needed, and see the position on the course line, distance covered and a finish estimate for Lucmabamba that updates as the race goes. When the signal drops in the mountains, the position is carried forward along the course and marked as estimated instead of freezing.