Mountain Running
All ups and no downs: Look back on 10 years of Red Bull 400
Red Bull 400 celebrated its 10th birthday on October 3, when runners made the lung-busting sprint up Bischofshofen's ski slope. Here's some of the standout milestones from a decade of running antics.
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The start
The Kulm ski flying hill in Austria hosted the very first event on September 25, 2011 when 261 participants attended. The concept? Run the 400m course, with an elevation gain of 140m and gradient of up to 37 degrees, as quickly as possible. It proved to be a hit, with even the fittest athletes dropping to their hands and knees as they scrambled to the top.
New slopes
In 2012, the calendar grew by 100 percent to two races. Popular Slovenian ski resort Planica had the honour of becoming the first venue outside of Austria when, on September 23, 2012, Turkish mountain runner Ahmet Arslan triumphed alongside cross country skier Teresa Stadlober from Austria.
Ahmet Arslan is the undisputed king of Red Bull 400 with 17 wins
© Flo Hagena/Red Bull Content Pool
Four figures
The reputation of Red Bull 400 was spreading rapidly around Europe and at the race in Kulm on May 26, 2014 more than 1,000 runners took on the mighty ski slope for the first time.
Red Bull 400 goes global
The 2015 season saw a big increase to seven events, as Red Bull 400 ventured outside of Europe for the first time. The July 19 stop at the famous Whistler resort in Canada launched the event in North America, with Park City in Utah also playing host in September.
Asia joins the party
Almaty in Kazakhstan launched the 2016 season of eight stops on May 1, 2016 and, in doing so, became the first Red Bull 400 on Asian soil. Home hero Zhanna Mamazhanova picked up a victory in the race.
And they're off for the first-ever Red Bull 400 in Kulm in 2011
© Mirja Geh/Red Bull Content Pool
Planica's monstrously steep ski flying hill debuted in 2012
© Mirja Geh/Red Bull Content Pool
Whistler's old Olympic ski jump hosted the first race outside of Europe
© Brian Caissie/Red Bull Content Pool
High altitude Park City joined the Red Bull 400 pain party after Whistler
© David Martínez Moreno/Red Bull Content Pool
World Championship
German resort Titisee-Neustadt claimed the honour of hosting the first Red Bull 400 World Championships on July 15, 2017, where Turkey's Ahmet Arslan and Japan's Yukari Tanaka lifted the titles.
Young star
Norwegian ice skater Erik Resell made history in 2018 when he became the youngest Red Bull 400 winner to date. The then 17-year-old finished first on home soil at the Trondheim resort.
Magical mark
Slovenian Luka Kovačič dug in up the harrowing Planica ski flying hill on September 15, 2018 to become the first person to reach the finish there in under five minutes, setting a time on 4m 59.20s.
Red Bull 400 visits some stunning, but incredibly steep locations
© Sinisa Kanizaj/Red Bull Content Pool
All the rage
2019 saw Planica become the most visited Red Bull 400 location, playing host for eight years in a row, with the local Slovenian fans bringing an amazing atmosphere to the Alpine location on September 16.
Olympic pedigree
The South Korean resort Pyeongchang became the sixth Olympic Red Bull 400 venue when it made its debut on September 28, 2019, with locals Jangseop Lee and Hyunji Kang winning.
The perfect 10
For the 10th anniversary, an 800-strong uphill battle took place on October 3, 2020 at the Paul-Ausserleitner-Schanze ski-jumping venue in the Austrian town of Bischofshofen. Starters from 18 nations competed, with Slovakian duo Jakub Šiarnik and Kristina Néč Lapinová crossing the finish line first.
Six-time winner Andrea Mayr has more Red Bull 400 wins than any other woman
© Philipp Carl Riedl/Red Bull Content Pool
Fun facts about Red Bull 400
- Men's closest winning margin: Taylor Fletcher (USA), Park City, 2018 – 0.40s.
- Women's closest winning margin: Liz Stephens (USA), Park City, 2017 – 0.60s.
- Men's biggest winning margin: Dmitry Mityaev (RUS), Sochi, 2017 – 31s.
- Women's biggest winning margin: Andrea Mayr (AUT), Bischofshofen, 2019 – 52s.
- Most men's wins: Ahmet Arslan (TUR) – 17 wins.
- Most women's wins: Andrea Mayr (AUT) – 6 wins.
- Record participation: Rudi Reitberger (AUT) – 30.
- Record participants: Bischofshofen in 2018 – 1,807.
- Men’s record time: Jakob Mayer (AUT) – 2m 48s in Einsiedeln, Switzerland, 2018.
- Women's record time: Judith Wyder (SUI) – 3m 39s in Einsiedeln, Switzerland, 2018.
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