Weißenbach is a small town in the Ahrntal, a tributary valley of the Pustertal in South Tyrol. It has around 600 inhabitants, and people who choose to move here from elsewhere do so for nature and the mountains. Turnerkamp, the five Hornspitzen summits and the distinctive Tristenspitz are only some of the peaks that can be reached from Philipp Ausserhofer’s home.

Ausserhofer is one of the best Italian trail runners but it would be a mistake to reduce him to being a fast runner on narrow trails. He loves the playground that the mountains offer, with all its disciplines and facets, preferable with “a lot of air below my bum,” as he puts it. He knows that he has his origins in the Alps to thank for his athletic strength. To pay homage to his home, the Ahrntal with its 80 peaks surpassing 3,000 m, he ran his very own ultra-trail in 2021, a “home run” so to speak, covering 160 km in distance and 11,000 meters in altitude along the trails of his childhood and the peaks of his youth.

This project goes to show not only how down to earth but also how tenacious Ausserhofer is when it comes to following his dreams. He’s been living in North Tyrol since 2011; initially, he moved to Innsbruck to study, and for the past two years he’s been living in Telfes im Stubai - the reasons being love, and the local trails. He combines his part-time job as a pharmacist in Tyrol’s capital city with his athletic career and trains for future endeavors, which is why he sometimes runs home from work, covering approximately 15 kilometers and 500 meters in altitude in almost less time than the train, which takes 49 minutes. Even though he initially found Innsbruck too big, he now feels very much at home between Nordkette, Patscherkofel and Nockspitze, and even more so in the Stubai: “The term “home of choice” is apt - I feel like I have arrived, I am at home and I have found what I need – both as a human and an athlete.”

Each kilometer covered on foot rather than by train gets the likable runner closer to the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships 2023 Innsbruck-Stubai – but in a sense, he is already part of the event; after all, he can be seen in the promotional trailer together with Ida-Sophie Hegemann and Adrian Niski, and has been participating in several photo shoots. “It is amazing that Tyrol was chosen as the host region for these title races, and it fills me with joy and pride to think that I was able to contribute to that.” This contribution was only the beginning, as Ausserhofer plans to participate in the Trail Long event.

“It would mean so much to me to participate. Just thinking about the WC races being run on the trails that I basically use for everyday training gives me goosebumps – and it reminds me on a daily basis that I would not miss it for the world.”

It would be a highlight of his still young ultra-running career to be nominated as a contestant for the team of the “Azzurri” with its generally high level. His ITRA and UTMB indices ( (873, and 868, respectively, effective December 12, 22) make him one of the best Italians, and serve to corroborate his ambitions: “My development during the last two, three years goes to show that I’m on the right track and that I’d deserve a nomination. A reward that cannot be taken for granted - there’s no such thing as a free lunch.“ For the near future, this means that he’ll have to work hard and cope with the harsh training conditions during the Tyrolean winter, which are more difficult than those of his competitors, in order to be fit for a qualifying run that is likely to happen in March.

Irrespective of whether he will be nominated or not - the South Tyrolean athlete is certain that the WMTRC will ignite a passion for trail running in the locals, similar to what happened with cycling after the UCI Road World Championships in 2018. “The World Championships are being staged at the right place at the right time,” says Ausserhofer.

He has tens of thousands of followers on Instagram, where he communicates his running and mountaineering adventures and also shares his passion for photography with others. In today’s world, followers and likes are almost as important as competition results, he says, while adding that above all he is an athlete; on top of that, he may also be an influencer - something he doesn’t deny. “If, with my healthy lifestyle and stunning images, I can influence and inspire others to become more active themselves and to have more respect for our nature, I will happily do that.”

Images: © Philipp Reiter, Chris Riefenberg, Moritz Klee, Tom Klocker