Germany enters the chat. Black Forest foothills. One brutal climb.
A draft German 500 Over 10 course starting in Fessenbach, climbing hard into the Black Forest foothills toward Hohes Horn, then dropping back toward the vineyards above Offenburg.
The current GPX comes in at approximately 10.13km with about 474m of raw elevation gain. Brutal? Yes. Ratified? Not yet. The committee may need to visit site to find one more small section of climbing.
The Fessenbach 500 was hatched by Michael Rutten, Brynn's plus-one and a 2026 Bilgola 500 contender, after an attempt presumably on a European vacation.
His Strava report was honest, and tragic: "Went for a 500over10 but fell short 😭 pretty brutal climb to the top."
No official pursuit has been staged here yet. For now, Fessenbach sits in the files as a candidate course: promising, scenic, nasty, and pending committee approval.
A work in progress. Not quite enough vertical. Hopefully the first European course officially sanctioned.
The defining climb of the route. Hohes Horn is Offenburg's local mountain in the Middle Black Forest, rising to around 547 metres and topped by a lookout tower with views across the Kinzig valley, Ortenau, the Rhine plain and, on a clear day, toward Strasbourg.
The route starts from wine country, where village roads and vineyard edges give way quickly to proper climbing. A very civilised place to begin doing something completely uncivilised and unhinged.
Michael's summary tells the story: pretty brutal climb to the top. This is the part of the course where the tourism brochure ends and 500 Over 10 suffering begins.
One of the great strengths of the Fessenbach route is the setting: vineyards, forest, valley views, and the faint possibility that the runner may briefly appreciate Europe before returning to the climb.
This draft route comes from the uploaded GPX file and Strava route. The numbers are close to the 500 Over 10 brief, but not quite there yet.
Fessenbach sits in Offenburg's wine country on the edge of the Black Forest. Hohes Horn is a recognised local viewpoint and the feature of this candidate course.
Offenburg describes Hohes Horn as a 547m mountain in the Middle Black Forest and a popular viewpoint with a 20m lookout tower.
The course name, stats and final status are currently under review by the Committee. Once the route has been finalised to meet 500m of climbing over 10km, Germany will be ready to enter the 500 Over 10 Pursuit madness.