Laps around the globe: CERN Alumni Virtual Relay Race returns for its 5th edition
The trainers were laced, the Strava apps were ready, and CERN Alumni across the globe were once again on the starting line. On 07 May 2026, the fifth edition of the CERN Alumni Virtual Relay Race got underway — and it did not disappoint.
15 teams took part this year, spread across continents and time zones, each with their own story to tell. Some crews were seasoned veterans, reuniting under the same team name for the second or third time, proof that the relay has become as much a reunion as a race. Others were assembled along regional lines: Athens sent two separate teams, Munich rallied its local alumni community, and the MedAustron contingent showed that a shared workplace can be every bit as strong a foundation as a shared alma mater.
Then there were the new names. In true CERN fashion, several new teams drew inspiration from the High-Luminosity LHC programme, Collimator Chasers and Luminosity Leapers among them, carrying on the tradition of team names that make a physicist smile and a non-physicist reach for a glossary.
As in previous years, each six-person team tackled a cumulative course: 1000m, 800m, 800m, 600, 600m, and a closing 400m — run solo, in different corners of the world, but adding up to something shared. Times were logged on Strava and submitted to the Office for Alumni Relations and the CERN Running Club, who compiled the final standings.
And here they are!
This year's winners are the MadAustronauten— taking the top spot for the fourth consecutive year. A remarkable achievement!
Congratulations to all six members of the winning team:
- Xavier German
- Fabien Plassard
- Lukas Jägerhofer
- Jimmy Wallner
- Harald Grill
- Greta Guidoboni
Beyond the podium, the real highlight was the sheer variety of backdrops in the photos that came in, runners in city parks, on mountain trails and suburban pavements, each image a small reminder of just how far the CERN Alumni Network stretches.
Thank you to the CERN Running Club for their invaluable support in making this event happen year after year.
And thank you to every alumnus and alumna who pulled on their running kit and gave it their all — wherever in the world that happened to be.
Until 2027. Keep running.
