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⏵ Course guide · Texas ultra

Bandera 100K Course Guide

The Bandera 100K is Texas’s flagship ultra, two 50K loops of rocky, sotol-lined single-track in the Hill Country State Natural Area, and it is a Western States qualifier that pulls a deep national field every January. The vert is modest on paper and brutal underfoot. I will walk you through the loop first, the climbs and the rock and where it bites, then give you a pacing and fueling plan that fits this kind of slow, technical day. There are free calculators along the way to dial in your own numbers.

⏵ At a glance

Bandera 100K quick facts

Date
Second weekend of January (next: Saturday, January 9, 2027)
Location
Hill Country State Natural Area, Bandera, Texas Hill Country
Distances
100K (two 50K loops), 50K (one loop), and 25K
Elevation gain
100K: about 6,600 ft (roughly 3,300 ft per 50K lap)
100K start
7:30 AM Saturday
Cutoff
100K: 25-hour overall limit, with a last-lap cutoff Saturday evening
Qualifier
Western States 100 qualifier (finish under 18 hours); also a HOKA Golden Ticket race

These facts come from the official race site, UltraSignup, and WSER. Check the current date, cutoffs, and aid stations in the race-day details before you commit. Race logistics change year to year.

The course: where Bandera is won and lost

The 100K is two counterclockwise laps of the same 50K loop, about 6,600 feet of climbing total on rocky, technical single-track. Six aid stations sit around the loop (Lodge, Equestrian, Boyles, Nachos, Chapas, and YaYa), and you touch several of them more than once per lap, so you are rarely far from help even when the trail feels remote. The race is not decided on any one climb. It is decided by how well you handle the rock, the sotol, and the steady drip of short steep bumps for sixty-two miles.

The rock and the sotol: respect the footing

The single hardest thing about Bandera is not the climbing, it is the ground. Loose rock, exposed limestone slabs, and gnarly trenched-out sections mean you are watching your feet constantly, and the sotol cactus crowds the trail at shin and calf height ready to slice you open if you drift wide on a tired stride. This is a course where quick feet and patience matter more than raw fitness. Run it like it owes you a fast split and it will trash your legs and your skin early.

Train for this specifically. Get on the rockiest, most technical trail you can find and practice moving over it smoothly, because the people who do well at Bandera are the ones who stay relaxed and surefooted on bad ground when everyone else is tip-toeing. Gaiters and a durable shoe with real rock protection are not optional here.

The climbs: short, steep, and constant

There is no big mountain at Bandera. Instead the 3,300 feet a lap comes in dozens of short, punchy climbs, the named bumps like Sky Island, Cairn’s Climb, Lucky Peak, and the Three Sisters, each one steep enough to hike and short enough that you never settle into a climbing rhythm. The skill is in the shifting: power-hike the ups efficiently, then immediately get back to running the flats and rollers without burning a match every time the trail tilts.

The only consistently flat, runnable stretch on the whole loop is around the YaYa aid station, so that is where you can actually open up and move. Everywhere else you are climbing, descending, or threading rock. Plan your effort around that reality instead of expecting long runnable miles that never come.

Two loops, the long day, and the cold-to-warm swing

The two-loop format is a gift for pacing and crewing: you see the entire course on lap one, your crew gets one reliable place to catch you at the start/finish area, and you can build a clear plan for what you carry and swap each time through. The flip side is mental. Heading back out for a second identical lap, in the dark, on legs the rock has already beaten up, is where Bandera gets you, so know it is coming and have a reason ready to keep moving.

Early January in the Hill Country swings hard. More years than not the morning and evening run cold and damp while the middle of the day can turn warm and dry, so dress in layers you can shed and stash, and do not let a chilly start fool you into under-fueling or under-drinking when it warms up. Plan for both ends of the forecast, not the one you are hoping for.

Pacing strategy for a slow, technical 100K

Bandera is about managing a long day on bad footing, not chasing a pace chart. Your splits will run slower than the elevation alone suggests because the rock eats time, so pace by effort and plan around the loop, the cutoffs, and the 18-hour Western States mark.

Pace by effort and grade, not your flat splits

Your road pace is meaningless on Bandera’s rock. What matters is steady effort: power-hike the steep bumps without guilt, run the runnable bits under control, and never redline a climb just because it is short. The classic Bandera blow-up is going out too hard on lap one because the early miles feel manageable, then falling apart on the second lap when the rock has shredded your quads. Use a grade-adjusted pace to turn your real fitness into honest targets for this kind of constant up-and-down terrain so you do not torch the first loop.

Build a finish prediction that respects the terrain

Do not guess your Bandera time off a road 100K or even a smooth-trail ultra. The rock, the sotol-slowed footing, and the short steep climbs all add real minutes that vert charts miss, so your honest finish window is later than the raw numbers imply. A vert-aware finish prediction gives you a realistic target and lets you work backward into the last-lap cutoff and the 18-hour Western States qualifier, so you actually know how much buffer you have when you roll through the start/finish to head out for loop two.

⏵ Free tools to pace this course

  • Grade-adjusted pace calculator to turn your flat fitness into honest targets for the constant short climbs and rocky descents.
  • Race-time calculator for a vert-aware finish prediction on this course, so you can plan against the last-lap cutoff and the 18-hour Western States mark.
  • Race-equivalent calculator to turn a recent race result into a Bandera goal you can actually hold on this footing.

Fueling strategy for a 100K on rough ground

Most runners are out on the Bandera 100K for somewhere between about 12 and 24 hours, through a cold-to-warm-to-cold day, so carbohydrate, sodium, and fluid are every bit as important as your legs. The two-loop format makes it easy to dial in a repeatable plan.

Carbs: steady, trained, and easy to chew on rough trail

For a 100K, aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour and only push the higher end if your gut is trained for it. The technical footing makes eating harder than it sounds, because choking down a gel while you pick through rock is its own skill, so favor things you can get in without thinking and keep the intake steady rather than gambling on big catch-up doses late. Rehearse your exact race-day carb rate on long technical runs so 80-plus grams an hour feels normal by January, not like an experiment on lap two.

Sodium and fluid: plan for the swing, top off every loop

Bandera can run cool in the morning and evening and warm in the middle of the day, so your sweat rate and your sodium need will not be constant, and a cold start is the easiest time to fall behind on drinking. A common range is about 300 to 700 milligrams of sodium per liter of fluid, leaning higher when it warms up or if you are a salty sweater. Use the start/finish and the aid stations around the loop to top off honestly each time through instead of rationing, and weigh yourself before and after a long run to find your real sweat rate so you build the plan around your own number.

⏵ Build your fueling plan

Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and the Bandera conditions with the free ultra fueling calculator. Browse the rest of the free running tools at the tools hub.

⏵ Train for it with Summit Line

Get a race-day plan built around YOUR fitness, this exact Bandera loop profile, and your projected splits. Summit Line reads your real training, builds a plan for the rock and the constant short climbs, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.

Start free →Explore the demo

Bandera 100K FAQ

How hard is the Bandera 100K?

Bandera is hard in a way the elevation numbers do not warn you about. The 100K runs two 50K loops for roughly 6,600 feet of total climbing, which sounds modest, but almost none of it is on smooth trail. The Hill Country State Natural Area is famous for loose rock, sotol cactus that slices your legs, and short steep punchy climbs that never let you settle into a rhythm. Add an early-January day that can swing from cold and damp to warm and dry, and it earns its reputation as one of the tougher 100Ks in the country.

How much climbing is in the Bandera 100K?

About 6,600 feet of total elevation gain over the full 100K, which works out to roughly 3,300 feet per 50K lap. There is no single big mountain here. Instead the climbing comes in dozens of short, steep, rocky pitches (the named bumps like Sky Island, Cairn’s Climb, Lucky Peak, and the Three Sisters), so you are constantly shifting gears between power-hiking up and picking your way back down. The 50K is one lap and the 25K covers a chunk of the same hills.

Is the Bandera 100K a Western States qualifier?

Yes. Finish the Bandera 100K under 18 hours and you qualify to enter the Western States 100 lottery. It is also a HOKA Golden Ticket race, meaning the top finishers earn a direct, automatic entry to Western States, which is a big reason the elite field shows up here every January. The overall course cutoff is generous at 25 hours, but if your goal is the Western States qualifier you are really racing that 18-hour mark, not the final cutoff.

What are the cutoff times for the Bandera 100K?

The 100K has a 25-hour overall limit, with a last-lap cutoff on Saturday evening that you have to make to head out for your second loop. That gives most runners a lot of room compared to a tight mountain 100K, but do not get complacent: the terrain is slow and your splits will drift later than you expect on tired, beat-up legs. If you want the Western States qualifier you need to be under 18 hours. Always confirm the current cutoffs and the exact last-lap time in the official race-day details before you start.

What is the terrain and weather like at Bandera?

The footing is the whole story. You get rocky, technical single-track through cedar and sotol, with loose rock, exposed limestone, and the sotol plants themselves waiting at shin and calf height to cut you up. The hills are short but steep, and the only consistently flat, runnable stretch is around the YaYa aid station. Early January in the Texas Hill Country is unpredictable: more often than not race reports mention cold mornings and evenings, but it can also turn warm and dry mid-day, so you have to plan for both ends.

Is the Bandera 100K a good first 100K?

It can be, with eyes open. The two-loop format is friendly for a first 100K because you see the whole course on lap one, your crew has one easy spot to catch you, and the generous cutoffs take some pressure off. What is not friendly is the terrain: the rock and sotol chew up your legs and your feet, and the constant short climbs make it hard to find a rhythm. If you train on technical, rocky trail, rehearse your fueling, and respect the early pace, the time limits give a prepared first-timer real room to finish.

This guide is independent and for planning only. The course details, dates, cutoffs, and aid stations come from public sources and can change year to year, so confirm the current specifics with the official race before you register or run. The fueling and pacing advice is general and not medical advice.