⏵ Course guide · North Dakota badlands ultra
The Maah Daah Hey 100 sends its field point-to-point across the North Dakota badlands, roughly 112 to 116 miles of continuous singletrack through dirt, clay, sandstone, and scoria, about 12,000 feet of gain, and a 36 hour clock, finishing in the cowboy town of Medora. I will walk you through the remote, exposed terrain first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan built for self-sufficiency, plus free tools to dial in your own numbers.
These facts come from the official Maah Daah Hey Trailrun site. The site itself has not fully reconciled its 112 vs. 116 mile distance labels after a recent course change, so confirm the current course map and mileage on mdhtr.com before you commit.
MDHTR runs point-to-point on the world-famous Maah Daah Hey Trail, finishing in the historic Western town of Medora. The race recently rerouted the ultra distance to a longer out-and-back specifically to remove a Little Missouri River crossing, which is why the official site currently shows both a 112 and a 116 mile figure for the same event.
About 12,000 feet of gain comes from a genuinely repetitive terrain pattern: climbing onto a badlands butte, crossing flat prairie grassland on top, dropping into a draw, and climbing again. The race's own trail description puts it simply: "as many descents as it does climbs, and they are never not far apart." Expect steady, cumulative effort rather than one defining ascent.
The badlands terrain mixes dirt, clay, sandstone, and scoria, with sparsely wooded sections but mostly open, exposed trail. There is very little tree cover to break wind, sun, or weather, and the course runs through genuinely remote country with limited cell service. Respect the environment here as much as the mileage.
Full aid stations sit roughly every 25 miles, offering shaded tents, water, and other essentials. Between those, about 9 checkpoints mark where the trail crosses major back roads, serving as bailout points with porta potties and water but not always full food service, and they run more frequently on the southern half of the course.
With a Friday 12:00 pm start and a 36 hour cutoff, most 100 mile finishers run through a full day, a full night, and well into a second day across genuinely remote terrain.
Because the climbing here comes in a repeated pattern of up-onto-a-butte, across, and down again, a grade-adjusted pace target matters throughout the race, not just on a handful of named climbs. Set an honest, repeatable effort level for that pattern early, since the terrain does not let up meaningfully until the very end.
With full aid roughly every 25 miles and only partial support at the intermediate checkpoints, a vert-aware finish prediction should account for realistic slowdowns on this remote, exposed terrain rather than an optimistic flat-ground pace. Check your projection against the 36 hour cutoff at each full aid station, not just at the finish.
⏵ Free tools to pace this course
A 36 hour cutoff and roughly 25-mile gaps between full aid stations mean self-sufficiency matters more here than at most hundreds.
Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour. With full aid stations roughly every 25 miles and only partial support at the intermediate checkpoints, carry more than you would on a course with closer-spaced aid, and rely on drop bags at the full stations to reset your supply.
Sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range covers most runners, and the exposed, largely treeless badlands terrain means wind and sun exposure matter as much as raw temperature. Adjust upward on hot, windy stretches across the open prairie sections, and carry enough fluid capacity to cover the longer gaps between full aid.
⏵ Build your fueling plan
Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and a remote, exposed North Dakota badlands day and night 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 repetitive badlands climbing profile, and your projected splits. Summit Line reads your real training, builds a plan for remote, exposed terrain, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.
MDHTR's ultra distance is a genuinely remote, exposed badlands race. Continuous singletrack winds through dirt, clay, sandstone, and scoria, climbing onto buttes with flat prairie grassland on top and almost no tree cover to break the wind or sun. The race's own description sums up the terrain honestly: "as many descents as it does climbs, and they are never not far apart." Add a 36 hour cutoff, a point-to-point course with sparse infrastructure, and roughly 12,000 feet of gain, and this becomes a serious test of self-sufficiency as much as fitness.
The distance here needs an honest caveat: the official race site currently shows two different numbers. The elevation chart still lists the ultra at 112 miles, but the race's own course description says the 100 mile field runs a rerouted, longer out-and-back of 116 miles, specifically to remove a Little Missouri River crossing that used to be part of the course. Whichever figure ends up correct for your race year, expect somewhere in the 112 to 116 mile range rather than an even 100, and confirm the current course map before race day.
The official elevation chart lists 11,968 feet of gain, close to 12,000 feet, for the ultra distance. That climbing comes in a genuinely repetitive pattern, up onto a butte, across flat prairie grassland, back down into a draw, and up again, rather than from any single defining mountain, which the race's own trail description captures well: "as many descents as it does climbs, and they are never not far apart."
With a Friday 12:00 pm start and a 36 hour cutoff, plan for a full day, a full night, and well into a second day on an exposed, remote badlands course. Aid stations sit roughly every 25 miles, with intermediate checkpoints offering water and porta potties but not always full food service, so build a fueling plan that assumes real self-sufficiency between full stops rather than expecting frequent resupply. Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and sodium in the 300 to 700 mg per liter range, adjusting for whatever heat and wind the exposed badlands terrain delivers. Build your numbers with the free ultra fueling calculator before race day.
The overall time limit is 36 hours from the Friday 12:00 pm MDT start, which puts the finish line close around midnight two nights later. The race's own finish-line copy states it plainly: "as long as you cross the finish line in under a day and a half, you're good!" Given the roughly 25-mile gaps between full aid stations and the remote, exposed terrain, treat that 36 hour window as real working time rather than a comfortable buffer.
Strongly recommended, and the race says so directly: it is the runner's own responsibility to get on and off the course, since this is an extremely remote and unpopulated route with limited volunteers and staff available to shuttle or help pick up runners. A SAG driver who knows the course roads is a real asset here, not a luxury, and pacers are only permitted one at a time from the Old Hwy 10 Checkpoint onward for the ultra distance, or from the start for runners 60 and older who notify the race director in advance.
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<a href="https://runsummitline.com/guides/maah-daah-hey-100">The Maah Daah Hey 100 course guide</a><iframe src="https://runsummitline.com/embed/race/maah-daah-hey-100" style="width:100%;max-width:420px;height:180px;border:0;" loading="lazy" title="Maah Daah Hey 100 course guide by Summit Line"></iframe>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.