⏵ Course guide · Moab red-rock marathon
The Moab Trail Marathon sends its field through Kane Creek Canyon on narrow slickrock, rim-top singletrack, and sandy washes, about 3,500 feet of climbing across two real climbs, and hosts the 2026 USATF Trail Half Marathon National Championship in the process. I will walk you through the course and the terrain first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan for a course that changes character every mile. There are free calculators along the way to dial in your own numbers.
These facts come from the official race site. Check the current year details, cutoffs, and shuttle schedule before you commit. Race logistics change year to year.
The marathon starts at the Pritchett Canyon entrance and works through Hunter Canyon, Kane Creek Road, the Scorched Earth Wall, the Captain Ahab and Amasa Back trails, and the Rockstacker and Jackson Trail singletrack before finishing at Kane Creek. The Half Marathon shares the first 9 miles, then splits off through Gatherer Canyon and the Hymasa Trail into Kane Creek itself.
Narrow single-track, rugged jeep trail, sandy washes, Moab-style slickrock, a short stretch of dirt road, a couple of no-track sections, an old mining trail, some real climbing, and even a small slot canyon all show up across the marathon distance. The footing changes fast enough that settling into one running rhythm is not really an option here. Expect to adjust your stride constantly.
The marathon’s roughly 3,500 feet of gain comes from one nice, gradual climb right at the start and one shorter, steeper climb just past the halfway point, with several smaller rises and drops filling out the rest. The Half Marathon course, which doubles as the USATF Trail Half Marathon National Championship, follows the same opening climb through Pritchett Canyon and the Hunter Rim before its own route diverges.
Expect towering red rock walls in the Behind the Rocks Wilderness, sheer drops into Pritchett, Hunter, and Kane Creek Canyons, and views out into Canyonlands National Park with the snow-capped La Sal Mountains in the distance. The official course description notes top runners finish in under 4 hours while most runners land in the 5-to-6-hour range, a wide spread that reflects how much the terrain, not just fitness, controls your pace here.
With two distinct climbs and constantly shifting footing, this is a course where grade and surface, not a flat per-mile split, should drive your pacing.
The first climb out of Pritchett Canyon is gradual, which makes it tempting to push. A grade-adjusted pace target keeps that early effort honest so you still have legs for the steeper climb past halfway and for the scramble section around mile 17.5.
Because the race publishes suggested qualifying times as a guide to finishing within the cutoffs, a vert-aware finish prediction built off your training and this course’s roughly 3,500 feet of gain is worth checking against those standards well before race week, not after you have already registered.
⏵ Free tools to pace this course
Early November in Moab usually means a cool start and a milder afternoon, but exposed slickrock in direct sun can still push the effective temperature up through the middle of the race.
Aim for roughly 45 to 75 grams of carbohydrate per hour across the marathon distance. Use the on-course aid stations to supplement your own gels and chews rather than relying on them entirely, especially heading into the steeper climb past halfway.
Keep sodium in the 300 to 600 mg per liter range for most of the course, and push toward the higher end if you find yourself on exposed slickrock in direct sun during the warmer midday hours. The cool morning start means you can start lighter and adjust as conditions change.
⏵ Build your fueling plan
Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and a cool Moab desert morning 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 two-climb Moab course profile, and your projected splits. Summit Line reads your real training, builds a plan for technical, terrain-shifting trail, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.
The official course description puts finish times at under 4 hours for the top runners and 5 to 6 hours for the average field, on about 3,500 feet of gain across narrow canyons, slickrock, sandy washes, and a short scramble section around mile 17.5. It is not a technical scramble-fest end to end, but the terrain changes constantly, from jeep track to singletrack to bare rock, and that variety plus two real climbs is what separates finish times more than raw distance does.
The marathon gains about 3,500 feet across two major climbs: a nice, gradual one right at the start, and a shorter, steeper one just past the halfway point, with several smaller climbs and descents scattered through the rest of the course. The Half Marathon shares the marathon’s first 9 miles, including the initial climb through Pritchett Canyon and the Hunter Canyon Rim, before its own route splits off toward Kane Creek.
Early November in the Utah desert usually means cool mornings and mild afternoons, but the canyon terrain and slickrock exposure can still run warm in direct sun. Aim for roughly 45 to 75 grams of carbohydrate per hour on the marathon distance, and keep sodium in the 300 to 600 mg per liter range, leaning higher if the day runs warm. Registration includes aid stations on course with water and snacks, plus post-race soup, quesadillas, and snacks at the finish, so use those touches to supplement, not replace, your own plan. Build your numbers with the free ultra fueling calculator before race day.
The race publishes a Suggested Qualifying Times and Cutoffs PDF rather than listing specific cutoff times on the main pages, so pull that document from moabtrailmarathon.com before you build your pacing plan. What is clear from the course description: cutoffs exist for safety and to let volunteers close the course before dark, and the qualifying standards are meant as a guide to keep you from getting in over your head on technical terrain like the mile 17.5 scramble section.
Expect narrow canyons with sheer walls, rim-top trail with long views into Canyonlands National Park, rugged jeep track, sandy washes, classic Moab slickrock, a short section of dirt road, a couple of no-track stretches, an old mining trail, and a little slot canyon. The course passes through the Behind the Rocks Wilderness and the Amasa Back area, along the rims of Pritchett, Hunter, and Kane Creek Canyons, with the La Sal Mountains visible in the distance the whole way.
The constant terrain changes, jeep track to singletrack to slickrock to a short scramble, make this a more demanding first trail marathon than a groomed forest course, but the 5-to-6-hour finish window the race itself describes for average runners gives real room. If you have some technical footing experience and are comfortable with exposure along canyon rims, the scenery and the well-marked, well-supported course make this a memorable place to run your first trail 26.2. If you are newer to technical trail, consider the 10K or Half Marathon as an introduction to the terrain first.
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<a href="https://runsummitline.com/guides/moab-trail-marathon">The Moab Trail Marathon course guide</a><iframe src="https://runsummitline.com/embed/race/moab-trail-marathon" style="width:100%;max-width:420px;height:180px;border:0;" loading="lazy" title="Moab Trail Marathon 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.
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