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⏵ Course guide · Arizona ultra

Saddles 100 Course Guide

The Saddles 100 is a big mountain loop around Prescott, Arizona, run on the area’s best high-country trails, and the 100 mile stacks up around 12,800 feet of climbing with a long stretch of it overnight. You pick 50 or 100, you start at 5 in the morning, and the loop just keeps feeding you climbs. I will walk you through the course first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan that fits the rolling vert, the cutoffs, and the cold high-desert night. There are free calculators along the way to dial in your own numbers.

⏵ At a glance

Saddles 100 quick facts

Date
Saturday, October 3, 2026
Location
Prescott, Arizona (Prescott high country, Yavapai County)
Distances
100 mile loop and 50 mile loop (plus a 6.66 mile fun run)
Elevation gain
100 mile: about 12,800 ft · 50 mile: a big chunk of that, confirm the current figure
Start
5:00 AM (100 mile and 50 mile)
Cutoff
100 mile: 34 hours overall, with intermediate cutoffs · 3 mph minimum pace
Aid stations
Around 9 on the 100 mile loop, crew and drop bags at the major ones
Qualifier
No Western States, Hardrock, or UTMB Running Stones status listed by the race

These facts come from the official race site, UltraSignup, and race results coverage. Check the current date, the elevation for your distance, the cutoffs, and the aid stations in the race manual before you commit. Race logistics change year to year.

The course: where the Saddles 100 is won and lost

The 100 is a single big loop around Prescott, roughly 100 miles with about 12,800 feet of climbing on the area’s premier trail network, starting and finishing in town near Willow and Watson lakes. In 2026 it runs clockwise. There are around 9 aid stations spread around the loop, and the 50 mile shares much of the same ground but skips the Granite Dells section. The whole thing is rolling. No single monster climb, just climb after climb that adds up.

The first half: bank time without spending your legs

You start in the dark at 5 AM, and the early miles feel great, which is the trap. The footing is good high-desert single-track and you will want to roll, but the loop is long and the back half is where it bites. The smart play is to bank time gently in the cool morning hours by being efficient, not fast. Hike the steeper pitches from the very start, keep your effort honest on the rollers, and get to the halfway point feeling like you have barely started a race.

This is also where you set up your stomach for the whole day. Eat early and often while it is easy, before the afternoon warmth and the climbing start to shut your appetite down. The runners who fall apart at mile 70 usually stopped eating around mile 40.

The climbs: relentless, not vertical

There is no Hardrock-style wall here, no single 4,000 foot grunt. What you get instead is roughly 12,800 feet of gain handed to you in pieces, a steady drumbeat of climbs and saddles around the Prescott high country that never really lets up. That is its own kind of hard. It is easy to power-hike each individual climb fine and still be slowly emptying the tank, because there is always another one.

Respect the cumulative load. Settle into a climbing rhythm you could hold all day, eat on the ups when your effort is lower and your gut cooperates, and let the descents be where you make easy time rather than where you hammer your quads. Save the legs for the night.

The overnight: the real test of this race

The Prescott high country sits up near a mile of elevation, so once the sun drops the temperature falls hard, and 100 mile runners spend the whole night out there. This is where the Saddles 100 is actually decided. Your pace slows, your brain gets foggy, your appetite vanishes, and the cold finds every gap in your kit. People who planned for the night keep moving and keep eating. People who did not sit down at an aid station, get cold, and unravel.

Carry a bright headlamp with backup batteries or a second light, and have warm layers and gloves waiting in your drop bags. A pacer through the dark hours is worth a lot here, both to keep you moving and to keep you safe when your judgment goes. Practice running and eating in the dark before race day so the night feels normal instead of like a fight.

The cutoffs and the minimum pace

The 100 gives you 34 hours overall and holds you to a 3 mile per hour minimum, with intermediate cutoffs at aid stations around the loop. That sounds roomy, and it is if you stay healthy, but climbing and night both eat your average, so you want a cushion built early rather than a deficit you are chasing at 3 AM. Know the intermediate cutoff at each aid station and check your buffer every time you come through.

The 50 mile has its own tighter time limit on a shorter version of the loop. Whichever distance you pick, pull the exact cutoffs from the current race manual and pace backward from them, because falling behind a single checkpoint cutoff ends your day no matter how good you feel.

Pacing strategy for a rolling, overnight 100

With about 12,800 feet of gain spread across the whole loop and a full night to get through, Saddles is about managing effort over a very long time, not chasing a pace chart. Run the climbs by feel, protect your quads on the descents, and build your plan around the cutoffs.

Pace by grade and effort, not by the watch

Your flat-ground pace is meaningless on a course that is climbing or descending almost the entire time. What matters is grade-adjusted effort, so hold a steady output you can keep up the grades and hike the steep pitches without guilt. The classic Saddles mistake is running the cool early miles too hard because they feel easy, then paying for it deep in the night. Use a grade-adjusted pace to turn your real fitness into honest climbing and descending targets, and you will not torch the first half.

Build a vert-aware, cutoff-anchored finish plan

Do not guess your Saddles finish off a road 100 or a flat 50. The 12,800 feet of climbing, the technical footing, and the overnight all add real time, and you need a projection that respects the climbing so you can pace backward into the 34 hour limit and every intermediate cutoff. Know roughly when you should hit each major aid station, then check that against the cutoffs as you go, so you always know how much buffer you actually have instead of finding out too late.

⏵ Free tools to pace this course

Fueling strategy for a long day and a long night

A 100 mile finish here can take most of a day and a full night, so fueling is not a detail, it is half the race. Think in total carbohydrate over many hours, and plan specifically for the part of the night when your appetite quits.

Carbs: steady, trained, and protected through the night

Aim for roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour while you can take it, and lean to the higher end only if your gut is trained for it. Over a 100 that adds up to a lot of grams, and the moment that decides your race is usually 2 AM when nothing sounds good. Keep intake steady and easy to swallow, mix liquid calories with real food, and have a few backup flavors and textures in your drop bags for when your favorites turn on you. Practice your exact race-day carb rate on long back to back runs so eating big numbers feels automatic.

Sodium, fluid, and the temperature swing

Prescott in early October can be warm and dry in the afternoon and cold overnight, so your needs swing through the day. Push sodium in the warm hours, often around 500 to 700 milligrams per liter of fluid, more if you sweat heavy or salty, then ease back as the night cools and your sweat rate drops. Carry enough between aid stations to cover the gaps instead of rationing to empty. Weigh yourself before and after a hot long run to learn your real sweat rate, then build your plan around your own number rather than a generic chart.

⏵ Build your fueling plan

Get a carb, sodium, fluid, and caffeine plan per hour built for your weight, your goal time, and the Saddles day-into-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 Saddles 100 course profile, and your projected splits. Summit Line reads your real training, builds a plan for all that rolling vert and the overnight, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.

Start free →Explore the demo

Saddles 100 FAQ

How hard is the Saddles 100?

It is a real mountain 100, not a flat desert cruise. The 100 mile loop circles Prescott on the area’s trail network with somewhere around 12,800 feet of climbing, run mostly on single-track and high-country trail, and you do a big share of it overnight. The 34 hour overall cutoff is generous on paper, but the rolling, relentless climbing and the cold high-desert night are what get people, not raw distance. Train the climbs, train your stomach, and have a plan for the dark and you give yourself a real shot.

How much climbing is in the Saddles 100?

The 100 mile loop has roughly 12,800 feet of total elevation gain, depending on the year’s exact route and how it is measured (you will see figures right around 12,000 to 13,000 feet). None of it is one giant mountain, it is a long string of climbs that just keeps coming, which is why it wears people down late. The 50 mile takes a big chunk of that same loop, so it climbs hard too. Confirm the current elevation figure for your distance in the race manual before you build your plan.

What are the cutoff times for the Saddles 100?

The 100 mile has a 34 hour overall cutoff and runs a 3 mile per hour minimum pace, with intermediate cutoffs at aid stations along the loop so you cannot bank all your time for the end. That works out to a roughly 20 minute per mile average ceiling, but climbing and night slow everyone down, so you want a real cushion early. The 50 mile has its own shorter time limit. Check the exact intermediate cutoffs and the 50 mile cutoff in the current race manual before you start, because they get adjusted year to year.

Is the Saddles 100 a loop or point-to-point, and how does the night work?

It is one big loop around Prescott on the area’s premier trails, starting and finishing in town near the lakes, and in 2026 it runs clockwise (50 milers skip the Granite Dells section). With a 5:00 AM start, 100 mile runners are out through the whole night and into a second sunrise, while mid and back of pack 50 milers can also catch darkness. The Prescott high country sits up near a mile of elevation, so nights get genuinely cold even after a warm October afternoon. Pack a headlamp with backup, warm layers, and gloves, and rehearse moving well in the dark.

How should I fuel and crew the Saddles 100?

Treat it as a long day plus a long night, so think in hundreds of grams of carbohydrate over the whole race, not just per hour. Most runners do well on roughly 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour while they can stomach it, with sodium that climbs in the warm afternoon, and the real skill is eating through the night when your appetite quits. There are around 9 aid stations on the 100 mile loop with crew and drop bags at the major ones, so stash spare lights, layers, socks, and your own preferred food in your bags. Run your hourly numbers for your weight and goal time with the free ultra fueling calculator and rehearse them on long back to back runs.

Can I use pacers and drop bags at the Saddles 100?

Yes. The race allows pacers later in the 100 mile and supports drop bags at the major crewable aid stations, which is exactly what you want on a long overnight loop. A pacer through the dark hours keeps you moving, keeps you eating, and keeps you safe when your brain gets foggy. Use your drop bags to leapfrog a headlamp swap, a warm layer, dry socks, and food you actually like at the spots you will hit at night. Confirm the current pacer rules, where pacers can join, and the exact drop bag locations in the race manual.

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.