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⏵ Course guide · Utah ultra

Ute 100 Mile & 50 Mile Course Guide

The Ute 100 is a big, rugged, high-country ultra that circles the entire La Sal Mountain range above Moab, and it is about as serious as a late-summer mountain test gets in Utah. You climb something like 23,000 feet on the 100 mile, you spend most of the day above 9,000 feet, you cross scree fields and passes over 12,000 feet, and you do a lot of it in the dark and the cold. I will walk you through the course first, then give you a pacing and fueling plan built for the vert, the altitude, and the night. There are free calculators along the way to dial in your own numbers.

⏵ At a glance

Ute 100 quick facts

Date
Saturday to Sunday, August 8 to 9, 2026
Location
La Sal Mountains, Manti-La Sal National Forest, near La Sal and Moab, Utah
Distances
100 mile, 50 mile, and 50K
Elevation gain
100M: about 23,356 ft · 50M: about 12,175 ft · 50K: about 11,015 ft
High point
Mann’s Peak, about 12,272 ft (average elevation over 8,700 ft)
Start
5:00 AM (100M and 50M) · 6:30 AM (50K)
Cutoff
100M: 41 hr · 50M: 25 hr · 50K: 18 hr, each with intermediate cutoffs
Qualifier
No Western States, Hardrock, or UTMB qualifier status listed by the race

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

The course: where the Ute 100 is won and lost

The 100 mile is a big loop around the La Sal Mountains, roughly 23,356 feet of climbing on a mix of high alpine singletrack, technical scree, jeep road, and forest trail. You start at 5:00 AM in the dark, you spend the day well above 9,000 feet, and you tag the high point near 12,272 feet at Mann’s Peak. The 50 mile (about 12,175 feet) and the 50K (about 11,015 feet) run the same kind of high, rough terrain, just shorter. This is a course you respect, not one you attack early.

The climbs and the altitude: pace for the thin air

Almost everything here happens up high. You are circling a real mountain range, so the day is built out of long alpine climbs and passes, and with an average elevation over 8,700 feet you basically never get to run relaxed at low altitude. The thin air is the quiet thing that gets people. The same grade that feels fine at home feels a gear harder up here, and if you push the early climbs because the legs feel good, the altitude collects on that loan later.

Hike the steep stuff efficiently and keep your effort honest. Above treeline you get technical scree and talus where you are picking lines and watching your feet, so quick, careful feet matter as much as raw fitness. The high point near Mann’s Peak around 12,272 feet is the rooftop of the day, and getting there with something left in the tank is the whole game.

The descents: just as much down as up, and they bite

There is roughly as much descending as climbing out here, so this is not just a climbing race. Long, rocky downhills on scree and jeep road pound your quads, and the back half of any of these distances is where badly paced runners come apart. If you bombed the early descents or never trained downhill on technical ground, those late miles turn into a slow, careful, painful shuffle.

Practice controlled descending on rough terrain before race day, ideally tired and in low light. Being able to keep your legs turning over downhill late, when your quads are cooked and it is dark and cold, is honestly what separates finishers from DNFs on a course like this.

The night, the cold, and the storms

The 100 mile runs through a full night, and depending on your pace maybe into a second one, with a 41 hour cutoff that closes the course at 10:00 PM Sunday. Up high after dark it gets genuinely cold even in August, so a real jacket, gloves, a hat, and a good light are not optional. The lows of a long mountain 100 tend to hit in the small hours when you are tired, chilled, and high. Eat, layer up, keep moving, and let the bad patch pass instead of sitting down in it.

Early August in the La Sals also sits inside the Southwest monsoon, so afternoon thunderstorms with lightning are a real hazard on the exposed passes and ridgelines. Watch the sky, time your high crossings, and have a plan to get down off the talus fast if a cell builds. Weather up here is part of the race, not a footnote.

Aid, crew, drop bags, and pacers

The 100 mile runs through roughly eleven aid stations around the loop, several of them crew accessible and several taking drop bags, stocked with the usual ultra spread plus warm food. The legs between them are long and remote, though, so do not count on the next aid being close. Carry enough fluid and calories to bridge the gaps, and use your drop bags to stage warm layers, lights, and the food you actually want for the high country and the dark.

For the 100 mile, you can pick up a pacer at roughly mile 42 at the Dark Canyon aid station, which is a smart spot to bring fresh legs and a clear head into the back half and the night. Plan your crew stops, your drop bags, and your pacer handoffs around the cold sections and the long remote stretches. Confirm the current crew-access points and pacer rules before race day, since the aid setup can move year to year.

Pacing strategy for a high, vert-heavy mountain ultra

With north of 23,000 feet of climbing and a near equal amount of descent, all of it at altitude, the Ute 100 is about managing effort over a very long time, not chasing a pace chart. Run the climbs by feel, save your quads for the descents, and keep margin against the cutoffs.

Pace by grade and effort, not by the watch

Your flat-ground pace means nothing on these alpine climbs, and the thin air makes it lie to you on top of that. What matters is grade-adjusted effort, so hold an output you can actually sustain up the grade and hike the steep, scree-y pitches without guilt. The classic blowup here is running the early climbs too hard because the legs feel fresh, then falling apart in the dark on the descents. Use a grade-adjusted pace to turn your real fitness into honest climbing and descending targets, and you will not cook the first half at altitude.

Build a vert-aware finish prediction and work back into the cutoffs

Do not guess your Ute finish off a road time, and do not even trust a flat 100 here. The 23,000-plus feet of climbing, the matching descent, the technical scree, and the altitude all add serious time. A vert-aware finish prediction that accounts for this course’s climbing gives you a realistic window, and then you can work backward into the intermediate cutoffs (like South Mountain and Geyser) so you know how much buffer you actually have at each one instead of guessing in the dark.

⏵ Free tools to pace this course

Fueling strategy for altitude and a very long day

The 100 mile can keep you out there for a day or more, and even the 50M and 50K are long high-country efforts. Altitude blunts your appetite and slows your gut, so carbohydrate, sodium, and fluid end up mattering as much as fitness does.

Carbs: steady, trained, and protected at altitude

For an effort this long, aim for around 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and only push the high end if your gut is trained for it. Altitude is the catch. It kills your appetite and slows your stomach, so the move is to keep your intake steady and easy to get down rather than gambling on big late doses when you feel worst. Practice your exact race-day carb rate on long climbs and tired runs so dialing in 70 to 90 grams an hour feels normal, not like an experiment you are running at 11,000 feet.

Sodium, fluid, and warm calories for the high country

Lean toward the high end on sodium, often around 500 to 700 milligrams per liter of fluid, and more if you are a heavy or salty sweater. Just as important, carry enough fluid to cover the long, remote stretches between aid stations instead of rationing to the next one and arriving empty. Weigh yourself before and after a long mountain run to find your real sweat rate, then build the plan around your own number. And use the crewed aid stations for warm food and real calories, because in the cold and the dark a hot quesadilla does more for you than another gel.

⏵ Build your fueling plan

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

Start free →Explore the demo

Ute 100 FAQ

How hard is the Ute 100 Mile & 50 Mile?

The Ute 100 is one of the hardest mountain ultras in Utah, and it earns it. The 100 mile course climbs roughly 23,356 feet as it circles the entire La Sal range above Moab, the high point tops out around 12,272 feet at Mann’s Peak, and the average elevation sits north of 8,700 feet, so you are working in thin air all day. You get technical scree, alpine singletrack, jeep road, long climbs, and a full night (or two) out there with a 41 hour cutoff. The 50 mile is no consolation prize at about 12,175 feet of gain, and even the 50K stacks roughly 11,015 feet. This is a high, rugged, remote course, so respect the altitude and the vert and you have got a real shot.

How much climbing is in the Ute 100?

A lot, and most of it is up high. The 100 mile course racks up about 23,356 feet of climbing (some sources round it toward 24,000 to 25,000), the 50 mile carries roughly 12,175 feet, and the 50K still hits around 11,015 feet. The climbs are not gentle switchbacked grades either, you get steep alpine pulls, talus and scree fields, and passes that put you well above treeline. The 100 mile high point is Mann’s Peak near 12,272 feet, and with an average elevation over 8,700 feet you basically never get to run easy at low elevation. Train the climbs and the descents, both, because there is just as much down as there is up.

How should I fuel for the Ute 100?

Treat the 100 as a one to two day effort at altitude, and the 50M and 50K as long high-country days. Altitude tends to blunt your appetite and slow your gut, so most runners do well aiming for around 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour and protecting that intake when you would rather stop eating. Sodium matters too, often in the 500 to 700 mg per liter of fluid range, more if you sweat heavy, and you will want warm food and real calories at the crewed aid stations. The aid stations stock things like Tailwind, gels, fruit, salty snacks, and hot food, but the legs between them are long and remote, so carry enough to bridge the gaps. Run your own numbers with the free ultra fueling calculator.

What are the cutoff times for the Ute 100?

The 100 mile has a 41 hour overall cutoff, with the course closing at 10:00 PM on Sunday, and there are intermediate cutoffs along the way (for example at South Mountain and Geyser) that you have to make to stay in the race. The 50 mile gets 25 hours and the 50K gets 18 hours, both with their own intermediate cutoffs. Because the splits are enforced at points along the course, you cannot bank all your buffer for the end, you have to keep moving through the climbs and the night. Always confirm the exact intermediate cutoff times in the current race-day details before you start, since they get adjusted year to year.

What is the terrain and weather like at the Ute 100?

The course is high alpine singletrack, rocky and technical scree fields, jeep and forest roads, and aspen and pine forest, all of it circling the La Sal Mountains. You spend a lot of the day above 9,000 feet and cross passes well over treeline, so footing is rough and exposure is real. Early August in the La Sals means warm, dry days down low but genuinely cold nights up high, and it falls inside the Southwest monsoon, so afternoon thunderstorms with lightning are a real threat up on the exposed ridgelines. Pack for cold and wet even if the morning is warm, and have a plan to get off the high points fast if a storm rolls in.

Can I have a crew and a pacer at the Ute 100?

Yes. Several aid stations are crew accessible and several accept drop bags, so you can resupply, change layers, and get warm food at key points around the loop. For the 100 mile, runners can pick up a pacer beginning at roughly mile 42 at the Dark Canyon aid station, which is a smart place to bring fresh legs and company before the night sets in. Plan your crew stops and drop bags around the long, remote stretches and the cold of the high country, especially anything you will hit after dark. Confirm the current crew-access points, drop-bag stations, and pacer rules in the race-day details, since the aid-station setup can shift year to year.

This guide is independent and for planning only. The course details, dates, cutoffs, aid stations, and crew and pacer rules 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.