Trail Running · California

🇺🇸Angeles Crest 100:
Course Analysis & Race Readiness

161 km with 6,363 m of gain and 6,364 m of loss across 20 climbs and 15 descents. Nearly matched vertical up and down demands legs that keep working through the entire day and night.

CourseRecon scores your own training against the descending and durability demands that define Angeles Crest 100 — the sample analysis below shows exactly how.

161 km

Distance

+6,250 m

Vertical Gain

−6,250 m

Total Descent

Oct 3, 2026

Next Edition · 73 days out

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The Course · GPS-Measured

What 162 km / 101 mi and 6,250 m / 20,490 ft of vertical gain actually look like

Measured from the GPS track: 162 km / 101 mi and 6,250 m / 20,490 ft of vertical gain. This is the terrain you're signing up for: read it before it reads you.

Course Profile

Segments

Daylight

Terrain summary

Claimed vs GPS-Measured

Claimed · Organizer

161km

Distance

+6,500m

Gain

+1.3 km−250 m

GPS-Measured

162km

Distance

+6,250m

Gain

Climb & Gradient

+6,250 mTotal Gain

−6,250 mTotal Loss

Gradient Distribution

30%

Flat

≤3% grade

27%

Run-Climb

3–15% up

Steep Climb

>15% up

36%

Descent

downhill

Steepest Sustained Sections

Climb

KM 69.9–72.9 · +383 m

+12.7%

Descent

KM 97.0–100.0 · −383 m

-12.7%

ClimbCRUX

KM 125.0–137.0 · +1,187 m

+10.7%

Descent

KM 117.0–125.0 · −708 m

-8.5%

Finish & Cutoff Times

What it takes to finish

Reference finish times from past results — use them to set a realistic goal pace.

18h 50m

Winning time

29h 05m

Median finisher

33h 00m

Back of pack

What This Race Demands

Four things this course asks of your body

Every course weights the four pillars of mountain-ultra fitness differently. Descending carries 40% of the scoring weight on this course — the terrain makes that the deciding factor.

Weighting shows where readiness is won or lost at this distance — not whether you need each pillar. An aerobic base is a given for a race this long, so it carries little deciding weight even though it's essential — the gaps open on the climbs, descents and the back half.

AerobicSustained engine

Foundational

Sustained day-and-night effort over 161 km at ultra duration.

ClimbingVertical power

20%

20 climbs totaling 6,363 m, including a 1,187 m grind at 10.7%.

DescendingEccentric / braking

40%

6,364 m of loss over 15 descents, 43% of the course downhill.

DurabilityLate-race resilience

40%

Repeated pounding across 161 km with big vertical late in the race.

The Profile in One Line

A 100-miler defined by relentless descending and durability, anchored by a 1,187 m crux climb late in the race.

Aerobic FoundationalClimbing 20%Descending 40%Durability 40%

Here's how CourseRecon reads a course and an athlete

Sample Readiness Analysis

What a readiness result looks like for this course

This is a worked example for a representative strong mountain-ultra athlete — not your score. Connect your own training and the same analysis runs on you.

Sample

OUT OF 100

MOSTLY READY

For a representative strong mountain-ultra athlete

This is a sample — connect your Strava to see your own result.

Pillar Breakdown

Aerobic

At 161 km in the ULTRA class, the course requires steady aerobic output sustained across many hours of continuous movement.

Climbing

Twenty climbs and 6,363 m of gain, topped by a 1,187 m ascent at 10.7% and steep pitches above 10%, tax climbing power repeatedly.

Descending

With 6,364 m of loss and descent making up 43% of the course, including a 1,047 m drop and grades to -12.7%, quad control is decisive.

Durability

Nearly matched 6,363 m up and 6,364 m down over 161 km, with the biggest climb arriving after 125 km, punishes fatigue resistance.

km 125–137

The 1,187 m Crux Climb

After roughly 125 km, the course throws its biggest ascent: 1,187 m over 11.1 km at 10.7%. Legs already deep in fatigue must produce sustained climbing power here.

Descending load

Relentless Downhill

With 6,364 m of loss across 15 descents and 43% of the course pointed downhill, including a 13.9 km descent and a 1,047 m drop, quads absorb constant braking.

Steep pitches

Very Steep Grades Both Ways

14.2% of the course climbs very steeply and 13.2% descends very steeply, with sections hitting 12.7% up and -12.7% down that break rhythm repeatedly.

That was a sample