Trail Running · California

🇺🇸Canyons by UTMB 100 km:
Course Analysis & Race Readiness

98 km with 3,346 m of climbing against 4,489 m of descent. This is a net-downhill course where quads decide the race: nearly half the distance runs downhill, much of it steep.

CourseRecon scores your own training against the descending and durability demands that define Canyons by UTMB 100 km — the sample analysis below shows exactly how.

98.4 km

Distance

+3,330 m

Vertical Gain

−4,480 m

Total Descent

Apr 24, 2027

Next Edition · 276 days out

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The Course · GPS-Measured

What 98.4 km / 61.2 mi and 3,330 m / 10,940 ft of vertical gain actually look like

Measured from the GPS track: 98.4 km / 61.2 mi and 3,330 m / 10,940 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

98.4km

Distance

+3,350m

Gain

+0.0 km−20 m

GPS-Measured

98.4km

Distance

+3,330m

Gain

Climb & Gradient

+3,330 mTotal Gain

−4,480 mTotal Loss

Gradient Distribution

37%

Flat

≤3% grade

21%

Run-Climb

3–15% up

Steep Climb

>15% up

37%

Descent

downhill

Steepest Sustained Sections

Descent

KM 17.8–21.1 · −494 m

-15.1%

Climb

KM 21.1–24.4 · +494 m

+14.9%

Climb

KM 31.6–35.4 · +523 m

+13.5%

Descent

KM 25.5–31.6 · −733 m

-12.1%

Finish & Cutoff Times

What it takes to finish

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

8h 19m

Winning time

8h 39m

Top 5

9h 12m

Top 10

16h 58m

Median finisher

20h 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 50% 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 output across 98 km with 3,346 m of gain and heavy net loss.

ClimbingVertical power

16%

Thirteen climbs, the biggest 563 m and longest 4.9 km, with sharp very-steep pitches.

DescendingEccentric / braking

50%

The defining demand: 4,489 m of loss over 10 descents, nearly half steep or very steep.

DurabilityLate-race resilience

33%

Repeated pounding across 98 km, guarding quads through the biggest 733 m descent late.

The Profile in One Line

A descent-dominated 98 km with more loss than gain and relentless steep downhill demanding durable legs over its full length.

Aerobic FoundationalClimbing 16%Descending 50%Durability 33%

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

READY

For a representative strong mountain-ultra athlete

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

Pillar Breakdown

Aerobic

The 98 km distance with 3,346 m of climbing requires steady aerobic output, though the net-downhill profile shifts emphasis away from sustained uphill effort.

Climbing

Thirteen climbs totaling 3,346 m, capped by a 563 m ascent and grades near 15 percent, demand strong repeatable climbing legs despite the modest climbing share.

Descending

With 4,489 m of loss across 10 descents and roughly half the distance downhill, including a 733 m drop and 7.9 km descent, this pillar governs the race.

Durability

Cumulative eccentric loading over 98 km wears quads down; holding descending form on the longest drops late is the durability test.

km 25–35

The 733 m Plunge into a Steep Rebuild

A 733 m descent over km 25.5–31.5 at -12.1 percent hammers the quads, immediately followed by a 523 m climb at 13.5 percent that punishes tired legs.

km 18–24

Descend-Climb Whipsaw

A 494 m drop at -15.1 percent into an equal 494 m climb at 14.9 percent forces rapid gear changes between steep down and steep up.

Net Loss

4,489 m Down vs 3,346 m Up

The course sheds far more than it gains, with descent covering roughly half the distance, so quad durability rather than climbing decides who holds pace to the finish.

That was a sample