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Trail Running · Blue Mountains

🇦🇺Ultra Trail Australia 100 mile:
Course Analysis & Race Readiness

161km with 6367m of gain and 6389m of loss across 30 climbs and 25 descents. Relentless downhill loading and late-race fatigue define this course far more than any single summit.

CourseRecon scores your own training against the durability and descending demands that define Ultra Trail Australia 100 mile — the sample analysis below shows exactly how.

161 km
Distance
+6,300 m
Vertical Gain
−6,320 m
Total Descent
May 14, 2027
Next Edition · 303 days out
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The Course · GPS-Measured

What 161 km / 100 mi and 6,300 m / 20,660 ft of vertical gain actually look like

Measured from the GPS track: 161 km / 100 mi and 6,300 m / 20,660 ft of vertical gain. This is the terrain you're signing up for: read it before it reads you.

Course Profile

Terrain summary
Claimed vs GPS-Measured
Claimed · Organizer
161km
Distance
+7,200m
Gain
−0.2 km−900 m
GPS-Measured
161km
Distance
+6,300m
Gain
Climb & Gradient
+6,300 mTotal Gain
−6,320 mTotal Loss
Gradient Distribution
32%
Flat
≤3% grade
28%
Run-Climb
3–15% up
6%
Steep Climb
>15% up
34%
Descent
downhill
Steepest Sustained Sections
1
Descent
KM 17.9–22.0 · −649 m
-15.7%
2
ClimbCRUX
KM 22.0–25.8 · +584 m
+15.4%
3
Descent
KM 96.3–98.9 · −368 m
-14.4%
4
Climb
KM 151.0–155.0 · +345 m
+9.5%
Finish & Cutoff Times

What it takes to finish

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

20h 24m
Winning time
22h 19m
Top 5
23h 31m
Top 10
31h 08m
Median finisher
35h 23m
Back of pack

Based on 2026 results.

What This Race Demands

Four things this course asks of your body

Every course weights the four pillars of mountain-ultra fitness differently. Durability carries 43% 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 over 161km with only 19% flat terrain to recover on.
ClimbingVertical power
18%
30 climbs including a 584m ascent at 15.4% grade demand repeatable steep power.
DescendingEccentric / braking
39%
40% descending, including a 9km drop and a 659m loss, hammers the legs relentlessly.
DurabilityLate-race resilience
43%
6367m up and 6389m down over 161km punishes anyone whose legs fade late.
The Profile in One Line

A 161km ultra where 40% of terrain runs downhill and durability decides who finishes strong.

Aerobic FoundationalClimbing 18%Descending 39%Durability 43%

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
74
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
63
With just 19% flat terrain and 161km to cover, steady aerobic output must hold across constant undulation with few passages to settle into rhythm.
Climbing
97
Thirty climbs totaling 6367m, topped by a 584m ascent at 15.4%, require repeatable steep-grade power rather than a single big effort.
Descending
69
At 40% of the course, descending is the dominant demand: a 9km descent and a 659m loss, plus a 15.7% early plunge, load the quads heavily.
Durability
69
The heaviest demand here — 6389m of cumulative loss over 161km means late climbs like the 345m ascent near km 151 must be tackled on tired legs.
km 22–26
The 584m climb
A 5.1km ascent gaining 584m at 15.4% grade is the biggest climb of the day, arriving early and setting the tone for repeated steep work.
km 18–22
Early steep plunge
A 649m loss at -15.7% over just 4km comes before the day's biggest climb, front-loading quad damage that compounds across the remaining descents.
km 151–155
Late 345m climb
After 150km and 6000m of climbing, a 345m ascent at 9.5% tests whoever still has legs left in the closing kilometres.
That was a sample

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