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Trail Running · Western Cape

🇿🇦Ultra-Trail Cape Town 55 km:
Course Analysis & Race Readiness

57 km with 2381 m of climbing and 2314 m of loss across nine climbs and seven descents. Descent-dominant at 44% downhill, this course rewards legs that can climb hard and still brake fast late.

CourseRecon scores your own training against the descending and durability demands that define Ultra-Trail Cape Town 55 km — the sample analysis below shows exactly how.

56.7 km
Distance
+2,380 m
Vertical Gain
−2,310 m
Total Descent
20 Nov 2026
Next Edition · 31 days out
Check YOUR readiness
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The Course · GPS-Measured

What 56.7 km / 35.2 mi and 2,380 m / 7,800 ft of vertical gain actually look like

Measured from the GPS track: 56.7 km / 35.2 mi and 2,380 m / 7,800 ft of vertical gain. This is the terrain you're signing up for: read it before it reads you.

Course Profile

Claimed vs GPS-Measured
Claimed · Organizer
56.7km
Distance
+2,380m
Gain
−0.0 km+0 m
GPS-Measured
56.7km
Distance
+2,380m
Gain
Climb & Gradient
+2,380 mTotal Gain
−2,310 mTotal Loss
Gradient Distribution
30%
Flat
≤3% grade
25%
Run-Climb
3–15% up
7%
Steep Climb
>15% up
38%
Descent
downhill
Steepest Sustained Sections
1
Climb
KM 46.1–49.2 · +343 m
+10.9%
2
Descent
KM 10.1–15.8 · −581 m
-10.3%
3
ClimbCRUX
KM 17.3–23.3 · +526 m
+8.8%
4
Descent
KM 52.6–56.7 · −340 m
-8.4%
Finish & Cutoff Times

What it takes to finish

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

5h 13m
Winning time
5h 58m
Top 5
6h 16m
Top 10
14h 30m
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 46% 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 effort over 57 km with 2381 m of accumulated gain across mixed, rolling terrain.
ClimbingVertical power
21%
Nine climbs including a 6 km, 526 m ascent and steep pitches above 10%.
DescendingEccentric / braking
46%
44% of the course points downhill, with descents up to 581 m and grades near -10%.
DurabilityLate-race resilience
33%
Repeated climb-descent cycling over 57 km, with the hardest descending stacked late.
The Profile in One Line

A descent-heavy 57 km with steep, sustained climbs demanding equal fluency going up and pounding down.

Aerobic FoundationalClimbing 21%Descending 46%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
86
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
98
The 57 km distance and 2381 m of gain demand a durable aerobic engine, though effort is broken by frequent gradient changes rather than steady tempo.
Climbing
98
Nine climbs totaling 2381 m ask for repeatable power, headlined by a 6 km, 526 m ascent averaging 8.8% and pitches exceeding 10% grade.
Descending
85
With 44% of the course downhill and 2314 m of loss, including a 581 m drop and grades near -10%, quads must absorb heavy, sustained braking.
Durability
78
Cycling through nine climbs and seven descents over 57 km, the course saves a 340 m descent for the final kilometers, testing legs already worked.
km 17.3–23.3
The Big Climb
A 6 km, 526 m ascent averaging 8.8% is the course's decisive climb, testing sustained uphill power in the first half.
km 10.1–15.8
The Long Plunge
A 581 m descent over 5.7 km at -10.3% loads the quads early, before the biggest climb even begins.
km 52.6–56.7
Closing Descent
A final 340 m drop over 4 km at -8.4% forces controlled braking on tired legs to the finish.
That was a sample

See YOUR readiness for Ultra-Trail Cape Town 55 km

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