2026 Warhorse Ultra-Trail Xiamen by UTMB®
2026 Warhorse Ultra-Trail Xiamen by UTMB® – LXM 100K
Fantian Cultural Square
Race guide
Updated 18 July 2026
The LXM 100K is the flagship distance of the 2026 Warhorse Ultra-Trail Xiamen by UTMB, a 96 km loop that starts and finishes at Fantian Cultural Square. Despite a high point of just 1148 m, the course packs in 4518 m of positive climbing, which tells you immediately what kind of race it is: not a high-mountain epic but a relentless sequence of short, sharp Fujian hill climbs that add up over a long day and night. With the start at only 12 m above sea level, this is a low-altitude race where the challenge comes from repetition and the clock rather than thin air. The loop threads together villages and hills, from Silin Village and Zheng House out to Beichen Mountain and back, with a hard 11:00 Sunday cut-off at the finish. It rewards runners who can keep grinding out vertical on tired legs and manage the humidity of a coastal southern-China course.
The course: a low-altitude loop with relentless climbing
The LXM 100K begins and ends at Fantian Cultural Square, sitting at just 11-12 m of elevation, and covers 96 km with a total of 4518 m of ascent to a high point of only 1148 m. That combination is the defining feature of the race: no single climb is enormous, but the course never settles, stacking up its vertical through dozens of short, steep pitches typical of the Fujian hill country. The checkpoints trace the loop clearly. From the square the route runs out through Silin Village (6.3 km, 40 m) and Zheng House (17.3 km, 157 m) to Xintian (31 km, 320 m) and De'An Castle (45.1 km, 105 m) near the midpoint, then on to Sanjia (59.6 km, 222 m), the named climb of Beichen Mountain (68.7 km, 151 m), Overseas Chinese Farm (73.8 km, 184 m) and Sanxiushan Village (82 km, 42 m), before returning through Silin Village (90.5 km, 39 m) to the finish at 96.4 km. The low checkpoint altitudes disguise how much climbing sits between them.
Where the race bites: the middle third and Beichen Mountain
Because no checkpoint sits especially high, the decisive climbing is hidden in the transitions rather than the aid-station elevations. The stretch from De'An Castle at 45.1 km (105 m) onward is where the accumulated 4518 m of ascent starts to tell, and the section around Beichen Mountain at 68.7 km is the signature climb of the back half. Reaching Beichen with legs still willing to climb is the practical marker of a race that is going well. The cut-off structure confirms where the pressure points are. There are checkpoints with hard limits at Zheng House (Sat 09:32), De'An Castle (Sat 17:47), Beichen Mountain (Sun 02:47), Sanxiushan Village (Sun 06:15) and the finish (Sun 11:00). The gap between De'An Castle in daylight and Beichen Mountain in the small hours is the crux window: runners who arrive at De'An already close to its 17:47 limit face the hardest, hilliest middle of the course overnight with the Beichen cut-off looming. Building a buffer before dark is the single most important tactical goal.
Pacing and fuelling: read the cut-offs, use the crew point
The cut-offs give a clear framework for pacing. From the Saturday-morning start you must reach Zheng House by 09:32 (17.3 km), De'An Castle by 17:47 (45.1 km), Beichen Mountain by 02:47 Sunday (68.7 km), Sanxiushan Village by 06:15 (82 km) and the finish by 11:00 (96.4 km). The most generous margins are early; the squeeze comes in the long overnight leg from De'An to Beichen and again on the run-in to Sanxiushan, so bank time on the runnable early kilometres rather than the climbs. Sanjia at 59.6 km is the designated crew point, and it falls just before the Beichen Mountain climb, making it the natural place to reset for the night: restock nutrition, pick up warm and reflective kit, and change anything that needs changing before the hardest overnight section. Aid spacing is otherwise reasonably frequent, with checkpoints every 6 to 15 km, so you rarely carry for long, but in the coastal heat and humidity the priority is steady fluid and calorie intake from the very first climbs rather than playing catch-up later.
Conditions to expect
Xiamen sits on the coast of southern China, and the LXM 100K is run almost entirely at low elevation, from 11 m at the start to a high point of 1148 m. That means altitude is a non-factor and heat and humidity are the dominant environmental challenge, particularly across the Saturday-daytime kilometres before the field spreads into the cooler night. Managing sweat rate, electrolytes and core temperature through the first 45 km to De'An Castle is essential to arriving at the overnight climbs in good shape. The overnight half brings its own demands. From Beichen Mountain at 68.7 km through Sanxiushan and back to Fantian Cultural Square, most of the field will be moving through the dark hours, so a dependable headtorch and a plan for the drop in temperature and energy that comes after midnight are important. The terrain remains the same relentless low hills throughout, so there is no single alpine crux to fear; the race is instead a war of attrition against humidity, cumulative vertical and a firm 11:00 Sunday finish cut-off.
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Checkpoints & cut-offs
✓ Course data verified against the official source (2026-07-17) · official source
0 km · 12 m · —
6.3 km · 40 m · —
17.3 km · 157 m · Sat 09:32
31 km · 320 m · —
45.1 km · 105 m · Sat 17:47
59.6 km · 222 m · —
68.7 km · 151 m · Sun 02:47
73.8 km · 184 m · —
82 km · 42 m · Sun 06:15
90.5 km · 39 m · —
96.4 km · 11 m · Sun 11:00
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