2026 Warhorse Ultra-Trail Xiamen by UTMB®
2026 Warhorse Ultra-Trail Xiamen by UTMB® – MXM 50K
Fantian Cultural Square → Fantian Culture Square
Race guide
Updated 18 July 2026
The MXM 50K is the middle distance of the 2026 Warhorse Ultra-Trail Xiamen by UTMB, a 53 km loop that starts and finishes at Fantian Cultural Square. With 2073 m of positive climbing and a high point of just 805 m, it delivers the same character as its bigger sibling in a more accessible package: short, steep coastal hills, low altitude, and heat rather than thin air as the main adversary. Starting at only 13 m above sea level, the MXM 50K sends runners out through Silin Village and Zheng House to the high ground around Sanjia before looping back via Overseas Chinese Farm and Sanxiushan Village to the square. A hard 23:30 Saturday finish cut-off means the whole race is completed in a single push, day into evening, making it a strong choice for runners wanting a genuine UTMB-series ultra without committing to a full night on the trail.
The course: a compact, punchy Fujian loop
The MXM 50K runs 53 km out and back to Fantian Cultural Square, climbing a total of 2073 m to a high point of 805 m. As with the longer Xiamen distances, the modest peak altitude hides the real nature of the course: the vertical is delivered in a string of short, sharp climbs rather than any single long ascent, so the profile is busy and rarely flat. The checkpoints lay out the loop. From the square at 13 m the route passes Silin Village (6.4 km, 39 m) and climbs to Zheng House (16.5 km, 131 m), then continues to Sanjia (20.3 km, 223 m), the highest of the named waypoints. From there it heads to Overseas Chinese Farm (27.8 km, 187 m), Sanxiushan Village (35.9 km, 42 m) and back through Silin Village (44.3 km, 39 m) to the finish at 51.1 km. The steepest concentrated climbing sits in the first half on the way up to Sanjia and the high ground beyond it.
Where the race bites: the climb to Sanjia and the mid-course high ground
The decisive section is the front half, from the start up through Zheng House to Sanjia at 20.3 km and the high point of 805 m that the course reaches around this part of the loop. This is where the bulk of the 2073 m of climbing is earned, and doing it in the Saturday-daytime heat is the real test of the race. Runners who overcook this early climbing pay for it on the second half, where the trail continues to roll despite the lower checkpoint elevations. The cut-offs frame the effort: Zheng House at 16.5 km must be reached by 11:39 Saturday, Overseas Chinese Farm at 27.8 km by 16:37, Silin Village at 44.3 km by 21:03, and the finish at 51.1 km by 23:30. The margins are comfortable for a well-prepared runner but tighten through the afternoon, so the practical goal is to get through the Sanjia high ground and reach Overseas Chinese Farm with time in hand before the later, more constrained cut-offs of the evening.
Pacing and fuelling
With aid roughly every 6 to 11 km, the MXM 50K never asks you to carry supplies for a long time, but the coastal heat means fluid and electrolyte management is still the priority from the gun. The smart approach is to run the runnable opening kilometres to Silin Village and Zheng House steadily, save the legs for the climb to Sanjia, and treat the first checkpoints as chances to top up and eat before the warmest part of the day. Use the cut-off ladder to structure the day: reach Zheng House (16.5 km) by 11:39, Overseas Chinese Farm (27.8 km) by 16:37, Silin Village (44.3 km) by 21:03 and the finish by 23:30. The second half, from Overseas Chinese Farm through Sanxiushan and Silin, is lower and more runnable than the climb-heavy front half, so a runner who has fuelled and paced the first 28 km well can make good time home. Note that unlike the longer distances the MXM 50K has no marked crew point on this data, so plan to be self-sufficient between aid stations.
Conditions to expect
This is a low-altitude coastal race, topping out at just 805 m, so altitude plays no part and heat and humidity dominate. The MXM 50K is run largely through the Saturday day and into the evening, which means the field faces the hottest hours on the biggest climbing of the course, the ascent to Sanjia and the high ground beyond. Acclimatising to warm, humid conditions and dialling in a sweat-and-salt strategy in training will do more for your result than any amount of hill repeats. Because the finish cut-off is 23:30 Saturday, slower runners will finish in the dark and should carry a headtorch, but most of the race is a daytime effort with no full night section to survive. The terrain is consistent throughout, a repeating pattern of short, steep Fujian hills on runnable ground between, so there is no single technical crux to fear. The race instead rewards steady, heat-smart pacing and the discipline to keep eating and drinking through the warmest part of the day.
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Checkpoints & cut-offs
✓ Course data verified against the official source (2026-07-17) · official source
0 km · 13 m · —
6.4 km · 39 m · —
16.5 km · 131 m · Sat 11:39
20.3 km · 223 m · —
27.8 km · 187 m · Sat 16:37
35.9 km · 42 m · —
44.3 km · 39 m · Sat 21:03
51.1 km · 13 m · Sat 23:30
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