HOKA Chiang Mai Thailand by UTMB®
HOKA Chiang Mai Thailand by UTMB® – ELEPHANT 100
Wat Nhong Bua Noi → Chiang Mai Pao Park
Race guide
Updated 18 July 2026
The ELEPHANT 100 is the 100 km centrepiece of HOKA Chiang Mai Thailand by UTMB, running point-to-point from Wat Nhong Bua Noi to Chiang Mai Pao Park. With 4956 m of climbing and a high point of 1600 m, it is a big, relentless day through the temples, villages and forested hills north of Chiang Mai, earning UTMB Running Stones for those who finish inside the 12:00 Saturday deadline. Starting at just 364 m and finishing low at 320 m, the ELEPHANT 100 hides its difficulty in the middle: the elevation profile sawtooths repeatedly between valley floors and hilltops rather than settling into any single long climb. That constant up-and-down, run through an afternoon start and a full night on the trail, is what defines the race. It suits runners who can climb patiently, descend under control in the dark, and keep eating for a day and a half of moving time.
The Course and Terrain
From the start at Wat Nhong Bua Noi (364 m) the route climbs almost immediately, passing Wat Ban Iak at 8.6 km (545 m) before the first major ascent to Wat Phra Phutthabat Si Roi at 20.1 km (1058 m), a crew point that marks the top of the opening climb. The trail then plunges to Mae Ka Piang Village at 27.9 km (720 m) and rolls through Ban Pang Hai Village at 37.5 km (838 m) and up to Chao Mae Luang Upatham 2 School at 43.2 km (1237 m). The defining feature is the whipsaw between high and low ground. After the 1237 m school the course collapses all the way down to Maesa Elephant Camp at 57 km (541 m), climbs again to Jaophorluangoppathum 7 School at 66.6 km (1013 m), tops out at Wat Doi Pui at 76.5 km (1393 m, the highest named checkpoint), then drops to Montha Than Waterfall at 89.8 km (693 m) before a final pull and descent to Chiang Mai Pao Park at 100 km (320 m). With 4956 m of gain packed into these repeated cycles, there is no flat recovery to hide in — this is a course of many separate climbs, not one.
Where the Race Is Won and Lost
The crux is the long central sequence from Maesa Elephant Camp (57 km, 541 m) up over Wat Doi Pui (76.5 km, 1393 m). That is roughly 850 m of net climb across two big steps — Maesa to Jaophorluangoppathum 7 School at 66.6 km (1013 m), then on up to the 1393 m high point — and it arrives deep in the night when fatigue and sleepiness are at their worst. Runners who overcook the earlier climb to Wat Phra Phutthabat Si Roi (1058 m at 20.1 km) tend to pay for it here. The second decisive moment is the descent off Wat Doi Pui to Montha Than Waterfall at 89.8 km (693 m), a drop of around 700 m on legs that have already absorbed thousands of metres. Protect your quads on the earlier descents into Mae Ka Piang and Maesa so you can still run this one. From the waterfall it is roughly 10 km to the finish at Chiang Mai Pao Park (320 m) — close enough to smell the line, far enough to lose time if the descent has wrecked you.
Pacing and Fueling to the Cut-offs
Four intermediate cut-offs shape the race: Mae Ka Piang Village at 27.9 km closes Fri 16:00, Ban Pang Hai Village at 37.5 km closes Fri 19:30, Maesa Elephant Camp at 57 km closes Sat 02:00, and Montha Than Waterfall at 89.8 km closes Sat 10:00, with the finish at 100 km closing Sat 12:00. The Maesa gate at 57 km is the pivotal one: reach it with margin and you have the whole night to grind out the high central climbs; arrive late and the deadlines tighten fast. Aid and crew points are reasonably spaced but the carries between them are long for a mountain 100. The crew points at Wat Phra Phutthabat Si Roi (20.1 km), Ban Pang Hai Village (37.5 km) and Maesa Elephant Camp (57 km) are your major resets — treat them as the places to top up calories, fluid and lights. The biggest single fueling commitment is the climb from Maesa (57 km) over Wat Doi Pui (76.5 km), nearly 20 km of hard, high terrain in darkness; leave Maesa carrying enough food and water to stay fuelled all the way to Montha Than Waterfall.
Conditions to Expect
This is a tropical northern-Thailand race, so heat and humidity dominate the daylight hours from the afternoon start, while the night on the higher ground around Wat Doi Pui (1393 m) and the 1600 m high point can feel markedly cooler and damper. That swing between a hot, sweaty low-altitude start at 364 m and a cold night up top is central to how you dress and how much salt and fluid you plan to take on. Expect a long night section: with a Friday-afternoon start and cut-offs running deep into Saturday, most runners will spend many hours moving in the dark on forested hill trails, so reliable lighting and a spare are essential. The repeated steep descents into the villages and river valleys demand careful footing when tired, and the humidity keeps sweat losses high throughout. Because the finish sits low at Chiang Mai Pao Park (320 m), the closing kilometres return to the heat you started in — pace the last descent for warm, tired legs rather than cool fresh ones.
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Checkpoints & cut-offs
✓ Course data verified against the official source (2026-07-17) · official source
0 km · 364 m · —
8.6 km · 545 m · —
20.1 km · 1058 m · —
27.9 km · 720 m · Fri 16:00
37.5 km · 838 m · Fri 19:30
43.2 km · 1237 m · —
57 km · 541 m · Sat 02:00
66.6 km · 1013 m · —
76.5 km · 1393 m · —
89.8 km · 693 m · Sat 10:00
100 km · 320 m · Sat 12:00
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