Kagaspa Trail Endurance 100 by UTMB
Kagaspa Trail Endurance 100 by UTMB – KAGASPA 100K
Yukemuri Kenkou Village, Yamanaka Onsen/山中温泉ゆけむり健康村
Race guide
Updated 18 July 2026
The KAGASPA 100K is the flagship distance of Kagaspa Trail Endurance 100 by UTMB, a 97 km point-to-point through the mountains around Yamanaka Onsen in Japan's Kaga region. It starts at the Yukemuri Kenkou Village at just 78 m and finishes at Yamanaka-Za at 70 m, but between those low points it accumulates 4757 m of climbing over ten aid stations, reaching a high point of 1367 m. This is a classic Japanese mountain ultra: no single giant alpine climb, but relentless rolling and steep terrain that adds up over a very long day and night. The course is unusually generously supplied, with aid roughly every 6 to 16 km, which shapes how you race it. With cut-offs stretching from an overnight start through to a 21:55 finish window on Sunday, the KAGASPA 100K is as much a test of steady, disciplined forward motion and staying awake as it is of raw climbing legs. Runners who keep their aid-station stops short and their effort even will find the ten-checkpoint structure a real advantage.
The course: 97 km across the Kaga mountains
From the start at Yukemuri Kenkou Village (0 km, 78 m) the course climbs quickly to its first checkpoint at Mt. Kariyasu (8.7 km, 520 m), the sharpest early gain on the route. From there the profile becomes a series of drops and climbs between low river valleys and forested ridgelines: Ouchi at 16.7 km (256 m), Kutani Dam at 27.2 km (182 m) and Kutani Water Park at 38.4 km (226 m) all sit low, meaning the elevation between them is earned and given back repeatedly rather than held. The middle of the race climbs again through Manago (44 km, 406 m) toward the higher ground around Suginomizu-Kawa (60.3 km, 449 m) and the high point of the route at 1367 m. Kenmin No Mori at 63.2 km (335 m) is the crew point and a natural hub roughly two-thirds of the way through. The final third trends back down toward the finish, passing Imadate Ios Square (69.8 km, 112 m), Takigahara (81.8 km, 85 m) and Tonoo (90.2 km, 51 m) before the run in to Yamanaka-Za at 97.4 km (70 m). With 4757 m of total gain and no checkpoint above 1367 m, the difficulty is in the accumulation, not the altitude.
Where the race is won or lost
Because the KAGASPA 100K has no dominant climb, the race is decided by consistency across its many undulations rather than on any single ascent. The stretch from Manago (44 km) through Suginomizu-Kawa (60.3 km) to the 1367 m high point is the highest and most sustained climbing block, and it arrives in the small hours for most runners. Getting to the crew point at Kenmin No Mori (63.2 km) with legs and morale intact is the central goal of the first two-thirds. The second decisive phase is the long descent-heavy final third. From Kenmin No Mori the course sheds altitude toward Imadate Ios Square (69.8 km, 112 m), Takigahara (81.8 km) and Tonoo (90.2 km), all low checkpoints. On paper this looks like the easy part, but after 60-plus kilometres and a night on the trail, it is where fatigue, sleepiness and quad damage decide finishing times. Runners who protected their legs on the repeated early climbs can run this section; those who did not will grind it out against the cut-offs.
Pacing and fuelling with ten aid stations
The aid spacing is a strategic gift. Checkpoints fall at roughly 8.7, 16.7, 27.2, 38.4, 44, 60.3, 63.2, 69.8, 81.8 and 90.2 km, so the longest carry between stations is about 16 km. That means you rarely need to haul large amounts of fluid or food, but you do need discipline: ten stops is ten chances to lose time, and minutes spent lingering add up fast over 97 km. Treat the smaller aid stations as quick top-ups and save longer stops for Kutani Water Park (38.4 km) and the Kenmin No Mori crew point (63.2 km). The cut-offs define the pace floor. Key gates are Kutani Water Park at 04:55, Kenmin No Mori at 12:55, Takigahara at 17:55, Tonoo at 19:55 and the finish at 21:55, all on Sunday. The overnight section into Kutani Water Park is the first squeeze, so avoid banking a deficit in the dark. Because much of the race is run at night, plan your fuelling to keep energy and alertness up through the low-motivation early-morning hours, and use the frequent aid to eat little and often rather than relying on big infrequent refuels.
Conditions to expect
The KAGASPA 100K runs low and green rather than high and alpine: with a high point of just 1367 m and long stretches near river level around Kutani Dam (182 m), Imadate Ios Square (112 m) and Tonoo (51 m), this is a forest-and-valley mountain course rather than an exposed ridge race. That changes the challenge from altitude and wind to humidity, footing on wooded and riverside trail, and the mental grind of a full night out. Because the race carries through the night and into Sunday, prepare for a significant temperature swing between the daytime and the cold, dark early-morning hours around the high point. A reliable headlamp strategy and warm layers for the overnight high ground are essential, even though the start and finish sit in warm low valleys. The repeated climbs and descents keep the terrain technical enough to demand attention long after fatigue sets in, so the runners who finish comfortably are usually those who stayed patient, ate consistently, and kept moving through the quiet hours.
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Checkpoints & cut-offs
✓ Course data verified against the official source (2026-07-17) · official source
0 km · 78 m · —
8.7 km · 520 m · —
16.7 km · 256 m · —
27.2 km · 182 m · —
38.4 km · 226 m · Sun 04:55
44 km · 406 m · —
60.3 km · 449 m · —
63.2 km · 335 m · Sun 12:55
69.8 km · 112 m · —
81.8 km · 85 m · Sun 17:55
90.2 km · 51 m · Sun 19:55
97.4 km · 70 m · Sun 21:55
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