Puerto Vallarta by UTMB
Puerto Vallarta by UTMB (100K Hikuri)
Puerto Vallarta (Malecón)
Race guide
Updated 1 July 2026
The Hikuri is the flagship distance of Puerto Vallarta by UTMB — 81 kilometres that start and finish on the Malecón in the heart of Puerto Vallarta, at essentially sea level, but pack in 3357 m of climbing on the way to a high point of 1441 m. That ratio of vertical to distance (over 40 m of gain per kilometre) tells you this isn't a flat coastal jaunt: the route pushes up into the hills above the bay before delivering you back to the boardwalk, and the entire loop has to be completed by a single cut-off of 20:30 on race day.
The Course & Terrain
Starting at 3 m above sea level on the Malecón and finishing at 1 m at the Arcos del Malecón, the Hikuri route is bookended by the same flat, sea-level promenade — but everything in between is climbing and descending. With 3357 m of D+ packed into 81 km and a high point of 1441 m, the profile is a repeated pattern of pulling away from the coast into higher terrain and coming back down, rather than one sustained mountain pass. Runners should expect a course that alternates between technical, undulating trail in the hills and firmer, faster ground closer to town. Because there's only one intermediate reference point given for the whole route (start and finish), pacing has to be self-managed rather than broken up by known checkpoints — you're largely on your own clock between the gun and the finish line back on the Malecón.
Where the Race Is Actually Decided
With 3357 m of vertical spread across 81 km, the climbing is relentless rather than concentrated in one obvious crux — which is exactly why patience early is decisive here. Runners who've raced other UTMB World Series events consistently report the same trap: the first sections feel deceptively easy and invite you to go out too hard, but that early efficiency is a loan you pay back with interest later in the race. On a course that tops out at 1441 m and returns you to sea level, the real damage is done on the climbs you take carelessly in the opening hours — not because any single one is brutal, but because they accumulate against you over 3357 m of total gain. The proven formula from runners who've executed this well is to treat the first half almost as a deposit: run it patient, even conversational, and let that discipline fund a strong closing stretch when the cumulative climbing and heat start to bite. The descents back toward the Malecón in the closing kilometres are where a well-banked effort turns into a fast finish — and where an over-cooked first half turns into a grind against the 20:30 cut-off.
Pacing & Fueling
Given the finish cut-off of 20:30 on race day and a course that gains 3357 m over 81 km, the sensible approach is to under-run the first third relative to how you feel. Going 'too easy' early on this kind of vertical-heavy profile isn't lost time — it's what allows you to keep climbing efficiently and running the descents late, when fatigue and heat have already worn down runners who spent their legs banking splits in the first hours. Fueling should be planned around sustained effort over what will likely be a full-day-plus race given the 20:30 cut-off from a low-altitude coastal start. Break the effort into manageable blocks — treating the climbs as a series of achievable chunks rather than one long grind — mirrors how successful runners here describe managing the heat: planned, deliberate resets rather than reactive survival mode once things get hard.
Conditions to Expect
Starting and finishing at sea level on the Puerto Vallarta Malecón, with the route climbing to 1441 m and back, runners should expect a genuine shift in conditions across the course — warmer, more humid air near the coast and cooler temperatures at altitude in the hills above the bay. Heat management is a recurring theme from those who've raced similar UTMB-branded events: treat the heat as something to plan around in structured resets rather than something to fear or push through blindly, since the cumulative 3357 m of climbing already demands careful energy management before temperature is factored in. With a single day cut-off of 20:30, runners need to respect that the window for finishing, while generous enough for a patient pacing strategy, doesn't allow for major time lost to overheating or bonking on the climbs — reinforcing why the disciplined, patient-first-half approach is the formula reported to work best on this course.
Race Puerto Vallarta by UTMB (100K Hikuri) with Crux
Get the strategy, fuelling and crew plan dialled for this exact course — built from the real route, climbs and cut-offs. Your first race is free.
Plan this race — freeCourse profile
Checkpoints & cut-offs
✓ Course data verified against the official source (2026-07-05) · official source
0 km · 2 m · —
6.5 km · 589 m · Fri 02:00
16.9 km · 592 m · Fri 05:00
24.8 km · 945 m · Fri 06:30
32.4 km · 917 m · —
41.9 km · 1205 m · —
49.4 km · 901 m · Fri 12:45
60.2 km · 938 m · Fri 15:45
72.9 km · 176 m · Fri 19:15
80.2 km · 1 m · Fri 20:30
More races
More UTMB World Series
More in Mexico
Similar distance (100 km–100 miles)
Racing Puerto Vallarta by UTMB (100K Hikuri)?
Get a complete race strategy — pacing, fuelling, crew plan and the crux moments — built on this exact course.
Plan your race in Crux →Strava is your training. Crux is your races.