The Canyons Endurance Runs™ by UTMB®
The Canyons Endurance Runs™ by UTMB® – 100M
China Wall Trailhead
Race guide
Updated 19 July 2026
The Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB 100M is a 161 km point-to-point ultra that starts high on the China Wall Trailhead at 1529 m and finishes down in Downtown Auburn at 386 m. With 4827 m of total climbing packed into a course that trends downhill on paper, this is a race defined by the deep canyon crossings between its aid stations rather than by any single summit. The high point is the start line itself, so every metre of that 4827 m D+ is earned climbing back out of the drainages you drop into along the way. With sixteen checkpoints and a chain of cut-offs running from Deadwood on Friday morning through to the 23:00 Saturday finish in Auburn, the 100M rewards runners who manage the canyons patiently and keep moving through the crew stations. It is a race where the descents are as costly as the climbs, and where the final push to Downtown Auburn comes after more than 150 km on the legs.
The Course: From China Wall to Downtown Auburn
The route runs 161 km from the China Wall start at 1529 m to the finish at Downtown Auburn at 386 m, passing through sixteen checkpoints on the way. Early on you drop from the high start down to Deadwood (15.8 km, 1195 m) and a second Deadwood control at 26.8 km, before continuing to Michigan Bluff (36.2 km, 1059 m) and the major hub at Foresthill (45.8 km, 1001 m). From there the course plunges into its lowest ground: Cal 2 at 59 km sits at just 521 m, and the river-level sections around Mammoth Bar (87.1 km, 190 m) and Confluence (92.8 km, 174 m) mark the bottom of the profile. The back half stitches together a series of out-and-back and loop segments around Cool and the American River canyon: Cool at 98.9 km (465 m) and again at 118.5 km, Coffer Dam at 108.9 km, then Browns Bar at 125.2 km and 144.3 km with the Alt control at 134.1 km in between. From the final Browns Bar the course climbs one last time to the finish at Downtown Auburn (159.8 km, 386 m). Because the same landmarks recur, knowing which visit you are on matters for tracking your progress against the clock.
Where the Race Is Won and Lost: The Canyons
There is no single decisive climb here; the difficulty is the accumulation of canyon in-and-outs. The steepest swings come in the middle third. After Foresthill at 1001 m the course drops all the way to Cal 2 at 521 m and keeps falling toward the river, with Mammoth Bar at 190 m and Confluence at 174 m the deepest points. Every one of those descents has to be repaid: from Confluence at 174 m the course climbs back to Cool at 465 m, and the repeated Cool visits at 465 m mean you are grinding back up out of the canyon more than once. The closing sequence is its own test. From Browns Bar at 225 m up to Alt at 437 m, back down to Browns Bar at 235 m, and then the final haul to Auburn at 386 m, you are climbing on tired legs deep into the second half. Runners who bomb the early descents from the high start pay for it in quad damage when these later climbs arrive. Treating the first big drop off China Wall with restraint, and saving the legs for the canyon walls after Foresthill, is the core tactical decision of the race.
Pacing and Fuelling to the Cut-offs
The cut-offs give a clear framework. The first hard gate is Deadwood 2 at 26.8 km (Fri 11:30), then Michigan Bluff at 36.2 km (Fri 19:45) and Foresthill at 45.8 km (Fri 21:30). Notice the long window between Deadwood 2 and Michigan Bluff: this is where the canyons begin to bite and where slower runners lose time. Later gates fall at Drivers Flat (74 km, Sat 03:00), Mammoth Bar (87.1 km, Sat 05:30), Cool 1 (98.9 km, Sat 08:00), Cool 2 (118.5 km, Sat 12:00) and Alt (134.1 km, Sat 15:30), before the final 23:00 Saturday finish cut-off. Aid spacing is generally 6 to 15 km, so plan to carry enough fluid and calories for roughly a half-marathon between stops, and more through the hot, exposed canyon bottoms where you will sweat hardest. Crew access is available at Michigan Bluff, Foresthill, Drivers Flat, both Cool visits and the Auburn finish, making these the natural points to reset nutrition, swap bottles and manage feet. Bank realistic time early against the Michigan Bluff and Foresthill gates while the legs are fresh, because the deep-canyon middle section is where the clock tightens.
Conditions to Expect
The profile itself tells you what kind of day to prepare for. The high point is only 1529 m at the start, so altitude is not a limiting factor, but the course spends long stretches down at 170 to 520 m in the canyon bottoms, where heat pools and there is little relief. The middle of the race, around Cal 2, Mammoth Bar and Confluence, is the low, warm heart of the course and the most likely place to overheat during the daylight hours of the first afternoon and the second day. Because the race runs overnight from a Friday start toward a Saturday-evening finish, you will move through at least one full night, most likely descending and climbing canyon trails in the dark between Drivers Flat and the Cool loops. Plan lighting and a warmer layer for the night hours, then expect rising temperatures again as the second day opens up on the exposed lower sections. Managing the swing between cool nights on the ridges and hot canyon floors, while staying on top of hydration and salt, is central to finishing inside the cut-offs.
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Checkpoints & cut-offs
✓ Course data verified against the official source (2026-07-17) · official source
0 km · 1529 m · —
15.8 km · 1195 m · —
26.8 km · 1204 m · Fri 11:30
36.2 km · 1059 m · Fri 19:45
45.8 km · 1001 m · Fri 21:30
59 km · 521 m · —
74 km · 515 m · Sat 03:00
87.1 km · 190 m · Sat 05:30
92.8 km · 174 m · —
98.9 km · 465 m · Sat 08:00
108.9 km · 440 m · —
118.5 km · 465 m · Sat 12:00
125.2 km · 225 m · —
134.1 km · 437 m · Sat 15:30
144.3 km · 235 m · —
159.8 km · 386 m · Sat 23:00
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