Ultra-Trail Mount Yun by UTMB®
Ultra-Trail Mount Yun by UTMB® – MMY 50K
Zhonghe Square in Mount Yun → Zhonghe Square
Race guide
Updated 18 July 2026
The MMY 50K is the middle-distance race at Ultra-Trail Mount Yun by UTMB, a loop of 48 km starting and finishing at Zhonghe Square in Mount Yun. On paper it is a 50K; in the legs it is something far heavier. With 4,406 m of positive climbing packed into those 48 km, the MMY carries a climb-to-distance ratio that rivals races twice its length, and a high point of 1,603 m that you earn very early. This is a course defined by verticality rather than raw distance. The route climbs hard out of Zhonghe Square, tops out above 1,600 m, then throws a long descent and a series of sharp re-climbs at you before returning to the same square where you started. Anyone treating the MMY as an ordinary 50K will be undone by the amount of climbing per kilometre; runners who respect the vertical and manage the early ascent are the ones still moving well in the closing stages.
The course: a 48 km loop with an ultra's worth of climb
The MMY 50K is a single loop from Zhonghe Square (653 m) back to Zhonghe Square, measuring 48 km with 4,406 m of ascent. That works out to well over 90 m of climb for every kilometre on average, an unusually steep density for a 50K and the single most important number on this course. The high point of 1,603 m is reached at Linchang, just 13.4 km into the race, so the defining effort comes early rather than being spread evenly across the day. The checkpoint profile tells the story of the terrain: a gentle opening to Houzhuang at 6.5 km (729 m), then a savage pull to Linchang (1,582 m), a long drop to Duobaolingyan Temple at 24.9 km (1,013 m), a further descent to the low point at Xiachuan Ancient Village (592 m at 34.8 km), and then a re-climb through Luyuangou Village (721 m) before the run back into Zhonghe Square (660 m). It is a route of big swings rather than steady grades, so your quads and your descending technique matter as much as your climbing engine.
Where the race is won and lost: the Linchang climb
The decisive section comes almost immediately. From Houzhuang at 6.5 km (729 m) the trail climbs roughly 850 m in around seven kilometres to reach Linchang at 13.4 km (1,582 m), the highest point on the course. This is a relentless, front-loaded ascent, and it is also the location of the first cut-off (Sat 12:00), so it doubles as a fitness gate. Push too hard here to bank time and you will pay for it across the back half; go too conservatively and you risk the clock. The second crux is the long descent that follows. From Linchang the course sheds around 1,000 m down to Xiachuan Ancient Village at 34.8 km (592 m), by way of Duobaolingyan Temple (1,013 m at 24.9 km). This is a lot of sustained downhill on tiring legs, and it is where quad damage accumulates. The final act is the re-climb from the Xiachuan low point back up toward Luyuangou Village (721 m) and home to Zhonghe Square, a sting in the tail that feels far bigger than its raw numbers when it arrives at 35-plus km.
Pacing and fuelling around the cut-offs
The MMY has two intermediate cut-offs to plan around: Linchang at 13.4 km (Sat 12:00) and Xiachuan Ancient Village at 34.8 km (Sat 18:00), with the final cut-off at Zhonghe Square (Sat 22:00). The aid spacing is generous by kilometre count but demanding by effort, since the gaps between named points at Duobaolingyan Temple (24.9 km) and Luyuangou Village (44 km) straddle the biggest climbing and descending of the day. Carry enough fluid and calories to cover roughly 10-12 km of steep terrain between reliable stops. Because the climbing is so front-loaded, a smart pacing plan treats the first 13 km as a controlled climb rather than a race. Hike the steep pitches with purpose, keep your heart rate in check, and save your legs for the long descent to Xiachuan, which is where time is genuinely made up. Fuel steadily from the start; the temptation on a race this short is to under-eat, but 4,406 m of vertical burns like a much longer event, and a fade on the final re-climb to Luyuangou is almost always an energy problem as much as a leg problem.
Terrain and conditions to expect
This is a mountain loop that swings between roughly 590 m and 1,600 m, so you move repeatedly between valley-floor villages such as Xiachuan Ancient Village and Zhonghe Square and higher, more exposed ground around Linchang. Expect the temperature and footing to change with altitude across the loop: cooler and potentially more exposed high on the Linchang climb, warmer and closer in the lower village sections. With the high point reached early and the low point near two-thirds distance, you will experience the widest environmental swings in the first and middle thirds of the race. Start-line altitude at Zhonghe Square is 653 m, modest enough that acclimatisation is not the concern here; the challenge is purely the gradient. Prepare specifically for steep, sustained climbing and equally steep descending rather than for thin air. Poles, if permitted, earn their keep on a course with this climb density, and descent-focused training in the weeks before will protect your quads for the drop to Xiachuan and the final push back to Zhonghe Square.
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Checkpoints & cut-offs
✓ Course data verified against the official source (2026-07-17) · official source
0 km · 653 m · —
6.5 km · 729 m · —
13.4 km · 1582 m · Sat 12:00
24.9 km · 1013 m · —
34.8 km · 592 m · Sat 18:00
44 km · 721 m · —
48 km · 660 m · Sat 22:00
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