Ultra-Trail Shudao by UTMB®
Ultra-Trail Shudao by UTMB® – MSD 50K
Zhaohua Ancient Town
Race guide
Updated 18 July 2026
The MSD 50K is the mid-distance race at Ultra-Trail Shudao by UTMB, run entirely as a loop out of Zhaohua Ancient Town. On paper it is 42 km with 1807 m of positive climbing and a high point of 1131 m, which makes it a genuinely mountainous 50K rather than a rolling one: you gain and lose the better part of your body's patience over a course that never sits flat for long. Starting and finishing in a historic town gives the race an unusual character. You leave the streets, climb hard into the hills that ring the valley, work across a high middle section, and then drop back to where you began. With a single cut-off at the finish (Sat 23:00), the MSD 50K is forgiving on paper but demanding underfoot, rewarding runners who respect the front-loaded climb and keep something in reserve for the long descent home.
The course: a loop from Zhaohua Ancient Town
The MSD 50K is a 42 km loop that both starts and ends at Zhaohua Ancient Town, sitting at 469 m at the start line and 468 m at the finish. From the town the route climbs steadily to Niutou Village at 13.2 km (924 m), then works through a high, undulating middle section that passes Dachaoyi Courier Station at 26 km (857 m) and Shanshui Rural Family Inn at 33.2 km (944 m) before diving back down to the finish. The 1131 m high point is reached somewhere across that central stretch, well above any of the checkpoints. Because the checkpoints sit at broadly similar altitudes between roughly 850 and 940 m once you are up on the plateau, the 1807 m of total climbing is spread across many shorter rises rather than concentrated in one giant ascent. Treat this as a course of accumulation: the climbing sneaks up on you in repeated pitches between the aid stations, and the numbers add up faster than any single climb suggests.
Where the race is won or lost
The first decisive feature is the opening climb out of Zhaohua Ancient Town. In the 13.2 km to Niutou Village you gain about 455 m, moving from 469 m to 924 m. It is tempting to attack this early while you feel fresh, but the town start and the crowd can push you into a pace you cannot sustain across the rolling high ground that follows. Bank patience here rather than minutes. The second is the long descent from Shanshui Rural Family Inn at 33.2 km (944 m) down to the finish at 468 m, a drop of roughly 476 m in the closing 8.8 km. After 33 km of climbing on tired legs this is where quads either hold or fail. Runners who blew the early climb tend to unravel on this descent, while those who paced conservatively can make up real time. Practise sustained downhill running in training so the last third of the loop plays to your strength instead of exposing a weakness.
How to pace and fuel it
With aid at Niutou Village (13.2 km), Dachaoyi Courier Station (26 km) and Shanshui Rural Family Inn (33.2 km), the longest carry is the roughly 13 km opening leg from the start to Niutou Village. Fill your flasks to cover that first climb, because it is the hungriest, thirstiest part of the day and there is no support until you top out. The 12.8 km gap from Niutou Village to Dachaoyi Courier Station is the next stretch to plan around. The single cut-off is at the finish, Sat 23:00, which gives most runners a comfortable window and removes the pressure of chasing intermediate barriers. Use that latitude wisely: stop long enough at each aid station to eat real food and top up fluids, then keep moving. A steady all-day effort with disciplined fueling in the high middle section will set you up to run, rather than survive, the descent back into Zhaohua Ancient Town.
Conditions to expect
This is a mountain loop that tops out at 1131 m, with the bulk of the running between roughly 850 and 940 m on the high central section. Expect the temperature and exposure to change as you gain height: the streets of Zhaohua Ancient Town at around 470 m can feel very different from the ridgelines and hill trails 400 to 660 m above. Layer for a range you will pass through more than once as the loop climbs and descends. Because the course can be run into the night up to the Sat 23:00 cut-off, plan for the possibility of finishing in the dark, and carry lighting even if you expect to be quicker. The mixture of a historic-town start and a wild high middle means footing will vary from firmer paths near the villages and courier station to rougher trail higher up, so choose shoes with reliable grip and keep your focus on the long descent, where fatigue and fading light combine most dangerously.
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Checkpoints & cut-offs
✓ Course data verified against the official source (2026-07-17) · official source
0 km · 469 m · —
13.2 km · 924 m · —
26 km · 857 m · —
33.2 km · 944 m · —
42 km · 468 m · Sat 23:00
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