Ushuaia by UTMB
Ushuaia by UTMB – ADVANCE 85K
Ushuaia
Race guide
Updated 18 July 2026
The ADVANCE 85K is the long-course challenge of Ushuaia by UTMB, staged at the very southern tip of Argentina in Tierra del Fuego. It is an 87 km loop that starts and finishes in Ushuaia itself, right at sea level, and rolls up 2,791 m of climbing through the mountains and valleys that ring the world's southernmost city. What sets this race apart is its position: this is trail running at the end of the world, where the terrain and the sub-Antarctic weather matter as much as the distance. The course tops out at a modest 755 m, so the difficulty comes not from altitude but from repeated climbing, exposed high ground and conditions that can turn quickly. A generous set of checkpoints, including two crew points, breaks the loop into workable stages.
The Course: A Loop From Sea Level
The ADVANCE 85K begins and ends in Ushuaia at 0 m, so the whole day is spent climbing away from the water and back down to it. The route opens with the pull up to Arakur (6.6 km, 246 m), an early climb that gets you onto the higher ground overlooking the Beagle Channel, before dropping to Olivia River 1 (15.3 km, 134 m). From there the course strings together the valleys and ridges south and east of town: Valle de Lobos 1 (28.4 km, 283 m), Tierra Mayor (40.1 km, 249 m), Cerro Castor (46.2 km, 192 m) and Popper (53.6 km, 196 m) mark the middle third. The second half retraces higher ground through Valle de Lobos 2 (63.9 km, 285 m) and Olivia River 2 (72.9 km, 130 m) before the final checkpoint at Alarken (80.7 km, 252 m) and the long descent back into Ushuaia at 86.8 km. With a 755 m high point spread over the loop, this is a rolling, repeatedly climbing profile rather than one dominant summit.
Where the Race Is Decided
With no single giant climb, the ADVANCE 85K is won and lost through consistency across its many rolling sections and through the long back half. The stretch from Cerro Castor (46.2 km) and Popper (53.6 km) out to Valle de Lobos 2 (63.9 km) is the pivot of the race: you are past halfway, the accumulated 2,791 m of climbing starts to tell, and the checkpoints sit far enough apart that a bad patch here is costly. The closing quarter, from Olivia River 2 (72.9 km, 130 m) up to Alarken (80.7 km, 252 m) and back down to the sea-level finish, is the sting in the tail. That late climb to Alarken comes when legs are emptied, and holding form on the final descent into Ushuaia is what separates a strong finish from a survival march. Runners who bank too much effort on the early Arakur climb often find they have nothing left for this final rise.
Pacing, Crew and the Cut-Offs
The cut-offs give a clear timetable to run against. Valle de Lobos 1 closes Saturday at 10:30, Tierra Mayor at 13:45, Cerro Castor at 14:45, Valle de Lobos 2 at 19:00, Olivia River 2 at 21:00, Alarken at 23:00 and the finish back in Ushuaia at 00:30 on Sunday. The tightening gaps in the second half mean you want to arrive at Cerro Castor with time in hand, because the clock closes in as fatigue builds. Cerro Castor (46.2 km) and Popper (53.6 km) are the two crew points, and they are ideally placed either side of the halfway mark to let you restock food, swap layers and refill before the harder back half. Plan your carried nutrition around the longer legs between aid, and use the crew stops to commit to the second loop with warm kit and a full pack rather than lingering. Treat the sea-level finish cut-off of 00:30 as your anchor and work backwards from it.
Conditions at the End of the World
Ushuaia sits in sub-Antarctic Tierra del Fuego, and its weather is famously changeable. Even though the course peaks at only 755 m, the high sections and open valleys are exposed to wind, rain and cold sweeping in off the surrounding mountains and the Beagle Channel. Because the race runs well into the night, with the finish cut-off past midnight, temperatures can fall sharply for hours on end, so warm and windproof layers are essential rather than optional. Underfoot expect a mix of mountain trail, valley paths and boggy, wet ground typical of this southern landscape, which can be soft and slow going after rain. Dress for the summits and the night, not for the start line in town, and keep moving to stay warm through the exposed later checkpoints. Give yourself conservative time targets: the modest elevation figures understate how much the wind, cold and terrain can slow you at the bottom of the world.
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Checkpoints & cut-offs
✓ Course data verified against the official source (2026-07-17) · official source
0 km · 0 m · —
6.6 km · 246 m · —
15.3 km · 134 m · —
28.4 km · 283 m · Sat 10:30
40.1 km · 249 m · Sat 13:45
46.2 km · 192 m · Sat 14:45
53.6 km · 196 m · —
63.9 km · 285 m · Sat 19:00
72.9 km · 130 m · Sat 21:00
80.7 km · 252 m · Sat 23:00
86.8 km · 0 m · Sun 00:30
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