Xtrail by UTMB®
Xtrail by UTMB® – Xtrail 25K
Howard Beach Resort Kenting
Race guide
Updated 18 July 2026
The Xtrail 25K is the short-course event of the Xtrail by UTMB weekend, based at the Howard Beach Resort in Kenting on Taiwan's southern coast. At 26 km with 520 m of positive gain and a high point of just 225 m, it is the most accessible and runnable format on offer — a low-elevation trail race rather than a mountain climb, well suited to first-time trail runners and to faster athletes chasing a quick time. What defines the Xtrail 25K is its out-and-back rhythm around the Kenting coast. The course leaves the beach resort, works inland to a turnaround at Bonbolo Campsite, and returns along the same corridor, passing the Kenting Villa 2 B&B checkpoint on both the way out and the way back. With so little vertical, this is a race decided by sustained pace and heat management rather than by any single decisive climb.
The course: a low coastal out-and-back
The route starts and finishes at the Howard Beach Resort Kenting at 20 m elevation, giving the race a genuine sea-level, coastal character throughout. From the start it heads to the Kenting Villa 2 B&B at 3.3 km (25 m), then continues inland and gradually gains ground to the Bonbolo Campsite at 14.1 km (50 m), the furthest point on the course and effectively the turnaround. The return retraces the corridor back past the Kenting Villa 2 B&B at 22.6 km (23 m) before finishing at the Howard Beach Resort at 26 km (20 m). The listed checkpoints all sit between roughly 20 and 50 m, yet the course carries a high point of 225 m, so the 520 m of total climbing is delivered in short, rolling rises between the aid stations rather than as a single sustained ascent — expect repeated small ups and downs rather than a big mountain to conquer.
Where the race is shaped
With no major climb and a high point of only 225 m, the Xtrail 25K is not won or lost on a signature ascent — it is shaped by consistency. The first half to the Bonbolo Campsite at 14.1 km trends gently upward from the coast, and the temptation is to run it too hard on fresh legs and easy terrain. The runners who finish strongest are usually those who hold an even effort out to Bonbolo and use the generally returning, coast-bound second half to press. The rolling nature of the profile — modest gain spread across the loop up to that 225 m high point — means the real test is rhythm. Short punchy rises reward runners who keep moving over them rather than surging and stalling. Because the course passes the Kenting Villa 2 B&B in both directions, it is easy to gauge your split: your time at 3.3 km outbound versus 22.6 km inbound tells you honestly whether you paced the turnaround section well.
Pacing and fuelling to the cut-offs
Two cut-offs govern the day, both on the Sunday: the Bonbolo Campsite turnaround at 14.1 km closes at 10:00, and the finish at 26 km closes at 13:30. That leaves a generous window of three and a half hours to cover the final 11.9 km back to the resort, so the pressure point is reaching Bonbolo on time rather than the run home. Plan your first half to arrive at the turnaround comfortably inside 10:00 and the rest of the race becomes a matter of steady execution. Aid is spaced closely for a race of this length: the Kenting Villa 2 B&B early at 3.3 km, the Bonbolo Campsite at the 14.1 km turnaround, and the Kenting Villa 2 B&B again at 22.6 km, plus the start and finish at the resort. The longest carry is the roughly 11 km between the outbound Villa 2 stop and Bonbolo, so top up fluids there. Given the modest distance, most runners can fuel lightly, but in the coastal heat drinking to thirst between checkpoints matters more than calories.
Conditions to expect
Kenting sits at the southern tip of Taiwan on the coast, and this race runs almost entirely at low elevation between about 20 and 50 m at the checkpoints. That means the defining condition is not altitude or cold but exposure and warmth: a sea-level coastal course like this offers little of the natural cooling you would get up high, so sun and heat are the factors most likely to affect your day. Prepare for a warm, exposed race rather than a mountain one. Carry enough fluid to stay ahead of thirst between the closely spaced aid stations, start conservatively so you are not fighting the heat in the second half, and use the two passes through the Kenting Villa 2 B&B checkpoint to reset hydration. With only 520 m of climbing and a high point of 225 m, the Xtrail 25K is fast and friendly on paper — managing the coastal conditions is what turns a good plan into a good finish.
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Checkpoints & cut-offs
✓ Course data verified against the official source (2026-07-17) · official source
0 km · 20 m · —
3.3 km · 25 m · —
14.1 km · 50 m · Sun 10:00
22.6 km · 23 m · —
26 km · 20 m · Sun 13:30
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