The Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB Event Update
Dear Runner,
As you may be aware, the Northern, Central and Southern Sierras and their surrounding Foothills have experienced a historic amount of snowfall this past Winter, and the snowpack is near all-time highs. We have been keeping a close eye on snowpack levels and access to our Canyons trails over the course of the winter. Our teams and land partners have not to date been able to access significant portions of The Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB course to perform required trail work that needs to be completed to open up the trail and receive the necessary permits for the race.
Happily, we used this winter to work with local partners and officials to create alternate courses for the 100 kilometer and 100-mile races that are not snow-affected. We are pleased that, despite the difficulties associated with too much snow in the Sierras, we will be able to deliver great running experiences on the Western slope of the Sierras. Much will be familiar: Over 50% of the new 100-mile and 100K routes will run on the Western States Trail and provide beautiful views of the American River Canyons, lush foothills bursting with wildflowers and rushing waters of the Middle and North Forks of the American River.
In a first, this year all distances of The Canyons by UTMB will both start and finish in downtown Auburn. A Chamonix-style festival in downtown Auburn will now greet all runners as you finish your journey from Friday night through Saturday night. Family, friends, and our entire team will cheer as we welcome you to The Canyons for our first ever UTMB World Series Major in the United States.
Below are some further details regarding changes that will take place:
All distances (25K, 50K, 100K and 100-mile) of The Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB will now start and finish in downtown, Auburn, which will bring the electric atmosphere that is seen at UTMB World Series Finals of Chamonix, France to Downtown Auburn.
The 100-mile courses will now have approximately 17,000’ of elevation gain and loss. With this update, the overall race cutoff time changes to 32 hours from 36 hours
The 100K course will now have approximately 10,500’ of elevation gain and loss. With this update, the overall race cutoff time changes to 19 hours from 20 hours
The 25K and 50K courses remain unchanged
Running Stones and Qualification for UTMB remains unchanged (100M = 8 Running Stones, 100K = 6 Running Stones, 50K = 4 Running Stones, 25K = 2 Running Stones)
The Western States Endurance Runs officials have determined that the new qualifying time for the 100-mile is 32 hours and for the 100K is now 18 hours.
Again, we are committed to providing the best and safest running experience possible and are enormously pleased to provide great courses for our runners despite the unprecedented snowfall in the region.
Should you wish to defer your race entry, the deferral deadline will be extended to April 4 at 9:00 A.M. PST.
To see the latest courses, visit the 100 mile and 100K event pages for more details. Our map views show detailed course cut offs, aid stations and more. Please note the courses for the 50K and 25K remain unchanged. Runners that have any additional questions can contact canyons@service.byutmb.world.
We hope your preparation for this year’s Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB is going well and are excited to welcome you to Auburn and Gold Country to participate in the first North America Major for the UTMB World Series.
Best Regards,
The Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB Team
