About Elephant 100
Elephant 100 is the 96.0km ultra trail at HOKA Chiang Mai Thailand by UTMB 2025 (Chiang Mai, Thailand). The race starts on November 29, 2025.
Race strategy
Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.
- Big early climb with 1.3km gain. Hold your pace, save your legs for later.
- 668m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
- Final 1398m descent. Save your legs to go all out on it.
- Long race. Control your HR and effort. Early mistakes cost the most.
- Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the descents until 55.2km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 75.1km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
- Start · 0.0km–1.4km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
- Settle in · 1.4km–21.9km · Climb of 1343m. Ease in: hold back more than feels necessary. The race is still ahead. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace.
- Work · 21.9km–41.6km · Descent of 668m averaging 13%, climb of 509m, descent of 344m averaging 6%. Plus 1 more climb. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. This descent is hard on the legs: short steps, stay in control, poles if you have them.
- Fade · 41.6km–75.1km · Descent of 1142m averaging 8%, climb of 1204m. Plus 1 more climb and 1 descent. Your energy fades, and that's normal: hold a steady effort and stop counting the miles. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. This descent is hard on the legs: short steps, stay in control, poles if you have them. Hike the steepest pitches. Your heart rate drifts down on its own: don't chase your early-race numbers, go by feel.
- Home · 75.1km–93.3km · Descent of 1398m averaging 8%, high point 1541m. No heroics: settle back into your own effort and hold it to the line. Very long descent: first half under control, then even, let go only near the end. Hike the steepest pitches.
Course
By gradient, 41% of the distance is uphill, 41% downhill and 18% flat. The longest climb runs 21.9km at an average 6.1% grade (1343m of vertical). The longest descent runs 18.2km at an average 7.7% grade (1398m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 37.2% over 0.3km. The steepest descent drops at 27.7% over 0.7km. Surface: 40% trail, 37% smooth, and 22% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 132.3 FlatKM.
Poles
Poles bring little benefit here: only about 13.7km of pole-friendly terrain.
Quad damage
Quad damage risk is high (index 53 of 100), with 41% of the load in the first half: 3 critical descents, the last of them run on already damaged legs. Downhill-specific preparation and a controlled early pace pay off here.
- Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the descents until 55.2km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 75.1km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
- #1 · 21.9–27.1 km · 668 m D−, -12.9% · 66.2 km ahead → control
- #3 · 32.5–38.0 km · 344 m D−, -6.3% · 55.3 km ahead → control
- #2 · 41.6–55.2 km · 1142 m D−, -8.4% · 38.1 km ahead → control
- 69.6–73.8 km · 290 m D−, -6.8% · 19.5 km ahead → your pace
- 75.1–93.3 km · 1398 m D−, -7.7% · 0.0 km ahead → even, first half under control, let go at the end
Weather
On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 19°C to 25°C, with around 14°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 13%.
Results
993 finishers completed the 2025 edition. Men's winner: Miguel Arsenio (Portugal) in 9:14:20. Women's winner: Hau Ha Thi (Vietnam) in 10:43:28.
This page has the full results and splits, a pacing and nutrition planner, a gradient matrix, an interactive elevation profile and historical weather for Elephant 100.
