EX23 Explorer is the 23.5km trail race at Ultra-Trail Cape Town 2026 (SARDA, Constantia, South Africa). The race starts on November 21, 2026 at 09:00 AM. It starts in SARDA, Constantia and finishes in Gardens Rugby Club. The time limit is 6 h 30 min.
Run easy on the first mountain, then go all out on the second.
The course climbs 1038m+. With 44m/km of climbing, this is a rolling, mostly runnable course. By gradient, 40% of the distance is uphill, 42% downhill and 18% flat. The longest climb runs 7.2km at an average 6.3% grade (449m of vertical). The longest descent runs 5.7km at an average 7.6% grade (427m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 36.0% over 0.4km. The steepest descent drops at 30.0% over 0.4km. Surface: 63% trail, 20% smooth, and 16% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 33.4 FlatKM.
The course also passes close to Oppelskop (560m).
The course is runnable enough that trekking poles are not needed.
Quad damage risk is low (index 13 of 100): a few descents worth noting, none of them decisive.
On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 16°C to 19°C, with around 15°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 12%.
This page has a pacing and nutrition planner, a gradient matrix, an interactive elevation profile and historical weather for EX23 Explorer.
Other distances of Ultra-Trail Cape Town 2026UTCT 100 Miler (163km)·UT100 (99.1km)·PT55 Peninsula Traverse (56.7km)·TM35 Table Mountain (34.5km)·KS16 Kickstarter (15.8km)
Other editions of EX23 Explorer2027
Official websitewww.ultratrailcapetown.com
