About UTD100
UTD100 is the 97.9km ultra trail at Ultra-Trail Drakensberg 2026 (Silverstreams, South Africa). The race starts on April 25, 2026 at 05:00 AM. It starts in Silverstreams and finishes in Premier Resort Sani Pass. The time limit is 26 h.
Race strategy
Run easy on the first mountain, then go all out on the second.
- 351m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
- 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 47.9km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 93.5km.
- 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–21.8km · Descent of 351m averaging 7%. Plus 1 more climb. Ease in: hold back more than feels necessary. The race is still ahead. 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. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.
- Work · 21.8km–47.9km · Descent of 404m averaging 9%, descent of 643m averaging 5%. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. This descent is hard on the legs: short steps, stay in control, poles if you have them. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.
- Fade · 47.9km–93.5km · Climb of 553m, 10.6km of runnable trail, high point 2472m. Plus 1 more 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. Running pays off here: run wherever you can. Your heart rate drifts down on its own: don't chase your early-race numbers, go by feel.
- Home · 93.5km–99.0km · Descent of 333m averaging 6%. No heroics: settle back into your own effort and hold it to the line.
Course
The course climbs 3511m+. With 36m/km of climbing, this is a rolling, mostly runnable course. By gradient, 32% of the distance is uphill, 30% downhill and 38% flat. The longest climb runs 6.3km at an average 8.8% grade (553m of vertical). The longest descent runs 12.3km at an average 5.2% grade (643m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 21.8% over 0.6km. The steepest descent drops at 24.1% over 0.4km. Flat-equivalent effort: 135.6 FlatKM.
Poles
Poles bring little benefit here: only about 9.0km of pole-friendly terrain.
Quad damage
Quad damage risk is moderate (index 40 of 100), with 53% of the load in the first half: 3 descents deserve a plan and a couple of downhill sessions before race day.
- Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the descents until 47.9km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 93.5km.
- #1 · 4.6–9.3 km · 351 m D−, -7.4% · 89.7 km ahead → control
- #3 · 21.8–26.6 km · 404 m D−, -8.5% · 72.5 km ahead → control
- #2 · 35.6–47.9 km · 643 m D−, -5.2% · 51.1 km ahead → control
- 83.4–87.5 km · 436 m D−, -10.6% · 11.5 km ahead → your pace
- 93.5–99.0 km · 333 m D−, -6.0% · 0.0 km ahead → free
Weather
On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 3°C to 9°C, with around 6°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 27%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 3% of days around this date.
Results
110 finishers completed the 2026 edition. Men's winner: David Pearce (South Africa) in 11:52:39. Women's winner: Celine Cloete (South Africa) in 13:40:25.
This page has the full results and splits, a pacing and nutrition planner, a gradient matrix, an interactive elevation profile and historical weather for UTD100.
