Desert Rats By UTMB 21K

Race strategy

Run the climb at race pace, build your speed on the downhill, and go all out at the finish.

• Start easy and control your HR up to 12.5km.
• Hold your race pace up to 17.0km, but stay in control.
• All downhill to the finish: go all out!
• Ease into the early runnable section, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 17.0km.
• Start · 0.0km–2.1km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 2.1km–12.5km · Ease in: hold back more than feels necessary. The race is still ahead. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.
• Work · 12.5km–17.0km · Climb of 243m, high point 1642m. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace.
• Home · 17.0km–21.1km · Descent of 230m averaging 6%. Build to the finish: leave whatever you have left out on the course.

Course

The course climbs 470m+. With 22m/km of climbing, the course is predominantly runnable. By gradient, 31% of the distance is uphill, 39% downhill and 30% flat. The longest climb runs 4.5km at an average 5.4% grade (243m of vertical). The longest descent runs 4.1km at an average 5.6% grade (230m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 9.8% over 0.3km. The steepest descent drops at 14.0% over 0.4km. Surface: 82% trail. Flat-equivalent effort: 24.7 FlatKM.

Poles

The course is runnable enough that trekking poles are not needed.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is low (index 8 of 100): a few descents worth noting, none of them decisive.

• Ease into the early runnable section, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 17.0km.

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 6°C to 17°C, with around 15°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 26%.

Results

545 finishers completed the 2026 edition. Men's winner: Whit Blair (United States) in 1:23:05. Women's winner: Janelle Lincks (United States) in 1:36:48.