Cape Town, ZA · November 2026
Ultra-trail Cape Town 100 Miler
Ultra-trail Cape Town 100 Miler pacing strategy with effort-based splits, nutrition timing, and course-specific risk notes for the 161 km ultra.
- Distance
- 161.00 km
- Elevation gain
- 4213 m
- Typical temp
- 12–25 °C
- Cutoff
- 45:00:00
The short version
A brutal course
- ▸Big climbing day — 4213 m up. Pace the ascents on effort, not the clock.
- ▸Low sun in your eyes around km 5–13 — bring a cap or shades.
Next edition
21 November 2026
Typical race-day conditions
12–25 °C
We lock the real forecast into your plan in race week.
Course difficulty
BrutalDriven by 4213 m of climbing, 4204 m of quad-pounding descent, typical race-day heat (~19 °C). Harder than Ultra-Trail Australia UTA100 (10.0), easier than UTMB Mont-Blanc (10.0) — tougher than 96% of the races we cover.
Race data quality
Medium confidence
Last verified: 24/05/2026
Seeded from public headline course information with approximate profile. Needs detailed course and aid station import before high-confidence paid positioning.
Elevation profile
Verified profile
Paid strategy guardrail
Official race packet remains source of truth
Step 1 · Free preview
See the course-adjusted plan first
Enter one recent result. The preview returns course cost, first splits, and fuel target from the deterministic engine and the current course data model.
VDOT
49.1
Estimate
11:11:57
Course cost
-79:03
Fuel target
90 g/h
First 5 km preview
full race locked
- km 14:43
- km 24:38
- km 35:30
- km 46:18
- km 56:41
First race free · then €7 Race Pass · no monthly subscription
Uses an approximate course model; verify final logistics against the official race packet.
Step 2 · Your full Ultra-trail Cape Town 100 Miler plan
The preview shows the shape. The plan races it for you.
Course preview
Free
what you see now
- ✓Difficulty score & course data
- ✓Course-cost & toughest km
- ✓Your first full plan free, ever
Race Pass
€7
one-time, this race
- ✓Every km split, weather-adjusted
- ✓Nutrition & fluid timeline
- ✓Heat, wind & sun race tactics
- ✓Danger zones + watch file (GPX)
- ✓Race-week forecast & reminders
Annual
€19
per year, every race
- ✓Everything in Race Pass
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- ✓Re-plan as your fitness changes
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Continue with approximate course data →Course elevation
4213 m total gain · 4204 m loss · max 1089 m, min 0 m.
Fly the course
At Table Mountain technical terrainSun & shade
Sun in your eyes
3 km
Sun on your back
5 km
Side / overhead
10 km
Expect low sun roughly in your eyes around km 5–13 — pack a peaked cap or shades; low glare hides kerbs and potholes.
Approximate — solar position from the route geometry and a 17:00:00 start (timezone estimated from longitude), for a mid-pack finishing time.
Signature sections
Table Mountain technical terrain · km 0–161
Steep, technical climbs and descents around the Cape Peninsula; terrain cost is high.
Aid stations
13 stations on course — plan your fueling around them.
Race overview
Ultra-trail Cape Town brings a technical mountain 100-mile problem into a major-city setting. Pacing has to account for steep Table Mountain terrain, night running, and coastal weather exposure; flat pace targets are only useful after conversion into effort ranges.
How hard is this course?
Reference table — how the Ultra-trail Cape Town 100 Miler compares to a flat sea-level course for four typical fitness levels. Computed from the route profile, mean course altitude, and typical race-week climate (19 °C / 65 % humidity). Your personal strategy uses your VDOT, per-km splits, nutrition timing, and the typical climate baseline for this static sample; paid strategies use Open-Meteo when a verified race date is inside the forecast window.
| Runner | Flat-course finish | Ultra-trail Cape Town 100 Miler finish | Course cost | Adjusted pace |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner (VDOT 35) | 16:24:08 | 14:40:33 | -10.5% | 6:16/km |
| Intermediate (VDOT 45) | 13:25:12 | 12:00:27 | -10.5% | 5:07/km |
| Trained (VDOT 50) | 12:19:38 | 11:01:47 | -10.5% | 4:42/km |
| Competitive (VDOT 60) | 10:38:08 | 9:30:58 | -10.5% | 4:04/km |
Reference nutrition
For a 70 kg runner finishing in 11:01:47 at 19 °C. Adjust to your weight and tolerance — these are ISSN-window targets, not prescriptions.
- Carbs / hour
- 90 g
- Total carbs
- 993 g
- Fluid / hour
- 665 ml
- Sodium / hour
- 500 mg
FAQ
How should I pace Ultra-trail Cape Town 100 Miler?
Treat the preview as an effort plan, not a fixed road-marathon pace table. The course model includes 7187 m of climbing, so climbs, descents, heat, and aid-station timing matter more than average pace.
How reliable is the current course data?
Seeded from public headline course information with approximate profile. Needs detailed course and aid station import before high-confidence paid positioning.
Get your personalized strategy
The numbers above are samples. Sign up free and get the full Ultra-trail Cape Town 100 Miler strategy from your VDOT, the current course model, Open-Meteo race-week forecast when available, and your nutrition preferences.
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New to trail and ultra pacing? Start with our trail and ultra pacing guide or run the VDOT calculator.