A trail runner on a grassy ridge above a sea of clouds

Black Canyon Ultras

The 100K is a Golden Ticket race for the Western States 100.

Prepare for Black Canyon Ultras

A plan built from your answers and your race date.

trail training plan

The Black Canyon Ultras take place in the central Arizona desert, on the Black Canyon Trail between Mayer and Black Canyon City. The route is a net-downhill point-to-point on dry, rocky singletrack through cactus and desert scrub. Sun exposure is almost constant, and the swing between the cold early start and midday temperatures is significant.

Two distances are offered, 100K and 50K, spread across two days. The 100K carries special status as a Golden Ticket race, meaning the top finishers earn a direct entry to the Western States 100. That draws a deep competitive field and makes the weekend a season opener on the American ultra circuit.

The formats

2 formats on the program.

Format	Distance
100K	62 mi
50K	31 mi

Organizer information, checked on September 21, 2026 · aravaiparunning.com

When to start

A build for this distance usually runs 12 to 24 weeks. Counted back from race day, that puts the start somewhere between August 24, 2026 and November 16, 2026.

These ranges are working conventions, not a research finding — no trial has compared plan lengths against each other. What matters more is that the plan was built for the weeks you actually have, rather than shrunk down from a longer one.

How to choose your start date

When to start

August 24, 2026

→ November 16, 2026

Worth reading before you enter

Races and distances Trail distances: what changes off the road Distance stops being the useful number. What decides a trail race is how long you are out, how much you climb, and how much the descents have wrecked your legs by the end. Read Training Eating and drinking: what’s proven, what isn’t This is where confident advice most often runs ahead of the evidence. Some of it is well tested. Some is opinion wearing a number. And one common habit can kill you. Read Races and distances When to start preparing your race Most plans fail before the first session, because the block started too late and everything had to be squeezed. Counting back from the date is the dullest and most useful thing you will do. Read

Questions

What is the date of Black Canyon Ultras in 2027?

Black Canyon Ultras is run on Saturday, February 13, 2027 in Mayer / Black Canyon City. Date published by the organizer, checked on September 21, 2026.

Does the Black Canyon 100K give entry to Western States?

Yes. The Black Canyon Ultras 100K is a Golden Ticket race: the top finishers earn a direct entry to the Western States 100 without having to go through the lottery.

Is the Black Canyon Ultras course hard?

The route follows the Black Canyon Trail across dry, rocky desert terrain and trends downhill overall. Nothing is highly technical, but it wrecks quadriceps and demands careful hydration over 100 km.

Other races

This list keeps growing; it draws no line. A race that is missing is prepared for in exactly the same way.

Honolulu · United StatesUltra HURT 100 Jan 16 Its five-loop, 20-mile-per-lap format carries a famously high drop-out rate. Bandera · United StatesUltra HOKA Bandera Endurance Trail Race January The HOKA Bandera Endurance Trail Race is a trail and ultra weekend held in Bandera, Texas, inside the Hil Moab · United StatesUltra Moab 240 Endurance Run January 7 km ultramarathon with 9,620 m of vertical gain, run as one continuous loop out of Moab, Utah. It is par Your race is not here? Tell us about your race You can prepare for it all the same. Any race, anywhere, and even a goal without a race.

Your race is on the calendar. Your plan should be too.

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