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

Fat Dog 120

Fat Dog 120 is a mountain ultra held in Manning Park, British Columbia. 1 km with 7,925 m of climbing, alongside a 100 km and a 40 mile option.

Prepare for Fat Dog 120 in

A plan built from your answers and your race date.

trail training plan

The race is run in the Manning Park area of southern British Columbia, close to the United States border. The ground is pure Canadian Cascades: long climbs onto exposed ridgelines, alpine singletrack, dense forest and creek crossings. The gap between warm summer days and cold nights at elevation is significant and catches runners out.

4 km. Elevation figures for the two shorter races are not published.

The formats

3 formats on the program.

Format	Distance	Vertical gain
120 miles	120 mi	7,925 m
100 km	62 mi	—
40 miles	40 mi	—

Organizer information, checked on September 21, 2026 · fatdog120.ca

When to start

At this distance, a build usually runs 12 to 24 weeks. The 2027 date is not published, so counting back from August puts the start around February 22, 2027.

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

February 22, 2027

→ May 17, 2027

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 Fat Dog 120 in 2027?

The organizer has not published the 2027 date for Fat Dog 120 yet. The race is usually held in August, in Manning Park.

How much climbing does Fat Dog 120 have?

1 km with 7,925 m of vertical gain. Elevation figures for the 100 km and the 40 mile races are not published, though the mountain terrain remains demanding throughout.

Other races

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

Whistler · CanadaUltra Ultra Trail Whistler by UTMB Jun 25 It is the first UTMB World Series event staged in Canada, replacing the former Whistler Alpine Meadows. Crowsnest Pass · CanadaUltra Sinister 7 Ultra Jul 10 Its headline 100 mile course can be run solo or split across a relay team of up to seven runners. Grande Cache · CanadaUltra Canadian Death Race Jul 31 Its flagship course covers 118 km with 5,181 m of climbing, run solo or as a relay. 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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