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

Sinister 7 Ultra

Its headline 100 mile course can be run solo or split across a relay team of up to seven runners.

Prepare for Sinister 7 Ultra

A plan built from your answers and your race date.

trail training plan

Sinister 7 Ultra takes place in Crowsnest Pass, in the southern Canadian Rockies of Alberta. The terrain is true mountain running: forest singletrack, old mining roads and long exposed ridge sections, strung together by steep climbs and fast, rocky descents through deep valleys.

What sets the race apart is its team format. The 100 mile course is run either solo or as a relay of up to seven runners, which makes it the largest team ultra in Canada. Cut-offs are published at 30 hours for the 100 mile, 24 hours for the 50 mile and 13 hours 30 for the 50 km. A half marathon rounds out the weekend for runners new to the terrain.

The formats

4 formats on the program.

Format	Distance	Vertical gain
100 miles (solo ou relais jusqu'a 7)	100 mi	6,692 m
50 miles	50 mi	2,985 m
50 km	31 mi	2,399 m
Demi-marathon	13.1 mi	1,014 m

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

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 January 18, 2027 and April 12, 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

January 18, 2027

→ April 12, 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 Sinister 7 Ultra in 2027?

Sinister 7 Ultra is run on Saturday, July 10, 2027 in Crowsnest Pass. Date published by the organizer, checked on September 21, 2026.

Can you run Sinister 7 as a relay?

Yes. The 100 mile distance can be run solo or shared by a relay team of up to seven runners, each covering a leg of the course. That team format makes it the largest team ultra in Canada.

How hard is the Sinister 7 course?

It is demanding. 9 km with 6,692 m of climbing on mountain trails, under a 30 hour cut-off. Even the 50 km carries 2,399 m of gain and is a serious day out.

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. 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. Squamish · CanadaUltra Squamish 50 Aug 14 It offers a 50 mile, a 50 km, a 23 km and the 50/50 double that combines both long distances. 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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