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

Umstead 100 Mile Endurance Run

The Umstead 100 Mile Endurance Run is a 161 km ultramarathon run in loops through William B. A 50-mile option is also offered.

Prepare for Umstead 100 Mile

A plan built from your answers and your race date.

trail training plan

The Umstead 100 Mile Endurance Run is held in William B. Umstead State Park, a large wooded area on the edge of Raleigh. The course uses wide bridle trails in repeated loops, on soft, consistent footing with no technical sections. The terrain rolls gently without any severe climbs, and early April in North Carolina still brings mild temperatures.

5 km, under a 30-hour cutoff. The looped format greatly simplifies logistics: runners pass the same base repeatedly, which makes crewing straightforward and explains the race's reputation as an accessible first 100-miler.

The formats

2 formats on the program.

Format	Distance
100 Mile	100 mi
50 Mile	50 mi

Organizer information, checked on September 21, 2026 · umstead100.org

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 October 12, 2026 and January 4, 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

October 12, 2026

→ January 4, 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 Umstead 100 Mile Endurance Run in 2027?

Umstead 100 Mile Endurance Run is run on Saturday, April 3, 2027 in Raleigh. Date published by the organizer, checked on September 21, 2026.

Is the Umstead 100 a good first 100-miler?

Yes, that is its reputation. The looped course on wide bridle trails, with no technical footing, and the 30-hour cutoff make pacing and crew logistics much easier on a first attempt at the distance.

What is the Umstead 100 time limit?

The cutoff is 30 hours for the full 161 km. The looped format lets you track your margin against the splits precisely and adjust pace at every pass through the main aid station.

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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