Moab, UT, United States · Saturday, January 30, 2027

Fixed Distance 50 mi

Arches Ultra 50 Mile Race

122 days away

80 km Distance

1,200 m Climbing

5.8 Grit · Challenging

38.5733° N, 109.5498° W © OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap

What the course asks

Climbing rate 15 m / km Rolling. Moderate undulations. Requires consistent effort across varying grades.

Field size ~74 Mid-sized. Company early, well spread out by halfway.

DUV results for the 2026 edition (50mi) — finishers only. Starters are not published, so the field was at least this big and no finish rate can be given.

Typical conditions, January

Daytime high 3°C

Night low -7°C

Rainfall Dry — rain unlikely

Daylight 10 h 10 m of light

Regional 2001-2020 average for January — NASA POWER, grid elevation 1819 m. Not a forecast.

Results history

Year	Race	Finishers	Men's winner	Women's winner
2026	50mi	74	Ryan Clifford · 06:39:38	Madison Armonda · 08:23:24
2025	50mi	73	Devin Pancake · 06:24:49	Casey Brady · 08:55:04
2024	50mi	65	Joel Shores · 06:55:21	Maggie Shafer · 08:21:20
2023	50mi	65	Timberlin Henderson · 07:23:19	Jenny Wilson · 08:51:19
2022	50mi	70	Luke Metzger · 07:18:06	Kyla Maher · 08:30:10
2021	50mi	59	Matthew Meyer · 07:32:25	Sarah Cummings · 06:54:17
2020	50mi	94	Jeason Murphy · 06:20:25	Nora Weathers · 07:13:05
2019	50mi	82	Jeason Murphy · 07:03:18	Kandy Ferris · 09:15:52
2018	50mi	58	Kyle Pietari · 06:56:44	Melissa Beaury · 08:16:21

The field has held steady: 73 in 2025, 74 in 2026. 19% of the 2026 field were women.

DUV results for the 2026 edition (50mi) — finishers only. Starters are not published, so the field was at least this big and no finish rate can be given.

The Aid Station

Course-specific beta from the community

⛰️ terrain

This is a rolling course. Expect fast, runnable sections where rhythm is key.

By UltraHub Expert

👟 gear

With trail terrain, choose a shoe with moderate cushioning for optimal performance.

By UltraHub Expert

Gear for this race

Chosen for 80 km of trail with 1,200 m of ascent.

Trail Running Shoes 80 km of trail — cushioning that is still there in the last quarter.
Race Nutrition 80 km of self-supported fuelling between aid stations.
Hydration Vests Flask capacity for 80 km, without the bounce.
Headlamps 80 km almost certainly means running into the night.
GPS Watches Battery life first — a 80 km day outlasts most full-GPS modes.

Salomon

Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra

RunRepeat found the Adidas Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra to be perfect for midfoot and forefoot strikers, while iRunFar noted that the shoe feels incredibly effici…

★★★★★ 4.5

Maurten

Gel 100

Hydrogel technology for 25g carbs per gel with minimal GI distress.

$3.5 ★★★★★ 4.7

Salomon

ADV Skin 12

Industry-standard 12L race vest with front flask pockets and minimal bounce.

$180 ★★★★★ 4.8

Petzl

NAO RL

1500-lumen reactive lighting headlamp with 15-hour runtime. Automatic brightness adjustment.

$150 ★★★★★ 4.7

COROS

APEX 2 Pro

GPS running watch with 75-hour GPS battery, topo maps, and training metrics.

$500 ★★★★★ 4.7

All gear guides →

Overview

The Arches Ultra 50 Mile Race, organised by Mad Moose Events, is a trail race held in Moab, UT, with its next edition on January 30, 2027. This 50-mile event offers 1200 meters of elevation gain across 80 kilometers, making for 15 meters of climb per kilometer.

Now in its 9th year, having started in 2018, the race travels along the border of Arches National Park, using Bar M, Klonzo, and Klondike Trail Systems. With 74 finishers in its last edition in 2026, it has a larger field than 65% of its 671 peer 50-mile races.

Similar races

Other 50 mi trail ultras, closest in distance first.