Course map, elevation profile & surface
Fly the course
Follow the route over 3D terrain, mile by mile.
Race-day light
For a 6:45 finish (an estimate) · starting 7:00 AM Sep 26. Dark means the sun below civil twilight.
Climbs
2 climbs · 856 ft totalbiggest firstElevation gain, measured two ways
| Source | Gain | vs lidar |
|---|---|---|
| Course file (GPX) | 2,300ft | -9% |
| USGS lidar, 1 m | 2,520ft | reference |
They differ because a GPS file picks up noise on every wiggle and often takes its heights from a coarse terrain model, while lidar maps the ground itself to about a metre. We sampled this route every 98 ft against USGS 3DEP and counted each rise of 10 ft or more, on Oct 23, 2026. The planner still uses the course file.
Aid stations as published on the course file
| Aid station | Mile | km |
|---|---|---|
| START | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| A Driving from South Pass City / WY 28 | 0.4 | 0.7 |
| A 30K | 0.4 | 0.7 |
| A 50K | 0.6 | 0.9 |
| A Pacific Butte AS 1 and 2 | 4.2 | 6.7 |
| A South Pass Summit | 15.0 | 24.2 |
| A Great Divide AS | 15.9 | 25.6 |
| A Antelope Flat AS | 21.8 | 35.1 |
| A Iron Horse AS | 25.3 | 40.7 |
| FINISH | 31.1 | 50.0 |
Badge colours match the markers on the map above — always confirm locations and cutoffs with the race organizer.
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Conditions typical race-day weather for Sep 26 at the start
Typical = the median of 2016–2025 for Sep 26 ±3 days at the start line; a wet day has 1 mm of rain or more. Historical weather from Open-Meteo.
Race almanac 2 years of this race
Past editions
Race-day highs at the start ran from 67° to 67°F, and none of 2 race days was wet.
| Year | Start °F | Rain | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Sep 26 | 67°/42° | dry | 20mph |
| 2025 Sep 27 | 67°/41° | dry | 8mph |
race-day weather from the Open-Meteo historical archive (ERA5) at the start line.
Reviews what runners who have been there say
No reviews yet — be the first to run it and tell other runners what to expect.
About this course
Run the Red Desert — 2026 covers 31.1 mi (50.0 km) with 2,300 ft of elevation gain through Wyoming, United States. That is about 74 ft per mile of climbing, and 2,218 ft of descent. The course tops out at 7,972 ft and bottoms out at 7,208 ft. The surface is 56% gravel. There are 8 aid stations on course; the longest stretch between aid is 10.8 mi. The profile has 2 sustained climbs; the biggest is the climb from mi 7.3, +505 ft over 1.6 mi at 5.9% on average (steepest stretch 22%). Race day is September 26, 2026, starting at 7:00 AM; the sun rises at 7:08 AM and sets at 7:07 PM. Typical race-day weather at the start: a high of 65°F and a low of 40°F, with a 17% chance of a wet day. The interactive map above shows the full route with its elevation profile and aid stations, built from the course's GPS file.
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Course history
- Jul 27, 2026Added to the catalog
Races like this one close in distance, climbing, terrain, altitude, weather and season
- Run the Red Desert 30K — 2026Sep · 19 mi · 56 ft/mi · WYSimilar terrain · Similar weather · High altitude
- Arches Marathon — 2026Oct · 30 mi · 83 ft/mi · UTSimilar terrain · Same distance · Similar climbing
- Canyonlands Ultra 50K — 2026Oct · 31 mi · 79 ft/miSimilar terrain · Same distance · Similar climbing
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