2026 Canyons Endurance Runs 100k - Race Preview
The Poison Oak 100k is once again the last stop before Western States.
The Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB (”Canyons”) has come to represent the end of Golden Ticket Season, serving as the last opportunity to lock up automatic entry into Western States Endurance Run (WSER) come late June. The race course, which follows much of the final fifty+ miles of the WSER course, is only one of two “super Golden Ticket” races, where the top three finishers (compared to two, in non-super races) in both the men’s and women’s fields punch their ticket directly to the WSER start line. In this system, entries can “rolling down” to as far as seventh place if any higher finishers already have a bib or pass on the spot.
Though the original plan was to utilize the same course as in 2024, a weather re-route announced on April 22 returns the race to the course used in 2025, which removes a loop section around Swinging Bridge and instead makes this an out-and-back. The route is point-to-point from the China Wall Staging Area, that runs backwards on the WSER course, plunging into the American River Canyon towards the iconic Swinging Bridge, then turning back and tracking the WSER course on a net descent into Auburn — breaking from it only after runners pass through Drivers Flat. When all is said and done, the 100km course accumulates over 4,000m of ascent and 5,000m of descent. The benchmarks to chase belong to Francesco Puppi (2025, 8:04:36) and Katie Schide (9:10:10), but neither will likely fall this year in my estimation.
Weather for the race looks like it will top out in the low 60s, and will kick off at 5am PDT local time (8am EDT / 1pm BST / 2pm CEST) on Saturday April 25. Unfortunately, there will not be a live stream for the race, however live updates can be found on the UTMB Live website, and the team at Freetrail will be doing post race recaps on their YouTube channel later that afternoon.
Let’s look at some of the top contenders:
Women’s Field
Sarah Allaben (Washington) - In 2025, had wins at the Gorge Waterfalls 50k, Wy’east Wonder 50mi and the Ultra Trail Whistler by UTMB 100K. Recently 5th at the Gorge Waterfalls 30k.
Careth Arnold (Colorado) - Champion of the 2025 TDS race at UTMB, the first American woman to achieve this. Second place finisher at the 2025 High Lonesome 100 and Chiang Mai Thailand by UTMB 100. Two previous top 5 finishes at Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB 100k (2024 and 2025).
Eileen Biscaha (Arizona) - Thirteenth at WSER in 2025.
Addie Bracy (Colorado) - Podium finisher at the 2025 Javelina Jundred 100mi. Previous top ten finisher at Western States (2019), and two finishes at Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB 100k (5th in 2023 and 14th in 2024).
Riley Brady (Colorado) - Winner of the 2025 Run Rabbit Run 100 Mile. Top ten finisher at the Black Canyon 100k earlier this year, and recently appeared on the podium of the competitive Gorge Waterfalls 30k.
Britta Clark (Vermont) - Top five finishes at the Lavaredo Ultra Trail by UTMB 120k and Québec Mega Trail 80k over the past two years. Top 30 at UTMB Finals in Chamonix in 2025.
Anne Flower (Colorado) - The #2 Ultrarunner of the Year from UltraRunning Mag voting in 2025, buoyed by a historic course record at the Leadville 100 Mile. Reigning 50 mile World Record holder; recently took second place at the Black Canyon 100k, less than a minute behind Jennifer Lichter’s course record time.
Leah Handelman (Montana) - Winner of the River of No Return Endurance Runs 100k in 2025. Top 20 finisher at the Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB 100k in 2024.
Sarah Humble (Utah) - Champion of the 2025 Bear 100.
Marci Klimek (Oregon) - Outright winner of the 2023 Waldo 100k. Tenth place finisher at the Black Canyon Ultras 100k in 2024.
Kristina Mascarenas (Colorado) - Four-time champion of the Pikes Peak Marathon, and recently finished seventh this past March at the Way Too Cool 50k.
Ellaney Matarese (California) - Recently transitioned from college track and field/cross country (Harvard), with a PR of 10:16 in the 3000 steeple. Debuted at the ultra distance with a 6th place at the Kodiak by UTMB 50k in 2025, and earlier this year finished in 7th at the Black Canyon 100k.
Elena Ormon (Colorado) - Winner of the 2025 Chihuahua by UTMB 100mi. Tenth place at the Black Canyon Ultras 50k earlier this year, and last month followed up with a fifth place at the Big Alta 100k.
Reese Ruland (Colorado) - Top ten finisher at the JFK 50mi in 2025.
Jennifer Schmidt (California) - Winner of the 2026 FOURmidable 50k, only 3 minutes off the course record. Previous wins at the Silver State 50k and Way Too Cool 50k in 2025.
Rachel Spaulding (Utah) - Podium finisher at the High Lonesome 100 and Bariloche Patagonia by UTMB 130k in 2025.
Karin Strickland (North Carolina) - Top ten finisher at the JFK 50mi in 2024. Top 20 finisher at the Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB 100k last year.
Claudia Tremps (Spain) - Three-time top ten finisher at UTMB, with additional podium finishes at other notable European 100k+ races. Earlier this month ran 4:09 for the 50k at the Desert Rats by UTMB race.
YiOu Wang (California) - Four-time Golden Ticket winner, all earned between 2016-2019. Most recently, won the Marin Ultra Challenge 50k last month.
Madeline Wighardt (Ontario) - Podium finisher at the Cascade Crest 100 in 2025, and at the Leadville 100 in 2023.
Men’s Field
Ferdinand Airault (New York) - Winner of the 2025 Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB 100mi. Two-time top ten finisher at the JFK50 in the past two years. Most recently took sixth at the Black Canyon Ultras 100k this past February.
Chris Andrews (California) - Ran 12:55 for the 100-mile distance at Ultra Fest in late 2024, and last year took fourth place at the Javelina Jundred 100mi, running a speedy 12:48.
Grant Barnette (Utah) - Top five finisher at the Ultra-trail Cape Town 100k last November. Two top five finishes at the Speedgoat Mountain Races by UTMB in each of the last two years. Two previous DNFs at the Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB 100k.
Mead Binhammer (Vermont) - Since 2024, has recorded wins at the Breakneck Point Marathon, Catamount Ultra 50k, Jigger Johnson Ultras 50mi and Grindstone by UTMB 100k.
Geoffrey Burns (Colorado) - Eleventh place finisher at the Black Canyon Ultras 100k earlier this year. Ran 5:06 at the Tunnel Hill 50mi last fall.
William Conner (California) - Winner of the 2025 Oregon Cascades 100mi. Most notably finished second to Hans Troyer at the 2024 USATF Trail 50mi Championships at Tussey Mountainback.
Ji Duo (China) - Fourth place finisher at UTMB Finals in Chamonix in 2025. Twelfth place finisher at the 2024 WSER, with entry gained via a Golden Ticket at the 2023 Doi Inthanon by UTMB 100mi race.
Noah Dusseau (Washington) - Top ten finisher at the 2025 Javelina Jundred 100mi, and most recently finished second to Will Murray at the Chuckanut 50k in March.
Hayden Hawks (Utah) - Two-time Western States podium finisher (and three-time top ten finisher), multi-time winner of the CCC race at UTMB. Winner of the Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB 50k in 2023. Last December, had a podium finish at the Chiang Mai Thailand by UTMB 50k.
Jamie Hunyor (California) - Ran 3:17 for the 50k at the Ruth Anderson Memorial Endurance Run last fall, and eighth at last fall’s JFK50. Last month, finished fifth at the Way Too Cool 50k.
Adam Loomis (Utah) - Within the past two years, has victories or podium finishes at the Run Rabbit Run 100mi, Twisted Fork 68k, Run the Rut 50k and Tushars Mountain Runs 100k.
Canhua Luo (China) - Fifth place at the Black Canyon 100k in 2025, in one of the fastest times to date at the time. Multiple top 25 finishes at the UTMB Finals in Chamonix in his career. Last October, finished on the podium at the Ultra-Trail Ninghai by UTMB 105k.
Cade Michael (Colorado) - Seventh place at the Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB 50k last year. Has back to back top ten finishes at the highly competitive Broken Arrow Skyrace 23k and 46k in 2024 and 2025. This February, finished third at the Black Canyon Ultras 50k.
Zach Miller (Colorado) - Only his second career Golden Ticket race, surprisingly. Multiple-time top ten finisher at the UTMB Finals in Chamonix, and most recently represented the United States on the Long Trail team at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in 2025 (18th place).
Will Murray (Washington) - Winner and course record holder at the 2025 Javelina Jundred 100mi. Second place finisher and Golden Ticket earner in 2024 at the Black Canyon Ultras 100k, but was sidelined at Western States with an ankle injury. Recently won the Chuckanut 50k with ease.
Adam Peterman (Montana) - Winner and Golden Ticket earner at the Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB 100k in 2022, which he parlayed into a win at his debut 100-mile race at Western States that year. Former Long Trail World Champion, and podium finisher at the CCC race at UTMB as well. Most recently finished second at the Black Canyon Ultras 50k this past February.
Joshua Park (Colorado) - Three consecutive top ten finishes at the JFK50 from 2023 to 2025.
Joshua Potvin (British Columbia) - Winner of the 2025 Gorge Waterfalls 50k. Ninth place finisher at the 2024 Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB 50k. Most recently ran sub-4hrs at the Chuckanut 50k for eleventh place.
Ryan Raff (Colorado) - Course record holder of the Crown King Scramble 50k. Last year, set a new course record at the Run Rabbit Run 50 mile. Ninth place finisher at his first Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB 100k in 2024.
Blake Slattengren (Washington) - Golden Ticket winner at the 2023 Javelina Jundred 100mi, and a subsequent 11th place finish at Western States in 2024, narrowly missing the top ten by seconds. Top ten finisher at the Black Canyon Ultras 100k and Gorge Waterfalls 100k in 2025, in both highly competitive fields.
Matthew Vira (Colorado) - Second place finisher at the San Juan Solstice 50 last year.
Cole Watson (California) - Winner of the 2023 Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB 100k, earning a Golden Ticket and subsequent ninth place finish at Western States that year. This will be Cole’s third start at the Canyons 100k, and sixth overall start at any race distance during the Canyons race weekend.
Canyon Woodward (North Carolina) - Golden Ticket earner (roll down from David Roche) in this past fall at the 2025 Javelina Jundred 100mi. Back to back finishes in the top 20 at the UTMB Finals in Chamonix the past two years. With a fourth place finish at the Black Canyon Ultras 100k earlier this year, he could become the first athlete in Golden Ticket history to have three top five finishes at Golden Ticket races in one season if he executes here.
Liam’s Podium Picks:
Men’s Race: (1) Will Murray (2) Adam Peterman (3) Hayden Hawks
Women’s Race: (1) Anne Flower (2) Careth Arnold (3) Claudia Tremps
Who did I miss? Tell me in the comments!
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