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Ultra-Trail Cape Town 2026 Guide

By Mateo Cruz · October 15, 2026 · 9 min read

Lion's Head peak in Cape Town rising above green fynbos slopes, with a fynbos shrub in bud on the left and a tall pine on the right under a clear blue sky — Photo: Daniel Case / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

SOUTH AFRICA · SPORT GUIDE

Key Facts

—Date The race runs from Friday, 20 November to Sunday, 22 November 2026 in Cape Town, South Africa. Registration and the race expo open on Thursday, 19 November at the V&A Waterfront.
—Venue All six races finish at Gardens Rugby Football Club in Oranjezicht, below Table Mountain. The courses cross Table Mountain National Park and the Cape Peninsula.
—Start times The 100-mile race starts on Friday at 5 p.m. local time (10 a.m. ET). The 100 km race starts on Saturday at 4 a.m. local time (9 p.m. ET Friday).
—Entries Entries are sold through Quicket, the official seller linked from the race website. On 15 October places remained in the 100 km and 100-mile races, while the four shorter races were sold out.
—Prices The 100 km entry costs about US$331 (R5,495) and the 100-mile entry about US$392 (R6,495). The sold-out shorter races cost from about US$66 (R1,095) to US$245 (R4,055).
—How to watch in the US No US television broadcast or 2026 live stream had been announced by 15 October. Each runner’s progress will appear on live tracking on the official race website on race day.
—What it means for you A 100 km finish inside 21 hours or a 100-mile finish inside 45 hours qualifies for the 2028 Western States lottery. US citizens need no visa for stays under 90 days.

Cape Town’s big trail ultra closes the 2026 World Trail Majors season on the slopes of Table Mountain. Places remain only in the two longest races, and the refund and substitution window shuts at midday on 28 October.

Ultra-Trail Cape Town, a six-race trail running festival on Table Mountain, runs from Friday, 20 November to Sunday, 22 November 2026. The organiser lists races from 16 km to 100 miles, all finishing at Gardens Rugby Football Club in Cape Town.

For US readers, the draw is a World Trail Majors finale that an American won over 100 km last year. Finishes inside set times in the two longest races also qualify runners for the 2028 Western States Endurance Run.

Why It Matters to US Runners

The World Trail Majors is an international circuit of independent trail races, including Black Canyon Ultras in Arizona and Transgrancanaria in Spain. Its 2026 calendar, published on the circuit’s website, ends with Cape Town on 20 to 22 November.

The organiser’s UT100 page calls the 100 km event the final race of the World Trail Majors. Elite runners chasing the circuit’s season rankings therefore close their circuit season on Table Mountain.

Americans have done well here recently. Jeff Mogavero of the United States won the 2025 UT100 in 11 hours, 4 minutes and 53 seconds, iRunFar reported.

He beat Dmitry Mityaev, a neutral athlete, by 31 seconds in a sprint finish, according to Runner’s World South Africa. Tara Fraga, another American, finished third in the women’s race behind Sunmaya Budha of Nepal.

The field is broad as well as fast. IOL, a South African news site, reported that the 2025 edition drew 2,800 runners from 66 countries.

The Western States Endurance Run, a 100-mile race in California, publishes a list of approved qualifying races. It names both the Cape Town 100 km and 100-mile races of November 2026 as qualifiers for its 2028 race.

The qualifying time limits are 21 hours for the 100 km and 45 hours for the 100 miles. The 2028 qualifying window runs from Monday, 9 November 2026 to Sunday, 7 November 2027.

Prize money is modest by US road-racing standards but real. The 100-mile winner receives R80,000 (about US$4,825) and the UT100 winner R75,000 (about US$4,524), according to the race pages.

A white Table Mountain National Park trail sign fixed to a grey rock among fynbos, with arrows to Maclear's Beacon, the Smuts Track and Platteklip Gorge and emergency phone numbers — A Table Mountain National Park trail marker on the summit plateau, pointing to Maclear’s Beacon and Platteklip Gorge, pictured in 2018. Photo: Mike Peel / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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The Six Races and the Course

The organiser, Summit Events, stages six races, from a 100-miler and a 100 km down to 16 km. RMB, a bank brand of South Africa’s FirstRand group, is the title partner.

The other five races cross sections of Table Mountain, Lion’s Head, Signal Hill, Llandudno, Hout Bay and upper Kirstenbosch. Table Mountain National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage area, and the trails are steep and technical.

The 100-mile race covers 163 km, about 101 miles, with 14 aid stations and a 45-hour cut-off. It heads south to Silvermine, Kalk Bay, Simon’s Town, Kommetjie and Noordhoek before returning to Gardens.

The UT100 covers 99.1 km, about 61.6 miles or roughly 2.3 marathons. It has nine aid stations, a 26-hour cut-off and two big early climbs, on Table Mountain and Karbonkelberg.

Crews may help runners only within 100 metres of aid stations, under the race rules. The 100-mile race allows pacers on a 105.7 km section between the Llandudno and Alphen aid stations.

Race Schedule in Local and US Eastern Time

Cape Town keeps South African Standard Time, two hours ahead of UTC, with no daylight saving. US daylight saving ends on Sunday, 1 November, so race weekend sits seven hours ahead of New York.

The official race-week schedule lists the starts below, with US Eastern times added. Expected winning times are the organiser’s estimates, not guarantees.

Tuesday, 17 November: Tuesday Trails community run on Table Mountain, meeting at Kloof Corner at 5:45 p.m. local time (10:45 a.m. ET).
Thursday, 19 November: registration and expo from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time (3 a.m. to noon ET). The venue is The Avenue, Two Oceans Aquarium, V&A Waterfront.
Friday, 20 November: Peninsula Traverse 55 km from Llandudno at 6 a.m. local time (11 p.m. ET Thursday).
Friday, 20 November: Kickstarter 16 km from Beau Constantia at 8:30 a.m. local time (1:30 a.m. ET).
Friday, 20 November: UTCT 100-mile race from Gardens Rugby Football Club at 5 p.m. local time (10 a.m. ET).
Saturday, 21 November: UT100 at 4 a.m. local time (9 p.m. ET Friday); winners expected about 1:30 p.m. (6:30 a.m. ET).
Saturday, 21 November: Explorer 23 km from the Alphen Trail at 9 a.m. local time (2 a.m. ET).
Sunday, 22 November: Table Mountain 35 km at 6 a.m. local time (11 p.m. ET Saturday).
Sunday, 22 November: prize giving at 1 p.m. local time (6 a.m. ET); last 100-mile finishers by 2 p.m. (7 a.m. ET).

Entries, Prices and Deadlines

The organiser’s entry button leads to Quicket, a South African ticketing platform, which lists Summit Events as the organiser. On 15 October, Quicket showed six entry tiers, four of them marked sold out.

The organiser’s entry page prices the 100 km at R5,495 (about US$331) and the 100 miles at R6,495 (about US$392). Those are the two tiers still in stock, while the sold-out tiers ranged from R1,095 (about US$66) to R4,055 (about US$245).

IOL reported on 8 October that the shorter distances sold out earlier in the year. It added that places remained in the UT100 and the 100-mile race, which matches the Quicket listing.

Rand amounts in this guide are converted at R16.58 per US$1, the open.er-api.com rate on 15 October 2026. A US card may add a foreign transaction fee to any payment in rand.

The deadlines are tight for anyone entering now. Under the Quicket terms, refunds fall to 30% from 2 October and end at midday on Wednesday, 28 October (6 a.m. ET).

Substitutions, upgrades and downgrades are also allowed only until that midday deadline. A substitute runner pays the entry fee plus an admin fee of R250 (about US$15).

The 100-mile race requires a finish in a trail race of at least 50 km within the previous 24 months. Runners who enter without one must email it to the organisers by midday on 28 October.

Age limits apply across the programme. Runners must be 20 or older for the four longest races, 18 for the 23 km and 16 for the 16 km.

How to Watch From the United States

No US television broadcaster or streaming service had announced coverage of the 2026 race by 15 October. The official website links to the race’s Instagram, Facebook, X and Strava accounts, but not to any video stream.

Before the 2025 race, Nova News, a South African news site, said race broadcasts would stream live on YouTube. Whether a stream will run in 2026 has not been confirmed.

The race rules say each runner’s progress will appear on a live tracking system on the official website on race day. Runners are recorded electronically at timing points along the route, so fans can follow them from home.

The timing suits early risers in the eastern United States. The UT100 leaders are expected around 6:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, with the first 100-mile finishers due minutes later.

Getting There and Getting Around

Visitors fly into Cape Town International Airport, and the race village lies in the City Bowl, the central district below Table Mountain. Its suburb, Oranjezicht, is a residential area on the mountain’s lower slopes.

The organiser says there is no parking at the race village or at any start venue. An official Park and Ride runs from Cape Town High School on Hatfield Street, Gardens, on MyCiTi buses from Thursday to Sunday.

The organiser advises allowing 30 to 45 minutes for boarding, the ride and traffic. Ride-hailing drop-off points for each start are listed on the race FAQ page.

Spectators are asked to avoid Llandudno, where parking and space are very limited. The organiser suggests cheering instead in and around Hout Bay and at the Hout Bay aid station.

Southern Sun, the official accommodation partner, offers discounted rates to spectators and families at participating hotels. The organiser names SunSquare Cape Town Gardens, close to the race village, among them.

Safety and Costs for Visitors

The US State Department rates South Africa at Level 2, exercise increased caution, in an advisory issued on 27 May 2025. It cites crime, terrorism, civil unrest and kidnapping, and warns of smash-and-grab attacks on cars.

The advisory also warns that hiking can be dangerous and that some US citizens have died doing it. It advises carrying enough water, never hiking alone and preparing for sudden weather changes.

The race is run in a spirit of semi self-sufficiency, and every runner must carry the compulsory gear list. Each missing item can bring a time penalty of 15 to 30 minutes, under the race rules.

Weather on the mountain can swing sharply even in late November, early summer in the Southern Hemisphere. The organiser warns of single-digit Celsius mornings on Table Mountain and afternoons above 30°C (86°F).

US citizens need no visa for stays under 90 days, according to the State Department. Passports need two consecutive blank visa pages and must stay valid for 30 days after departure.

Beyond the entry fee, budget for long-haul flights, several nights in Cape Town and race-week transport. Compare flight and hotel prices early, since the race falls at the start of the southern summer travel season.

What It Means for You

For US trail runners, Cape Town offers a Western States qualifier and a World Trail Majors finale in the southern summer. Only the 100 km and 100-mile places were still on sale on 15 October.

Anyone entering should act before midday on 28 October, when refunds, substitutions and the 100-mile qualifier deadline all close. Spectators should plan around the Park and Ride, since there is no parking at the race village.

Fans at home can follow the official live tracking, with the leaders due in the early morning, Eastern time. Check the State Department advisory again before you fly, because ratings can change.

What Is Not Known

Neither Quicket nor the organiser publishes how many places remain in the 100 km and 100-mile races. A final entry deadline, if places do not sell out first, is not published on the pages checked.

No 2026 elite start list had been announced by 15 October. A 2026 video stream and any US broadcast are also unconfirmed.

Connected Coverage

The Rio Times Cape Town city guide covers neighbourhoods, transport and costs for visitors and new residents. For this month’s events, see What to Do in Cape Town in October 2026.

Cricket fans can read the South Africa vs Australia Cape Town Test 2026 guide. For background, see South Africa Regions and Provinces Explained and South Africa Politics Explained.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is Ultra-Trail Cape Town 2026?

Ultra-Trail Cape Town runs from Friday, 20 November to Sunday, 22 November 2026, with registration from Thursday, 19 November. All six races finish at Gardens Rugby Football Club below Table Mountain.

Can US runners still enter Ultra-Trail Cape Town?

On 15 October, Quicket still listed places in the 100 km and 100-mile races, while the shorter races were sold out. Refunds and substitutions end at midday on 28 October, Cape Town time.

What time does the 100 km race start in US Eastern time?

The UT100 starts at 4 a.m. local time on Saturday, 21 November, which is 9 p.m. ET on Friday, 20 November. The 100-mile race starts earlier, at 10 a.m. ET on Friday.

Does Ultra-Trail Cape Town qualify for Western States?

Yes, the Western States list names both the 100 km and 100-mile races of November 2026 as qualifiers for 2028. Runners must finish inside 21 hours for the 100 km or 45 hours for the 100 miles.

Sources: RMB Ultra-trail Cape Town, official site; race-week schedule; UTCT 100-mile race page; UT100 race page; race info and rules; entry page and prices;FAQ, parking and transport; accommodation and travel; Quicket, official entries and terms; World Trail Majors, 2026 calendar; Western States Endurance Run, qualifying races; IOL, 8 October 2026; Runner’s World South Africa, 24 November 2025; iRunFar, 2025 results; Nova News, November 2025; US State Department, South Africa travel advisory; US State Department, South Africa country information; open.er-api.com exchange rates (all accessed 15 October 2026).

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief

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