RacesUtah Wasatch
Wasatch 100
Demand
5 out of 5
How much it asks
Worth
4 out of 5
Worth the flight + fee
Kaysville to Soldier Hollow, Utah, United States
Scorecard · is it worth it?
Worth the flight if the mountains match what you want.
The card
Wasatch is the American 100 that still talks like 1980 and still climbs like a mountain race. The published line is blunt: East Mountain Wilderness Park to Soldier Hollow, about 24,000 feet of gain, first Friday after Labor Day, a point-to-point down the spine of the range. Demand is 5 because the vert, the scree, the heat-to-freeze, and the isolation stack. The official site's own language is about self-reliance more than hospitality. That is not a vibe. That is the course.
Worth is 4. The Wasatch is a reason to fly to Salt Lake if you want this specific beating: crest trail, Desolation, the Plunge, a finish at Soldier Hollow. It is not a 5 because the altitude is not Colorado-thin, the town experience is Front rather than a mountain village, and the race's own design withholds the dense aid that makes Western States feel like a civic event. Prestige is real: Grand Slam, history, a field that knows what it signed up for. Organization confidence is high: wasatch100.com has been saying the same hard things for a long time.
Date and fee stay on the official page. If you want a Utah 100 that is actually mountains, this is the adult option next to Speedgoat's 50K circus. If you wanted a first 100, this is a poor first 100. If you wanted scenery without the Plunge, look at Bear.
The opening climb out of Bair Canyon is the thesis statement: thousands of feet in a handful of miles, then a ridge that keeps asking. Heat at the bottom, freeze at night, scree when you wanted trail. Grand Slam history is real and is not a reason to inflate worth to 5. Salt Lake is an easy airport; the course is not an easy mountain. We are not going to invent the 2026 calendar line or the fee. wasatch100.com is the document. If you want Utah's hardest 100, this is it. If you want Utah's prettiest autumn 100, Bear is the other card in this batch. Speedgoat is the 50K with a circuit sticker, and it is not a substitute for either.
Who it is for
Experienced 100-mile runners who want a self-reliant mountain point-to-point with huge vert and Grand Slam history.
Who should skip
Runners who need dense aid and a runnable surface. Wasatch will not carry you.
Elevation
Tap or hover for miles, clock, and aidft
Night = sunset 7:54pm to sunrise 6:58am at the start (Sep 5), mid splits.
Bottom ticks are aid. Longest gap 16.6 mi.
Shape from public terrain data along the RD's course line. Gain per the RD: 23,999 ft (7,315 m).
Official course map ↗ · RD trail-maps page (PDF section maps plus KML/KMZ/GPX downloads)
Finisher pace · 2025
Median finishers (~50th percentile of 205 finishers). Not a predicted you. · retrieved 2026-09-06 (repo record)
Bountiful B 16.6 mi
- Aid–aid
- 4.7 h
- Elapsed
- 4.7 h
- Clock
- 9:42 am
2.3 h slack
Sessions Liftoff 20.9 mi
- Aid–aid
- 1.0 h
- Elapsed
- 5.7 h
- Clock
- 10:42 am
Big Mountain Pass 31.9 mi
- Aid–aid
- 2.9 h
- Elapsed
- 8.6 h
- Clock
- 1:36 pm
3.4 h slack
Alexander Ridge 40.7 mi
- Aid–aid
- 2.7 h
- Elapsed
- 11.3 h
- Clock
- 4:18 pm
4.2 h slack
Lamb's Underpass 47.5 mi
- Aid–aid
- 1.9 h
- Elapsed
- 13.2 h
- Clock
- 6:12 pm
4.8 h slack
Desolation Lake 61.3 mi
- Aid–aid
- 5.2 h
- Elapsed
- 18.4 h
- Clock
- 11:24 pm
Scotts Peak 65.3 mi
- Aid–aid
- 1.3 h
- Elapsed
- 19.7 h
- Clock
- 12:42 am +1d
Brighton Lodge 69.3 mi
- Aid–aid
- 1.5 h
- Elapsed
- 21.2 h
- Clock
- 2:12 am +1d
5.3 h slack
Ant Knolls 74.1 mi
- Aid–aid
- 2.8 h
- Elapsed
- 24.0 h
- Clock
- 5:00 am +1d
Pole Line Pass 77.2 mi
- Aid–aid
- 1.3 h
- Elapsed
- 25.3 h
- Clock
- 6:18 am +1d
4.4 h slack
Rock Springs 81.2 mi
- Aid–aid
- 1.5 h
- Elapsed
- 26.8 h
- Clock
- 7:48 am +1d
Little Deer Creek 88.3 mi
- Aid–aid
- 2.4 h
- Elapsed
- 29.2 h
- Clock
- 10:12 am +1d
4.3 h slack
Decker Canyon 94.8 mi
- Aid–aid
- 1.9 h
- Elapsed
- 31.1 h
- Clock
- 12:06 pm +1d
Finish / Soldier Hollow 100 mi
- Aid–aid
- 1.4 h
- Elapsed
- 32.5 h
- Clock
- 1:30 pm +1d
3.5 h slack
Local clock derived from published start + finisher splits, not a forecast.
Finishers only (DNFs missing, so the real back of the field is slower).
- Start
- 4,888 ft1,490 m
- Finish
- 5,528 ft1,685 m
- Net
- +640 ft+195 m
- Longest climb
- 4,293 ft1,309 m
- Above 10,000 ft
- 0.9 mi1.4 km
Point to point. Net uphill. Total climb is still in Facts.
Weekend
Official handbook facts
- Start
- 05:00
- Crew
- 31.9, 47.5, 69.3 mi
- Drop bags
- 16.6, 31.9, 47.5, 65.3, 69.3, 77.2, 88.3 mi
- Pacer from
- 31.9 mi
- Course file
- Open
Wasatch 100 FAQ / important dates · retrieved 2026-09-06 (repo record)
Field
Last editions · 100M scored distance
Field evidence: who showed up, who finished, how long. DNF is that evidence, not a difficulty score. Public results, scored distance only.
2025
- Starters
- 322
- Finishers
- 205
- DNF
- 36%
- Win
- 20:38:06
- Median
- .
2024
- Starters
- 298
- Finishers
- 164
- DNF
- 45%
- Win
- 19:08:35
- Median
- .
2023
- Starters
- 309
- Finishers
- 202
- DNF
- 35%
- Win
- 20:51:12
- Median
- .
Starters, finishers, and win from public results tables for the scored race.
Overall field only. Not a pro or sponsored subset.
Climate
Typical September at the start area · historical race-week weather
- Typical high
- 78°F (26°C)
- Typical low
- 57°F (14°C)
- Typical precip
- 1.5 in (38 mm) / September
- Days with rain
- 13% of days
- High point
- 10,499 ft (3,200 m)
BewareHigh point 10,499 ft (3,200 m). the air is part of the weather.
2015–2024 September means at the start / massif. · Open-Meteo ERA5 / climate · retrieved 2026-09-06 (repo record)
Dimensions
Ten 1–5 scores with a one-line why. Organization has a separate confidence tag.
Supporting dimensions · organization confidence high
Point-to-point 100 along the Wasatch crest. A long self-reliance 100, not a road loop.
About 24,000 ft of gain. This is a climbing 100.
Scree, ridge, heat-to-cold, the Plunge. Technical enough to be a mountain 100.
September contrast: heat in the day, freezing in the valleys at night.
High ridges, not 14ers. Air matters less than vert and terrain.
Wasatch Front access is easy; crew on a ridge race is not.
Grand Slam history, a field that still treats this as a mountain 100.
Decades of public materials. Isolation is by design; support is not WSER-dense.
A serious mountain 100 without a circuit tax.
Wasatch crest, Desolation Lake, aspen. Beautiful, and also a long ridge beating.
| Dimension | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|
Distance & format How much does the advertised distance and format actually ask? | 4 out of 5 | Point-to-point 100 along the Wasatch crest. A long self-reliance 100, not a road loop. |
Vertical How serious is the climbing, not just the mile marker? | 5 out of 5 | About 24,000 ft of gain. This is a climbing 100. |
Technicality Hands, poles, route-finding, or just a long dirt road? | 4 out of 5 | Scree, ridge, heat-to-cold, the Plunge. Technical enough to be a mountain 100. |
Climate Heat, monsoon, ice, or a friendly summer afternoon? | 4 out of 5 | September contrast: heat in the day, freezing in the valleys at night. |
Altitude Does the air change the race, or is it a talking point? | 3 out of 5 | High ridges, not 14ers. Air matters less than vert and terrain. |
Logistics How hard is the weekend around the race: travel, crew, lodging, rules? | 3 out of 5 | Wasatch Front access is easy; crew on a ridge race is not. |
Prestige & field Does the start list and history change what the weekend feels like? | 4 out of 5 | Grand Slam history, a field that still treats this as a mountain 100. |
Organization From public evidence, does the event look competently run? | 4 out of 5 | Decades of public materials. Isolation is by design; support is not WSER-dense. |
Value Entry fee, travel tax, and lottery friction versus what you get on course. | 4 out of 5 | A serious mountain 100 without a circuit tax. |
Adventure & scenery Would you fly for the place even if nobody kept score? | 4 out of 5 | Wasatch crest, Desolation Lake, aspen. Beautiful, and also a long ridge beating. |