Copper Canyons 100 Mile Ultra

Course OVERVIEW

Over 100 miles of perhaps the most challenging race you have ever completed. For likely more than a day you will be pushed to your limits but you will also be able to draw energy from these magical lands to help you achieve a success that few ever will come to know.

Beginning at the edge of the actual Copper Canyon you will be running along the rim from the start until you descend down a river valley. A couple of challenging technical climbs in the day, following by a nice gradual down stretch as you run into the late morning. The Cerocahui Valley and the cheering community will give a nice boost in the afternoon - next time you come back this way at the finish things will never be the same.

Leaving Cerocahui you will climb up to the top of the Sierra and into the Oaks and Pines before dropping down 6,000 feet into the warmth and beauty of the Urique Canyon. The course will then take you on what amounts to a tour of the Urique Canyon with a nice run along the river to ‘rest’ your tired quads for a bit before a worthy climb up toward Batopilas Canyon via the Caballo Blanco Trail. When you loop back toward the village of Urique the good news is you are getting super close! The other news, look up! You now have to climb back those 6,000 feet of net gain before dropping back into Cerocahui ancient trails that may have been there for hundreds of years! Unless you are a super fast runner, it’s likely that as you approach the finish line you will hear cheers, music and all the activity in the Plaza as the Festival Cerocahui takes place!

Course SECTIONS

CANYON TO CANYON 100

Mile 1-37 (Start Hotel Mansion Tarahumara and Adventure Park to Cerocahui)

A beautiful and challenging stretch. The course from the start until you will come into the town of Cerocahui is just over 37 miles with a little bit of everything. Starting at the edge of the actual Copper Canyon (Barranca del Cobre) you will run along the rim for the first few miles, looking to your right there are 80 mile views! Soon you descend down an ancient river valley to a small Tarahumara mesa with a couple of farms that seems like they have been there for hundreds of years. A couple of challenging technical climbs is next, and a beautiful arch signals the climb to come. You will then hit your first aid in the small community of Churro. Leaving Churro you have a nice runnable old logging road to the town of Cuiteco and another aid station. Between Cuiteco and Bahuachivo you will run along a river and be able to see some bridges and tunnels of the world famous CHEPE train track. A little bit of pavement gives a break from the technical and a chance to recover and there is much ahead. A few miles past Bahuachivo you leave the road with an ‘up and over’ a granite Mesa that seems like it was created for us to run. Finally before you drop down via a technical drainage into town and the aid station in the Cerocahui Plaza.

Miles 38-65 (Cerocahui Mission Plaza to the Urique Canyon)

What an amazing stretch you have in store. You’ll end up back in the Plaza at Cerocahui for your finish, but over the next 62 miles you will come to understand why they call these ‘the lands of the running peoples’. You leave town and soon are in a different world, as you travel up a Rio and through a box canyon that almost seems tropical. Ancient caves and dwellings before the course opens up to a lush valley and travels up the the area called La Cruz. Heading down from here is perhaps one of the most scenic stretches (though they all are!) on the course as you make your way on an old single-track trail along the side toward the village of Mesa Naranja. You finally hit the bottom of the Canyon after a nearly 7000 foot descent and make your way into the famous town of Urique. Notice that? It’s heat, as you have replaced the pines and oaks of the Sierra for the desert climate of the Canyon. You will explore the incredible trails and paths around Mesa Naranja and Guadalupe Coronado before you make your way into the historical village of Urique

Miles 66-84 (Urique area)

Coming into Urique and an aid station with everything to make you full and happy so you can get through these final miles. Not exactly a loop, but a great tour of the Urique canyon then over across the river and on the Caballo Blanco trail and you enjoy the Canyon warmth and views to above. Awesome trails, a nice run along the river a couple of legitimate climbs and a mountain oasis with the best grapefruit on the planet. As you make your way back into town, you can guarantee some folks in the community of Urique will be watching and cheering as you are getting closer to your finish.

Miles 84-100 (Urique to Cerocahui Plaza finish line and Festival!)

The final stretch. Not too much longer, but it’s going to be a tough effort on tired legs. As you leave town, look up at the highest mountain you see in front of you – that’s where you are headed. The good news, once back up into the Sierra your final miles are down to Cerocahui on one of the most scenic trails on the course – including a pit stop for a picture and a dip under a 85 ft waterfall if you want to get a nice ‘wake up burst’. Then just a couple miles more the plaza and Festival await! You have ran the Copper Canyons ‘Canyon to Canyon 100’. Wow….