Antelope Canyon Ultra Marathons

Course highlights

Runners start with a 5 mile desert traverse on a sandy doubletrack with a little slickrock and a slot canyon mixed in. Near mile 4, runners will drop into the first slot canyon of the day, at the bottom of which is Antelope Aid Station. After the aid station you'll enter a large open wash, which you will follow south for about 3 miles to the entrance to the incomparable Upper Antelope Canyon.

Navajo guides will be posted along the route, as travel on tribal lands requires their presence in order to visit the sacred sites. After passing through the slot canyon, runners will climb over a sand dune and pass through another small slot canyon on the return (since the canyon isn’t wide enough for two way traffic.) You’ll return to the Antelope Aid station for the second time, then retrace your footsteps back towards the starting line for about 3.5 miles, where you’ll split off from the way you came and head west toward the Horseshoe Bend/Waterholes Canyon leg. Slickrock Aid will be about a mile into the desert after crossing S. Coppermine Rd.

From there, runners will traverse another open desert for about 3 miles before reaching the famous Horseshoe Bend of the Colorado River. An aid station will be set up near the parking lot of this spectacular overlook (Horseshoe Bend Aid). The next section weaves through slickrock along the rim of the Colorado River, in an area that few humans have traveled which offers views that are beyond words. After crossing back over Hwy 89, runners will fuel up at the Waterholes Aid station before dropping into another gorgeous slot canyon. The aid station is located near the bridge.)

After about a mile in the slot, runners will exit and head back towards the city of Page on a long, exposed, and sandy desert traverse which takes you through the Horseshoe Bend and Slickrock aid stations for a second time. Upon entering Page and climbing up onto the plateau which the city is built upon, the route ties into the smooth singletrack of the Page Rim trail. This is a fast and very runnable ten mile loop with spectacular views of Lake Powell and Glen Canyon Dam. There is a short out and back trail that you'll need to take in order to access the Lake Powell Aid Station (0.18 miles each way)