The Arc of Attrition by UTMB 2026: Start times, route, tracker, who's racing and how to follow

The first race of the 2026 UTMB World Series season, Arc of Attrition by UTMB, kicks off the calendar on England’s southwest coast.

Held in the heart of winter, this 11th edition (the second as part of the UTMB World Series) offers four race formats – Arc100 (161 km), Arc50 (80 km), Arc25 (41 km), and Arc12 (24 km) – all traversing the South West Coast Path, an iconic trail winding along Cornwall’s cliffs, beaches, and exposed headlands.

The first three races offer all the podium finishers direct entry into UTMB, OCC and CCC respectively in Chamonix.

The combination of season and location creates a truly unique challenge, with often extreme conditions – wind, rain, mud, and long nights – and a terrain renowned for its demanding, exposed character.

This year, the event brings together nearly 3,000 participants, 75% of whom are British, highlighting its strong local appeal. Women make up 24% of the field across all races.

Arc of Attrition start time and race tracking

The 2025 Arc of Attrition starts on Friday January 23 at 13.00 local time (GMT) in Coverack. There is a 36-hour cut off for completion, meaning runners must have reached the Eco Park in Porthtowan by 01:00 on January 25.

The Arc50 begins at the Minack Theatre in Porthcurno at 09:00 on Saturday January 24. It has a cut off of 15 hours and 30 minutes, meaning runners have until 00:30 on the 25th to make it back to the Eco Park.

UTMB will provide live tracking for ‘dot watchers’ here.

Tom Evans Arc 50 2025 photo credit Arc of Attrition by UTMB — Tom Evans, right, won the Arc50 last year before going on to land UTMB [Photo credit: Arc of Attrition by UTMB]

Who’s racing?

The Arc25 (41km) features an exceptionally strong field this year, setting the tone for the season. Naomi Lang (UK, UTMB Index 788), the top British athlete according to the UTMB Index, will line up after a successful end to 2025, which included podium finishes at the HOKA UTMB-Mont-Blanc ETC and the Short Trail World Championships.

On the men’s side, the race promises to be wide open. Several athletes will aim to challenge or break Kristian Jones’ (UK, UTMB Index 893) course record of 2h41m set in 2025. Notable competitors include Raoul Raus (BEL, UTMB Index 899), runner-up at the 2025 Mont-Blanc Marathon, and home favorite Robbie Simpson (UK, UTMB Index 890).

After finishing fifth at the 2025 OCC, Kristian Jones (GBR, UTMB Index 893) steps up this year to race the Arc50 (80 km), while Kim Collison (GBR, UTMB Index 781) – winner of the 2025 Winter Spine Race – is looking for a second Arc100 (161km) crown.

Route

The Arc of Attrition is a point-to-point race, starting in the Cornish south coast town of Coverack and finishing in Porthtowan on the north coast. It is 100-miles long, almost entirely following the Cornish section of the South West Coast Path as runners complete an ‘Arc’ around the Cornish peninsula.

The route has 4,010m of total elevation across those 100 miles. Whilst the route itself is hard, the primary challenge for runners is the weather rather than the land; a winter race on the coast, it is infamously windy, wet and cold. However the forecast this year does look relatively kind – and mild.

Almost entirely sticking to trails, there are a few sections where the route does join up with the road, but only where the South West Coast Path itself does the same. There are only two spots at which the race departs from the path, at Cape Cornwall and St Ives Island.

There are four checkpoints in the race, spaced around 20-miles apart, which all have a variety of supplies and food: the first is at Porthleven, 24.5 miles after the start, the second 14 miles later at Penzance, the third a further 16.5 miles along at Land’s End and the fourth in St Ives after another 24 miles.

The Arc50 starts at the unique Minack Theatre in Porthcurno, but also finishes in Porthtowan.

The bigger picture

The 2026 edition of Arc of Attrition by UTMB continues its active commitment to inclusion and environmental responsibility, building on initiatives started in 2025. The event collaborates with groups such as Black Trail Runners, Muslim Runners, and Into Ultra, promoting a trail running community that is more open and representative – both on the start line and in the race environment.

On the environmental front, the event partners for the first time with Trash Free Trails, implementing several initiatives.

They include Runner’s Guide recommendations encouraging participants to leave a positive mark and collect any litter found on the course. “Sweepers” collecting litter along the course and bringing it back to the Ultra-Trail Village for post-event tracking. And a Trash Free Trails relay team covering the entire route to ensure a clean trail throughout the race.

Arc of Attrition 100 recent winners and record times

Emma Stuart made the headlines in 2023 when she absolutely shattered the women’s course record – knocking nearly four hours off Anna Troup’s previous best time.

Mark Darbyshire broke his own course record in 2024 becoming the first runner to dip under the 19-hour mark on his way to victory number two at the event.

There have been other big-name winners too, not least Nicky Spinks in 2022 and Winter Spine heroes Kim Collison in 2019 and Anna Troup in 2020.