ULTRA GOBI

Most races score the fastest runner. The Ultra Gobi AlUla A race scores the third.

Teams of three to five cover 121 km over four days. The result comes from the Third Person Scoring Rule: the cumulative time of the third runner to finish each stage, adjusted for gender and age.

That rewrites how you race. A well-run team of five steady runners beats a disorganized team of five fast ones. The strongest individual on a weak team still loses.

Ultra Gobi A comes to AlUla for the first time in January 2027.

Ernest Shackleton, the Antarctic explorer, famously promised his crew he would bring everyone home. He did.

Ultra Gobi has an award named after him. The Shackleton Award goes to any A team where every single member crosses the finish line. Not the fastest team. Not the best ranked team. The one that loses no one.

In a race where the official result is determined by the sixth runner, not the fastest, the Shackleton Award recognizes the teams that take the premise of the event seriously: the goal is to finish together. The motto on the award is taken from Shackleton's family crest: "By Endurance We Conquer."

Most editions see only a handful of teams earn it.

The 21st Ultra Gobi runs September 27 to October 4, 2026. Registration is open at ultragobiseries.com.

Today is the day - registration opens for the first Ultra Gobi AlUla 🤩

January 13 to 20, 2027. Six race formats, from 30 to 400 kilometres, open for adventurers, teams and trekkers. Go beyond and discover AlUla, one of earth's great hidden places.

Registration is now open: https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=139368

Entries for each format are limited (first come, first served). Registration will be open until November 15, 2026.

Our 400km format has no personal crew and no marked trail. You carry what you need, refill with your drop-boxes and find the route yourself. Cutoff: 139 hours.

For most of that, you are alone with the ground in front of you. In AlUla that ground is sandstone canyon, open desert plain and rock that has stood for millions of years. Nabataean tombs cut into the cliffs two thousand years ago are among the only landmarks you will pass.

This has been the defining race of the Ultra Gobi Series since the first edition in the Gobi Desert. AlUla is the first time it runs outside China.

People ask why we run Ultra Gobi AlUla in January.

The numbers: days between 18 and 21°C, nights down to 3 or 4, almost every day clear skies. AlUla sits in the desert of northwest Saudi Arabia, about 300 km from Medina. In January the brutal summer heat that defines this part of Arabia is months off.

Mid-January is the perfect window for moving across this desert for days at a time. Long days to cover ground. Cold nights that reward those who pack smart.

Ultra Gobi AlUla: January 12–20, 2027.

Which would worry you more here — the heat at noon, or the cold at dawn?

People ask why we run Ultra Gobi AlUla in January.

The numbers: days between 18 and 21°C, nights down to 3 or 4, almost every day clear skies. AlUla sits in the desert of northwest Saudi Arabia, about 300 km from Medina. In January the brutal summer heat that defines this part of Arabia is months off.

Mid-January is the perfect window for moving across this desert for days at a time. Long days to cover ground. Cold nights that reward those who pack smart.

Ultra Gobi AlUla: January 12–20, 2027.

Which would worry you more here — the heat at noon, or the cold at dawn?

This is where we race in January 2027.

The first time we saw AlUla, we understood why people have been drawn to this place for millennia.

Sandstone formations that look almost deliberate. A valley that has been green and inhabited for 7,000 years, sustained by a natural oasis. And Hegra: more than 140 Nabataean tombs carved directly into the cliff face, Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site.

January is AlUla's finest season for running and outdoor sports. Days around 18 to 21, nights cooler, but not bitter cold.

Are you ready for the first edition of Ultra Gobi AlUla?

The first edition of Ultra Gobi AlUla will see six formats.

400km — The crown jewel. The ultimate test of endurance and will. Self-navigated, nonstop, self-supported.

A+ (121km, nonstop) — One single continuous push through the AlUla landscape.

A (121km, 4-day team race) — Teams of 3 to 5. Scored on the Third Person Scoring Rule: the cumulative time of the third member, adjusted for gender and age. The format that has defined Ultra Gobi for twenty years, now in a new desert.

B (121km, 4-day stage race) — The same course as A, but at your own pace as a solo stage format.

C (30km, 1-day) — One day running or trekking experience in the AlUla desert. Enough to soke it all in.

Youth (90km, 3-day family race) — Three days through one of the most remarkable landscapes on earth, for younger runners and their families.

Registration opens in the coming weeks. We will let you know when the time comes.

A message from the Founder of the Ultra Gobi Series, Qu Xiangdong:

"We know what the world looks like right now. The situation in the Middle East is real, and I am not going to pretend otherwise.

We continue our preparations for Ultra Gobi AlUla. We are in close contact with our partners in AlUla and will keep you informed as things develop.

But I want to say something honestly: it is precisely in times like these that I feel most clearly why Ultra Gobi exists. People from different countries, different cultures, different backgrounds, moving through the same landscape together. That has always been the point. It feels more important now than ever.

AlUla's sandstone valleys once marked the crossing point where the Incense Road and the Silk Road converged. Caravans carrying Chinese silk west, frankincense east. Traders, pilgrims and travellers not only exchanged goods but also ideas and perspectives. Ultra Gobi wants to honor this heritage and be a place where that kind of exchange still happens.

We cannot wait to meet you there."

For twenty years, Ultra Gobi has been a race in China's Gobi Desert. In January 2027, it goes somewhere new.

We are proud to announce Ultra Gobi AlUla. January 12 to 20, 2027, in AlUla, Saudi Arabia. Six race formats, from a single day to our legendary 400km (248 miles) ultra.

AlUla's sandstone valleys once marked the crossing point for caravans connecting China, Arabia, and the Mediterranean. The racecourses will run through canyons that traders, pilgrims and travellers crossed long before any modern border existed.

We closely monitor the situation in the region with our partner in Saudi Arabia. Safety is always the top priority. But we stay optimistic that we can have a peaceful and fantastic event at the beginning of next year.

We cannot wait to see you there.

Full details at ultragobiseries.com.