What is a Stage Race? Everything Runners Need to Know

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A stage race is a running event split into separate timed stages, usually one a day, with the clock stopped overnight. Your stage times are added together and the lowest total wins.

Marathon des Sables made the format famous in the 1980s. Most of what Ultra X does is stage racing, from two-day events in the UK to a week-long desert stage race in Wadi Rum, so this is the explanation I give to anyone who asks.

How does a stage race work?

Each stage runs from a start line to a finish line and is timed like a normal race. Everyone then stays in the same camp, eats together, sleeps, and starts the next stage together in the morning.

A week-long trail running stage race usually looks something like this:

• Day 1, 30 to 50km, to settle in
• Days 2 and 3, around a marathon each
• Day 4, the long stage, 70 to 90km, often finishing after dark
• Day 5, a short recovery stage
• Day 6, a final stage to the finish

Our UK multi-stage events are the compressed version. Two days, 110km, one night in camp, one cumulative result. The idea is the same.

How is a stage race different from a single stage ultra marathon?

A 100km single stage race is one effort. You start, and the clock runs until you finish, which might be fourteen hours or thirty.

A stage race covers the same kind of distance in instalments. In practice:

• You rarely run through the night. In a single stage 100km you almost always do.
• You have to make the cut-off every day, not on average. A bad day four does not get absorbed by a good day two.
• The afternoon and evening in camp become part of the race. How well you eat, sort your feet and sleep decides how day two goes.
• You spend a week with the same hundred people. Single stage racing is mostly solitary after the first hour.

If you are choosing between the two, we have a full comparison here.

Supported or self-sufficient stage races

This is the big split within stage racing.

In a supported race, the organiser moves your bag between camps, feeds you at checkpoints and in camp, and puts up the tents. You run with water, snacks and the mandatory safety kit. All Ultra X races are supported.

In a self-sufficient (or self-supported) race you carry everything for the week: food, sleeping bag, clothes. The organiser provides water, a shared tent and medical cover. Marathon des Sables and Grand to Grand Ultra work this way. Packs start at 6 to 10kg and lighten as you eat.

Self-sufficient racing is as much about logistics as running. Do a supported race first.

What camp is actually like

Camp is where most stage races are decided. The running gets filmed. The afternoon is where people either set up tomorrow or quietly lose it.

A normal afternoon: cross the line, get your tracker checked, find your bag, deal with your feet, eat, drink, change into dry clothes, find your tent, lie down, eat again, go to the briefing, lay out tomorrow’s kit, sleep. The people who do that in roughly that order every day are the ones who look fresh on day five.

It is also the reason people come back. You share a tent with strangers on Sunday and by Wednesday you are planning next year’s race with them. There is no other running format that does this.

How is a stage race scored?

Cumulative time. Daily results and overall standings go up each evening.

Most events also run team and age categories. A DNF on any stage is a DNF for the race. At our events you can usually continue the remaining stages unofficially if the medical team is happy, but you drop out of the results.

How do cut-offs work in a stage race?

Every stage has cut-offs at checkpoints and at the finish. At supported stage races they are set so that a steady hiker makes them with time to spare, but they are not open ended.

The thing people underestimate is that cut-offs reset each day. Making day three with ten minutes in hand still means a 7am start on day four. Pacing has to work for the whole week, not just today.

What kit do you need for a stage race?

Two bags. What you carry on the course and what goes in your camp bag.

On the course, every event sets a mandatory minimum: water, waterproof, head torch, whistle, foil blanket, phone, food. Our kit list goes through each item.

In camp you need a sleeping bag and mat, warm layers, dry kit for each day, a foot care kit, something comfortable to walk around camp in, and more socks than seems reasonable. Supported events cap the camp bag weight, so this takes some thought.

Who is stage racing for?

Anyone who can cover a marathon distance in a day and is prepared to do it again tomorrow. That is more people than you might assume.

The field at any of our stage races runs from people chasing the win to people walking most of it, and the walkers finish. What gets people through is consistent training, a few back-to-back long days before the race, and looking after themselves in camp.

What is a stage race? The short version

A stage race is an ultra in instalments. The clock stops each night and starts each morning, and the recovery in between is as much part of the race as the running. It is the most sociable format in the sport and the one most likely to turn a one-off challenge into a habit.

Stage races at Ultra X

The two-day 110km multi-stage at Ultra X England, Wales, Scotland and Slovenia is where to start. The week-long races in Jordan, Kenya, Morocco and South Africa are the next step. For mountain stage racing, the Dragon’s Back Race is six days and 380km through Wales.

Frequently asked questions

What is stage racing in running?

A race split into separate timed stages, usually one a day, with the clock stopped overnight. Stage times are added together and the lowest total wins.

Is a stage race easier than a 100 miler?

Different. The daily distances are shorter and you sleep, but you have to run again the next morning and make the cut-off every day.

What is the difference between a stage race and an ultra marathon?

Most stage races are ultra marathons too. The difference is the format: a stage race splits the distance into timed stages over several days, with the clock stopped overnight, while a single stage ultra marathon is one continuous effort.

How long is a stage race?

From two days and 110km up to six or seven days and 250km or more. Stages are usually 30 to 50km with one longer day in week-long races.

Do you carry your own food?

Only in self-sufficient races. In supported races the organiser feeds you at checkpoints and in camp and moves your bag between camps.

What is a self-supported stage race?

A stage race where you carry everything for the week, including food, sleeping bag and clothes. The organiser provides water, a shared tent and medical cover. Marathon des Sables is the best-known example.

Can beginners do a stage race?

Yes. A supported two-day race with stages of around 55km is achievable for a trained marathon runner.

What happens if you miss a cut-off?

You are withdrawn from the official results. Most events let you continue unofficially if the medical team agrees.