Black Beacon 100 Mile
- Total distance: 160.9 km
- Location: Hay-on-wye
- Race Date: 30 Oct 2026
- Finish rate: 69%
- Entry Cost: £160
- Navigation: Partial Self-Navigation
- Nearest Station: Builth Road (23.5 km)
- Aid Stations: 14
- Night Running: 67.4% in darkness
- Pacing Complexity: High (54/100)
Black Beacon 100 Mile
- Distance
- 160.9 km
- Total ascent
- 5,612 m
- Cut-off
- 42h
- Town/Village
- Hay-on-wye
- Date
- 30 October to 1 November 2026
- Entry cost
- £160
Overview
No overview text has been written for this race yet.
Quick Facts
- Entrance Cost: £160
- Organiser: Run Walk Crawl
- Start Town: Hay-on-wye
- Dogs Allowed: Unknown
- Start Date: 30 Oct 2026
- End Date: 1 Nov 2026
- Start Time: 2:00 PM
- Final Cut-off: 42h
Navigation
- Type: Partial Self-Navigation
- Closest Train Station: Builth Road
- Distance from Start Line: 23.5 km
Eligibility
- Minimum Age: Unknown
- Gender Eligibility: All genders
- Minimum Entry Criteria: Unknown
Toilets
- Hand Washing Beyond Sanitiser: Unknown
- Period Products Provided: Unknown
- Female Only Toilets: Unknown
Family & Spectators
- Baby Changing at Start: Unknown
- Family Friendly Spectator Areas: Unknown
- Flexible Deferral or Cancellation: Unknown
Safety
- Marshalls at Isolated Areas: Unknown
- Safeguarding and Reporting Policy: Unknown
- Can Hide Location from Public Tracking: Unknown
Terrain & Elevation
The course is mainly trail (54%), with grass (25%) making up most of the rest. The terrain is highly fragmented, switching roughly every kilometre. This demands constant mental engagement and limits the ability to build a sustained rhythm from surface consistency alone. The longest unbroken stretch is 10.9 km of trail. Uphills are predominantly on trail (68% of ascending sections). Downhills are spread across a mix of surfaces, with trail most common.
Black Beacon 100 Mile has 77.9 km of trail / path, this is in the top 1% of all our races.
- Trail / Path54% · 77.9 km
- Grass25% · 36.1 km
- Paved Road9% · 12.2 km
- Off-road / Unknown6% · 7.9 km
- Gravel / Track5% · 7.4 km
- Rocky1% · 1.5 km
Distance
161.0 km
Ascent
5612 m
Descent
5613 m
High Point
833 m
Compared against 27 other races of a similar distance, Black Beacon 100 Mile has more total elevation gain than 96% of them, and more elevation gain per kilometre than 100% of them — significantly hillier than typical for its distance.
Source: GPX Data
Gradient
7.61%
Average climb gradient
Do you have experience of moderate climbs like Black Beacon 100 Mile's, which average 7.61%?
Black Beacon 100 Mile's climbs average 7.61%. If your training never rehearses sustained climbing at that gradient, race day will be the first time your legs meet it.
5.32%
Average descent gradient
Do you have experience of gentle descents like Black Beacon 100 Mile's, which average 5.32%?
Black Beacon 100 Mile's descents average 5.32%. If your training never rehearses sustained descending at that gradient, the downhills will empty your quads long before the finish.
Source: GPX Data
Climate
Pacing Complexity
Black Beacon 100 Mile scores 54/100 for pacing complexity, rated high.
Similar-distance races score a median of 60/100 (5 races compared).
Black Beacon 100 Mile is one of the more pacing-friendly races at this distance. The course is relatively consistent in effort demand, which makes a controlled, steady approach more viable than on many similar-distance events. Technical terrain coverage is still the main watchpoint, but overall the course rewards disciplined execution over reactive pacing.
Source: GPX Data
Aid Stations
Stations
You'll need to keep an average pace of 1.9 km/h between aid stations to make the cut offs.
Stations
| KM | Name | Gap from Prev | Cut-off | Water | Cold Food | Hot Food | Hot Drinks | Gels | Medic | WC | Bags | Crew |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.7 | Gospel Pass | 9.7 km | – | ✓ | ✓ | – | – | ✓ | – | – | – | ✓ |
| 20.1 | Dinas Castle Inn | 10.5 km | – | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | – | ✓ |
| 33.0 | Llangynidir (Access to drop Bag A) | 12.9 km | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 45.9 | Talybont Reservoir | 12.9 km | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | – | – |
| 59.5 | A470 | 13.7 km | – | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | – | ✓ |
| 72.4 | Ystradfellte | 12.9 km | – | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | – | ✓ |
| 81.3 | Pontneddfechen (Access to drop bag B) | 8.8 km | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 89.3 | Ystradfellte | 8.0 km | – | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | – | ✓ |
| 102.2 | A470 | 12.9 km | – | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | – | ✓ |
| 117.5 | Talybont Reservoir | 15.3 km | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | – | – |
| 128.8 | Llangynidir (Access to drop bag A) | 11.3 km | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 141.6 | Castle Dinas Inn | 12.9 km | – | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | – | ✓ |
| 152.1 | Gospel Pass | 10.5 km | – | ✓ | ✓ | – | – | ✓ | – | – | – | ✓ |
| 162.5 | Hay-on-wye - Village Hall | 10.5 km | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ✓ |
None of the aid stations on this course are confirmed to offer vegan food, so vegan runners should plan to carry their own nutrition.
Source: Not recorded
Night Running
Black Beacon 100 Mile starts at 14:00 local time, with sunset around 16:47. Based on the median finisher time of 35:21:24, a runner at that pace would finish around 01:21 — after dark, spending around 23h 01m (65% of their race) running in darkness and covering roughly 105.1 km of the course after sunset.
Shaded stretches are expected to be run in the dark
Are you ready for Black Beacon 100 Mile?
Compare it to a race you've already run, or connect Strava and see the three biggest gaps between your training and what this course will ask of you.
