La Ultra The High

It’s hard to believe a race like La Ultra The High exists. Held in the Himalayas of Ladakh, it puts other races claiming to be the world’s toughest to shame with 333 km of pure cruelty. There’s a 555 km version too, which is a partial out-and-back. But let’s face it – this extreme distance escalates into the realm of self-inflicted torture. The course profile for La Ultra The High is simple. Just go straight from around 11,500 feet to over 17,500 feet, three times in a row. The cumulative elevation gain of 18,000 feet might not seem as bad as races like UTMB and the Hardrock 100, each with 33,000 feet of elevation. But those races reach high points level to La Ultra The High’s low points, meaning the altitude effects are very different. Not to mention, temperatures in this region of the Himalayas can range from a sweltering 100°F to below freezing at 15°F, changing in a matter of hours.