Nice Côte d'Azur by UTMB 2026: preparation, logistics and gear guide

The 100M starts in Auron on Friday 25 September at 13:00 for 165 km and 8,900 m of climbing to Nice. The 100K starts in Roubion on Saturday 26 at 08:00 (109 km, 5,400 m+). The two 50K races start from Levens on Friday 25 at 19:00 (39 km, 1,388 m+) and from the Col d'Èze on Saturday 26 at 07:30 (50 km, 2,000 m+). The 20K starts from Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat on Sunday 27 (23 km, 680 m+). As of 2026-09-04, all five races are full.

The 100M is a UTMB World Series category final: four Running Stones, start waves by UTMB Index, and mandatory gear designed for one or two nights out. The organiser warns that the Mercantour in September can exceed 30 °C or feel like −10 °C above 2,000 m.

This guide follows the order of decisions: where to sleep, how to reach the start, when to collect the bib, what goes in the pack. Times come from the provisional official agenda; the organiser remains the final source during race week.

On the 100M, the first half is alpine and the second drops to the sea: train long descents and late-race heat, not only climbs. A night block with the full pack and the planned headlamp is essential, since the 13:00 start puts the first night early in the race.

On the Levens 50K, the 19:00 start means running almost entirely at night: test lighting and fuelling at that hour. On the Èze 50K and the 100K, the early start calls for a wake-up, transport and breakfast routine rehearsed before race day.

Everything converges on Nice: the Ultra-Trail Village, bib pickup, the finish. Pickup is in Nice on Thursday 24 (100K 12:00–19:00, Èze 50K 12:00–20:00, 100M 16:00–21:00, Levens 50K 17:00–21:00) and Friday 25 (100M in Auron 09:00–13:00, Levens 50K in Nice 11:00–16:00, Èze 50K 11:00–21:00, 100K 15:00–21:00). The 20K bib is collected on Saturday 26, 09:00–13:00 and 16:00–20:00.

In 2026 there are no course-following shuttles: shuttles go to the starts, booked from MyUTMB, outbound and return in one booking, supporters allowed. For the 100M, departure from the Port of Nice, quai du Commerce, on Friday 25 at 08:30, 08:45 or 09:00 depending on your UTMB Index, stops at Isola and Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée, arrival in Auron around 10:50 to 11:20.

Nice is reached via Nice Côte d'Azur airport and Nice-Ville station, both linked to the centre by tram. For a mountain start the safest option is the official shuttle: the organiser reports closed roads and variable journey times and recommends booking a bus early for the first waves.

Auron is about two hours by road from Nice up the Tinée valley. If you drive up, someone has to drive back down: the finish is in Nice, and the supporters' return shuttle leaves Auron at 14:00 on Friday.

The organiser lists accommodation in Nice, Auron, Isola, the hamlets of Roya and Douans, Èze and Roubion, and works with Nirvana for official hotels. For most runners a base in Nice simplifies everything: bib, village, morning shuttle, finish, return.

Sleeping in Auron the night before the 100M avoids the morning shuttle but means getting your things back down: the finish is 165 km away. For the Levens 50K, starting at 19:00, a base in Nice with a shuttle is enough.

Nice by UTMB is decided on the quai du Commerce at 08:30 as much as in the Mercantour: the shuttle, the bib and the two weather kits decide how calm the start is. Open a TrailCompanion Prep from this guide to date those three decisions, then let the race be a race.