Ultra Gobi brings a 400km desert race to AlUla in January

The Ultra Gobi endurance series is coming to AlUla from 13 to 20 January 2027, its first edition outside China. The routes cross AlUla's desert, and the official race page shows runners passing the tombs of Hegra.

There are six formats. The headline race is a 400km nonstop, self-navigated and self-supported run with a 139-hour cut-off and checkpoints every 40km, limited to 50 runners who must have finished a 160km-plus nonstop trail race since 1 January 2025. The 121km A+ race is a solo nonstop crossing from day into night for experienced ultrarunners. There is also a 121km team race and a 121km individual race, each over four stages with camp and meals included, a 30km one-day route for first-timers that ends at a desert camp, and a 90km youth stage race over three days for a parent and child.

Registration is open on the Ultra Gobi website, linked from Experience AlUla's event page. Entry fees are not published on either page. The organisers say the entry covers race logistics, safety, rescue and medical support and group insurance, but not visas, travel to AlUla or hotels, and they recommend arriving at least a day early. Race packs must be collected in person with the passport used to register. The course is not suitable for wheelchairs, and all events depend on the weather.