Kokol Ultra 2026

Kokol Ultra 2026 returns to Padang Manggatal on the outskirts of Kota Kinabalu for a full weekend of Sabah trail running. The 2026 edition is a significant step up for the event, with its flagship 70K joining the Asia Trail Master Grandmaster Quest calendar after earlier candidate editions and a redesigned course with a stronger trail focus. The programme also includes 50K, 35K, 21K and 15K races, giving runners a wide spread of options across the same Kokol landscape.

Current official course information shows substantial climbing across every race. Published figures are about 533m of elevation gain for 15K, 926m for 21K, 1,683m for 35K, 2,980m for 50K and 3,980m for 70K. ITRA and Trace de Trail list current-edition course files for all five categories, with the longest route running roughly 71 to 73 kilometres. The terrain is trail-focused and takes runners from Manggatal towards the hills around Kokol, an area known for rainforest, steep climbs, river and waterfall sections, villages and high viewpoints above Kota Kinabalu.

The latest organiser race graphic sets a common 06:10 MYT flag-off on Saturday, 24 October. Cut-offs are 11:10 for 15K, 13:10 for 21K, 18:10 for 35K, 23:10 for 50K and 05:10 on Sunday, 25 October for 70K. That gives limits of 5, 7, 12, 17 and 23 hours respectively. This newer 23-hour 70K limit supersedes an earlier Asia Trail Master announcement that initially referred to 24 hours.

Registration closed on 2 September 2026 after several categories had already reached capacity and additional places were released. Organiser updates reported participants from 17 countries by early August, underlining the race's growing international field. Race-pack collection is advised for Friday, 23 October, although a final verified collection time has not been published in the accessible current material. A paid two-way shuttle between Kota Kinabalu city and Padang Manggatal is also advertised for race weekend.