Behind the Rocks Ultra Closes Triple Crown of Moab With Strong Fields

Tall Navajo Sandstone fins and exposed mesa traverses don't offer much forgiveness, but they make for a finish-line story worth chasing. More than 200 runners found that firsthand at Behind the Rocks Ultra on March 28, when the race wrapped Mad Moose Events' 2025-2026 Triple Crown of Moab season across four distances: 10-mile, 30K, 50K, and 50-mile.

The 50K drew the largest crowd, logging roughly 206 finishers with leading times in the low-to-mid four-hour range. Full results including age-group placings, downloadable splits, and complete finisher rosters were published on Mad Moose and UltraRunning's results pages following the event. The 50-mile field, smaller but no less competitive, posted winning times that reflected the course's combination of endurance demands and technical navigation through remote desert terrain.

Behind the Rocks starts and finishes at the Behind the Rocks Trail just south of Moab, skirting the edge of the Behind the Rocks Wilderness Study Area. The course moves through a progression of terrain: smooth double track and sandy washes give way to technical doubletrack and challenging singletrack, then to the technical down climbs and rim running the race is known for. Views stretch toward the Town of Moab, the snow-capped La Sal Range, and the Colorado River corridor. Late-March conditions brought cool morning starts that warmed through the afternoon alongside the region's characteristic desert wind.

As the final race on the Triple Crown calendar, Behind the Rocks served as the settling event for runners who had been accumulating qualifying mileage since October. The 2025-2026 series spans five Mad Moose races: Canyonlands Ultra in October, Dead Horse Ultra in November, Arches Ultra in January, Moab's Red Hot in February, and Behind the Rocks in March. Athletes must complete any three to earn series swag, distributed at the finish lines of Arches Ultra, Red Hot, or Behind the Rocks. For runners who saved their third qualifier for the finale, March 28 carried extra weight alongside every climbing mile.

The event also reinforces Moab's role as a trail-running hub in the early calendar season. Out-of-state athletes regularly pair Behind the Rocks with other spring Moab events, using the convergence of terrain and race weekends as a concentrated training block. For local businesses, the race weekend delivers early-season traffic to lodging, guiding, and outdoor services at a time when the desert is at its most inviting. Mad Moose offers free camping at the start/finish line, a logistical detail that also signals the community-first character that keeps desert ultrarunning culture grounded in the red rock it calls home.