Deep Creek 53km, Race-Smart Notes - temp course 2026
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protect your buffer
Deep Creek 53km
Temp Course 2026.
Pacing, cutoffs and the course, segment by segment, for the temporary 2026 route.
The start is now 7:00am Sunday, one hour earlier. The intermediate and finish cutoffs have not moved, so you gain an extra hour to reach Callawonga and an 11 hour finish window. There is also a temporary reroute early in the course, and it changes how the opening kilometres will feel.
Treat the extra hour as a cushion you may need later, not as permission to push.
The risk is spending that extra time early.
Trail Note · 01
What changed for 2026
Between Trig and Boat Harbour, the route now goes through Deep Creek Cove, which is steeper and more technical than the original line. The Friends of the Heysen Trail rate the Deep Creek Cove to Tapanappa section as Grade 4, a hard hike.
Start
7:00am Sunday, one hour earlier.
Cutoffs
Unchanged, so you gain an extra hour to Callawonga.
Finish window
11 hours for the Deep Creek 53km.
GPX
Download HTU_DC53_2026Reroute.gpx from the race website and replace any earlier copy on your watch or phone.
Trail Note · 02
Cutoffs and time budget
Start 7:00am Sunday. Finish cutoff 6:00pm: 11 hours for the Deep Creek 53km. The course as published before the reroute is 54.34km and +1,423m, so confirm the final distance and climbing from the new GPX.
Two intermediate cutoffs are enforced, and their clock times have not changed. The extra hour is real, but this is still a hilly coastal ultra, and the reroute may make the opening harder to run. Aim to arrive at Callawonga and Waitpinga with 45 to 60 minutes of buffer.
*Km marks and average paces use the course as published before the reroute. The Deep Creek Cove reroute changes the distance before Boat Harbour, so check them against the new GPX.
Trail Note · 03
Pacing by goal
Competitive
4 to 5h, finishing roughly 11am to 12pm. Approximately 4:25 to 5:31/km overall, including aid-station time. The cove may cost you time early, so make it up on the runnable coastal ground later rather than forcing it.
Strong finish
6 to 7h, finishing roughly 1 to 2pm. Approximately 6:38 to 7:44/km overall, including stops. Walk the steep cove climbs on purpose, bank patience early and run the descents you trust.
Finish-focused
7 to 11h, finishing roughly 2 to 6pm. Approximately 7:44 to 12:09/km overall. Walk the climbs, jog the flats and run the descents you trust. Use the cutoff table as your pacing spine and protect your buffer.
Trail Note · 04
How to pace the temp course
Same distance, different race. Two things have changed at once. The cove makes the opening slower and harder on your legs, and the earlier start gives you more time to the first cutoff. The risk is spending that extra time early.
The clock times below are guides. They are built from the pre-reroute km marks and typical hilly-ultra pacing, where the first section is slower and the second half has more runnable coastal ground. Once you have checked the new GPX, adjust them to your own distances.
If you are aiming for 10 to 11 hours, your buffer targets matter more than any average pace. Hitting them keeps the cutoffs comfortable and leaves the back half to manage.
Start to Boat Harbour
Pace by effort, not minutes
Let your watch pace go in the cove. Hold an easy, conversational effort and walk the steep ups before you feel you need to. If you are talking in short gasps, you are above the effort you can hold for 8 hours. Use the Next Kilometre Rule: ask whether you can move well for one more kilometre, then ask again.
Descents
Protect your quads for km 35
Steep technical descents cost more than they feel like they do. Shorten your stride, keep your feet quick and your chest tall, and resist braking hard on every step. Damage from the cove may not show until the coastal sections after Waitpinga, which is exactly when you want legs that still work.
Boat Harbour check-in
If it feels easy, it is working
At Boat Harbour, ask how your legs and stomach feel, not what your split is. If you feel like you are cruising, you are probably on plan. If you already feel worked, ease back for the next 30 minutes and eat. You can recover from going too easy. You cannot easily recover from going too hard.
Callawonga to Waitpinga
Do not spend the extra hour
This 12km section is where the second cutoff is won or lost. Arrive at Callawonga with your buffer intact, resist the urge to take a longer stop because you are ahead, and keep moving steadily. A long rest here is the easiest way to give the extra hour back.
Fuelling by the clock
Eat early, eat often
With a 7:00am start, breakfast needs to happen earlier. Plan to take on your first fuel within 30 minutes, then eat on a timer rather than waiting to feel hungry. Slow, technical ground makes it easier to eat in the cove, so use it.
Waitpinga to the finish
Run on feel
Once you are through the second cutoff, the clock matters less than your next decision. Run what the ground allows, walk what it does not, and keep eating. If you have paced the first half well, you may find you can lift your effort on the coastal ground and the final stretch into Victor Harbor.
You can recover from going too easy. You cannot easily recover from going too hard.
Trail Note · 05
The course, segment by segment
1. Start to Boat Harbour · 0 to ~10.5km (rerouted)
This is the section that has changed. Between Trig and Boat Harbour you now go through Deep Creek Cove, which is steeper and more technical than the original route. You may find short, sharp climbs and descents, less rhythm and more hands-on-knees hiking. Start in first light at 7:00am, settle into an easy effort, eat from early and protect your quads on the descents. Do not chase minutes here: the cutoff at Callawonga now gives you an extra hour.
2. Boat Harbour to Callawonga · ~10.5 to 19.5km
The terrain stays undulating and technical underfoot. Callawonga is the first enforced cutoff at 11:30am, 4.5 hours after the start. Power-hike the steeper pinches, keep effort even rather than pace even, and use the station to top up fuel and fluid.
3. Callawonga to Waitpinga · ~19.5 to 31.5km
A substantial middle section, with climbing, technical trail and exposed coastal terrain. Hike the climbs efficiently, run what is genuinely runnable and use short, economical steps on softer ground. Reach Waitpinga, the second enforced cutoff at 2:30pm (7.5 hours in), with fuel still going in and a meaningful buffer intact.
4. Waitpinga to Kings Beach · ~31.5 to 44.5km
A coastal stretch that can be exposed to wind and sun, when your legs are asking questions. Make it a fuelling and head-game section: keep eating, break the distance into smaller landmarks and lift back into a run whenever the ground allows.
5. Kings Beach to Victor Harbor · ~44.5 to 54.34km
The final push into Victor Harbor. If you paced the first half well, this is your opportunity to keep moving purposefully and finish strong. Stay fed, stay present and keep making good decisions all the way to the line.
The race is branded Deep Creek 53km. The course as published before the reroute is 54.34km and +1,423m, and the temporary 2026 route may differ slightly. Cutoffs and aid-station locations are as published by the organiser. Check the new GPX and the race manual again in race week.
Trail Note · 06
Your race plan
Create buffer early
A 45 minute buffer means arriving at Callawonga by 10:45am (3h 45m in) and Waitpinga by 1:45pm (6h 45m in). For a 60 minute buffer, aim for 10:30am and 1:30pm. These are not targets to race: they are your protection against a long aid-station stop, a stomach wobble, heat, wind or a slower patch late in the day.
Respect the cove
Less runnable terrain is not a disadvantage if you let it slow you down on purpose. Hike the steep ups with short, steady steps, take the technical descents with soft knees and quick feet, and keep your effort below race effort. The goal is to leave the cove with fresh quads and a full tank, not with minutes banked.
Make aid stations efficient
Know what you need before you arrive: refill, calories, electrolytes, sunscreen or layers, then move. Eat something before leaving each station, not just while you are standing in it. Save your longest reset for the point where it will genuinely help, rather than stopping too long early because you feel good.
Fuel before you need it
Start fuelling in the first 30 minutes and keep it steady. Practise the exact combination you will use on the day, whether that is Tailwind, gels, chews or real food, during your long runs. Do not introduce a new strategy at 35km.
Sort logistics before race morning
The start is now an hour earlier, so check your check-in and shuttle times with the organiser and work back from 7:00am. Download the new reroute GPX to your phone or watch, replace any older copy, and take a screenshot or offline copy. It is compulsory to carry the route, but it is also your best backup if you are alone, tired or uncertain at a junction.
Trail Note · 07
Race-day execution
Patience is the plan
With more than 54km and around 1,400m of climbing to cover, the early kilometres are about restraint, and the cove makes that easier to practise. Keep the effort below the excitement, especially before Callawonga.
Fuel and carry the kit
Aid stations provide Tailwind, coke, fruit, lollies, chips and savoury food, but carry your own cup or soft flask. Mandatory gear includes your phone and GPX, first-aid kit, whistle, headlamp and spare power, waterproof seam-sealed jacket, high-vis vest, buff or beanie, gloves and at least 1L of fluid. Train with it all on board.
Run your buffer, not the clock
Get through Callawonga and Waitpinga comfortably ahead of cutoff, and the back half becomes a race you can properly run rather than simply survive.
Run your buffer, not the clock.
see you at the start line
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