Daytona 100

Event Overview

Course & Terrain

Coastal paved-road route with an opening 7-mile out-and-back before continuing point-to-point from Jacksonville Beach to Ponce Inlet.

Key course features to know before comparing this race:

• Atlantic coast corridor
• Ponce Inlet finish after a long southbound point-to-point route
• Ponte Vedra Boulevard sidewalk past oceanfront estates, miles 9.6 to 16
• St. Augustine's historic fort and the Bridge of Lions around mile 36
• The Matanzas Inlet bridges into Marineland after mile 51

A paved coastal-road course removes technical trail footing but adds camber, repetitive impact, exposure, traffic controls and variable coastal weather. The route is essentially flat, with the ocean on the runner's left heading south, and the main rises are bridges: the Intracoastal bridge at Vilano Beach (mile 33.6), the Bridge of Lions drawbridge in St. Augustine and the Matanzas Inlet bridges into Marineland after mile 51. Runners must use sidewalks or bike paths where directed and otherwise run the left shoulder facing traffic, including a 17-mile shoulder stretch from mile 16.3 to Vilano Beach. The organizer's mileages are best estimates; the course is not certified.

NOAA's 1991-2020 normals give Daytona Beach a December average high of 71.5°F and low of 52.1°F; Jacksonville International Airport, inland from the start, averages 67.5°F and 45.8°F. Much of A1A is open to sun and wind off the ocean. The rules allow ice in a bandana, buff or clothing but ban cooling vests, umbrellas and shade covers, and the race's crew guide puts sunblock and ice near the top of the crew's job list.

Entry & Logistics

Why This Race Matters

The Daytona 100 follows State Road A1A, Florida's ocean road, from Jacksonville Beach through St. Augustine, Flagler Beach and Daytona Beach to the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse, crossing four counties and more than a dozen towns. The organizer bills it as North Florida's first point-to-point ultramarathon. It was first run on November 7, 2015, and the December 12, 2026 race is the 12th annual edition. Since 2022 it has been owned and directed by Bob Becker of Ultra Sports LLC, who founded the Keys100 in 2008 and in July 2025, at 80, became the oldest finisher in Badwater 135 history. The course is flat and fast: in 2025, 21-year-old Oliver Bieser ran 13:34:47 to break Lee Whitaker's 2017 record of 14:11:00.

Historical benchmark notes in the directory record (verify current records with the linked official sources):

• Men: Oliver Bieser, 13:34:47, 2025
• Women: Micah Morgan, 14:55:45, 2017

Preparing for a Race Like Daytona 100

The 100-mile race guide covers the format as a whole. These guides go deeper:

• Walking strategy for ultramarathons: When and how to walk by terrain, effort and cutoffs.
• Crew and aid-station strategy: Crew tables, aid stops, drop bags and runner preferences.
• Gut training for ultrarunners: A six-week practice sequence for race-day fueling.
• Tapering for ultramarathons: Plan the taper and race week around your own recovery.

Best Fit

• Road runners chasing a fast 100-mile time on a flat course
• First-time 100-milers who can bring a crew and want frequent meet-ups
• Runners who want a point-to-point coastal journey with a lighthouse finish

Planning Notes

• Treat intermediate cutoff gates as part of the course. Build enough margin for aid stops and late-race slowdown, and verify every current gate in the official rules.
• Repetitive surfaces can expose fit, friction, and loading problems. Check in when symptoms or conditions change, and use only footwear already tested for the course.
• The directory does not mark this as having simpler logistics. Confirm qualification, terrain, support, registration, medical, and withdrawal requirements before planning around it.
• Missing an interim aid-station closure can end the race before the finish cutoff
• Start and finish transport must be planned separately
• Uncrewed runners must carry enough for the no-vehicle zones: the opening 7-mile out-and-back and Ponte Vedra Boulevard from mile 8.2 to 16, where the only crew point is a sidewalk meet-up at mile 12.
• Crew mistakes cost the runner: a vehicle stopping at The Reef restaurant (mile 31.3) brings an automatic one-hour penalty, and a third rules infraction means disqualification.

Event FAQs

Related Preparation

• Compare verified US 100-mile races
• Compare this race in the full 2026 calendar
• Open the 100-Mile format guide
• Open the Fixed-Distance format guide
• Compare all race formats
• Use the timed-race pace calculator
• Plan checkpoint arrivals and cutoff buffers
• Print a pace band for your goal time
• Estimate race calories and plan fueling
• Build a crew and drop-bag plan
• Build a race-specific gear checklist