Pirin Trail 25K

Race strategy

Run the climb at race pace, build your speed on the downhill, and go all out at the finish.

• Final 1666m descent. Save your legs to go all out on it.
• High point at 2578m. Control your HR at altitude.
• Control your HR on the first mountain, and start the final descent from 7.4km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• Start · 0.0km–1.7km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.7km–7.4km · Climb of 952m. Ease in: hold back more than feels necessary. The race is still ahead. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. At altitude your pace drops, and that's fine.
• Home · 7.4km–24.5km · Descent of 1666m averaging 10%, high point 2578m. Build to the finish: leave whatever you have left out on the course. Very long descent: first half under control, then even, let go only near the end. At altitude your pace drops, and that's fine.

Course

The course climbs 1000m+. With 40m/km of climbing, this is a rolling, mostly runnable course. By gradient, 28% of the distance is uphill, 59% downhill and 12% flat. The longest climb runs 7.4km at an average 12.9% grade (952m of vertical). The longest descent runs 17.1km at an average 9.7% grade (1666m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 32.8% over 0.4km. The steepest descent drops at 23.1% over 1.0km. Surface: 81% trail and 15% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 38.0 FlatKM.

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 4.0km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 25 of 100), with 42% of the load in the first half: 0 descents deserve a plan and a couple of downhill sessions before race day.

• Control your HR on the first mountain, and start the final descent from 7.4km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• 7.4–24.5 km · 1666 m D−, -9.7% · 0.0 km ahead → even, first half under control, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 9°C to 17°C, with around 10°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 24%.