Mljet trail marathon (orange)

Race strategy

Start easy, build your effort, and go all out at the finish.

• Start easy and control your HR up to 28.7km.
• Hold your race pace up to 30.4km, but stay in control.
• The finish is runnable. Save your legs to run it all the way.
• Ease into the early runnable section, then run your race pace.
• Start · 0.0km–2.0km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 2.0km–28.7km · Ease in: hold back more than feels necessary. The race is still ahead. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.
• Work · 28.7km–30.4km · Plus 1 more climb. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace.
• Home · 30.4km–41.6km · 11.2km of runnable trail, high point 379m. No heroics: settle back into your own effort and hold it to the line. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.

Course

The course climbs 1400m+. With 33m/km of climbing, this is a rolling, mostly runnable course. By gradient, 27% of the distance is uphill, 34% downhill and 39% flat. The longest climb runs 1.7km at an average 13.7% grade (226m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 32.1% over 0.2km. Surface: 67% trail, 19% road, 6% technical, and 6% smooth.

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 1.7km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is low (index 18 of 100): a few descents worth noting, none of them decisive.