MOT 42K – Meja Occitan Trail

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 714m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Steep 46% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• Big early climb with 1440m gain. Hold your pace, save your legs for later.
• Final 1328m descent. Save your legs to go all out on it.
• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the descents until 25.4km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 30.9km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• Start · 0.0km–1.6km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.6km–21.2km · Climb of 710m, descent of 714m averaging 27%, climb of 1439m. Ease in: hold back more than feels necessary. The race is still ahead. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. This descent is hard on the legs: short steps, stay in control, poles if you have them. Hike the steepest pitches.
• Work · 21.2km–30.9km · Descent of 403m averaging 9%, climb of 539m, high point 2533m. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. This descent is hard on the legs: short steps, stay in control, poles if you have them. At altitude your pace drops, and that's fine.
• Home · 30.9km–41.2km · Descent of 1328m averaging 13%. No heroics: settle back into your own effort and hold it to the line. 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 2650m+. With 63m/km of climbing, this is a true mountain course with sustained climbs and descents. By gradient, 45% of the distance is uphill, 45% downhill and 10% flat. The longest climb runs 12.7km at an average 11.3% grade (1439m of vertical). The longest descent runs 10.3km at an average 12.9% grade (1328m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 32.4% over 0.5km. The steepest descent drops at 46.0% over 0.4km. Surface: 73% trail, 10% technical, 9% road, and 8% smooth. Flat-equivalent effort: 61.6 FlatKM.

Poles

Trekking poles are worth taking: about 8.0km of the course favours them.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 35 of 100), with 30% of the load in the first half: 2 descents deserve a plan and a couple of downhill sessions before race day.

• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the descents until 25.4km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 30.9km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• #1 · 5.9–8.5 km · 714 m D−, -27.2% · 32.7 km ahead → control
• #2 · 21.2–25.4 km · 403 m D−, -9.5% · 15.7 km ahead → control
• 30.9–41.2 km · 1328 m D−, -12.9% · 0.0 km ahead → even, first half under control, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 2°C to 11°C, with around 8°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 36%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 10% of days around this date.