GO ULTRA

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 326m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Steep 32% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• Final 523m descent. Save your legs to go all out on it.
• Long race. Control your HR and effort. Early mistakes cost the most.
• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the descents until 47.0km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 58.9km.
• Start · 0.0km–1.8km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.8km–11.1km · Climb of 616m, descent of 326m averaging 16%. Plus 1 more climb. 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 · 11.1km–31.2km · Climb of 341m, high point 798m, descent of 404m averaging 6%. 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. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.
• Fade · 31.2km–58.9km · Descent of 836m averaging 7%. Plus 2 more climbs. Your energy fades, and that's normal: hold a steady effort and stop counting the miles. 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. Running pays off here: run wherever you can. Your heart rate drifts down on its own: don't chase your early-race numbers, go by feel.
• Home · 58.9km–63.4km · Descent of 523m averaging 12%. No heroics: settle back into your own effort and hold it to the line. Long descent: keep it even and let go only near the end.

Course

The course climbs 3060m+. With 48m/km of climbing, this is a true mountain course with sustained climbs and descents. By gradient, 36% of the distance is uphill, 43% downhill and 21% flat. The longest climb runs 6.8km at an average 9.1% grade (616m of vertical). The longest descent runs 12.7km at an average 6.6% grade (836m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 34.8% over 0.2km. The steepest descent drops at 31.5% over 0.6km. Surface: 53% trail, 17% smooth, 15% technical, and 15% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 88.4 FlatKM.

Summits

The highest summit on the course is Gomila (802m), 24.6km from the start. The course also passes close to Gomila - Quota Papa (816m) and Sveti Lovrenc (799m).

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 9.6km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 37 of 100), with 44% of the load in the first half: 3 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 47.0km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 58.9km.
• #1 · 6.8–8.9 km · 326 m D−, -15.8% · 54.5 km ahead → control
• #2 · 24.7–31.2 km · 404 m D−, -6.2% · 32.2 km ahead → control
• #3 · 34.2–47.0 km · 836 m D−, -6.6% · 16.4 km ahead → control
• 58.9–63.4 km · 523 m D−, -11.6% · 0.0 km ahead → even, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 3°C to 13°C, with around 9°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 39%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 16% of days around this date.