High Lonesome 100

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• Big early climb with 1.3km gain. Hold your pace, save your legs for later.
• 1131m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• High point at 3992m. Control your HR at altitude.
• Long race. Control your HR and effort. Early mistakes cost the most.
• Ease into the early runnable section, save your quads on the descents until 115km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 150km.
• 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–22.8km · Climb of 1295m. Ease in: hold back more than feels necessary. The race is still ahead. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. Running pays off here: run wherever you can. At altitude your pace drops, and that's fine.
• Work · 22.8km–76.6km · Descent of 1131m averaging 11%, high point 3992m, descent of 629m averaging 15%, descent of 676m averaging 15%. Plus 3 more climbs and 1 descent. 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.
• Fade · 76.6km–150km · Descent of 562m averaging 7%, climb of 659m, descent of 635m averaging 9%. 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. At altitude your pace drops, and that's fine. Your heart rate drifts down on its own: don't chase your early-race numbers, go by feel.
• Home · 150km–157km · Descent of 355m averaging 5%. 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. At altitude your pace drops, and that's fine.

Course

The course climbs 7163m+. With 44m/km of climbing, this is a rolling, mostly runnable course. By gradient, 39% of the distance is uphill, 41% downhill and 20% flat. The longest climb runs 12.3km at an average 5.9% grade (721m of vertical). The longest descent runs 10.2km at an average 11.1% grade (1131m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 38.4% over 0.2km. The steepest descent drops at 38.5% over 0.2km. Surface: 52% trail, 19% smooth, 17% extreme, 5% technical, and 5% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 228.5 FlatKM.

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 12.5km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is high (index 63 of 100), with 52% of the load in the first half: 5 critical descents, the last of them run on already damaged legs. Downhill-specific preparation and a controlled early pace pay off here.

• Ease into the early runnable section, save your quads on the descents until 115km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 150km.
• #1 · 22.8–33.0 km · 1131 m D−, -11.0% · 124.3 km ahead → control
• #2 · 44.9–49.2 km · 629 m D−, -14.5% · 108.1 km ahead → control
• #3 · 53.4–58.0 km · 676 m D−, -14.6% · 99.3 km ahead → control
• #5 · 81.7–89.4 km · 562 m D−, -7.3% · 68.0 km ahead → control
• #4 · 108.0–114.8 km · 635 m D−, -9.4% · 42.6 km ahead → control
• 149.7–157.4 km · 355 m D−, -4.6% · 0.0 km ahead → even, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 19°C to 25°C, with around 18°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 48%.