Great Wall 100K

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 293m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• The finish is runnable. Save your legs to run it all the way.
• 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 19.8km, then run your race pace.
• Start · 0.0km–1.0km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.0km–17.4km · Descent of 293m averaging 7%. 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. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.
• Work · 17.4km–58.6km · Descent of 268m averaging 11%, 22.5km of runnable trail, high point 1530m. Plus 1 more climb. 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 · 58.6km–67.6km · Plus 1 more climb and 1 descent. Your energy fades, and that's normal: hold a steady effort and stop counting the miles. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. Your heart rate drifts down on its own: don't chase your early-race numbers, go by feel.
• Home · 67.6km–99.2km · 31.6km of runnable trail. No heroics: settle back into your own effort and hold it to the line. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.

Course

By gradient, 35% of the distance is uphill, 36% downhill and 28% flat. The longest climb runs 6.6km at an average 4.0% grade (266m of vertical). The longest descent runs 4.2km at an average 7.0% grade (293m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 23.7% over 0.3km. The steepest descent drops at 29.0% over 0.2km. Surface: 48% trail and 22% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 136.2 FlatKM.

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 5.2km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 39 of 100), with 44% of the load in the first half: 2 descents deserve a plan and a couple of downhill sessions before race day.

• Ease into the early runnable section, save your quads on the descents until 19.8km, then run your race pace.
• #1 · 9.9–14.1 km · 293 m D−, -7.0% · 85.1 km ahead → control
• #2 · 17.4–19.8 km · 268 m D−, -11.4% · 79.4 km ahead → control
• 58.6–61.0 km · 279 m D−, -11.6% · 38.2 km ahead → your pace

Results

762 finishers completed the 2025 edition. Men's winner: Guidu Qin (China) in 9:44:18. Women's winner: Wenli Jiang (China) in 12:40:50.