E35 - North Face Trail

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 327m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Steep 32% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• The finish is runnable. Save your legs to run it all the way.
• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the descents until 17.1km, then run your race pace.
• Start · 0.0km–1.5km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.5km–13.3km · Climb of 739m, descent of 327m averaging 13%, climb of 952m, high point 2218m. 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 · 13.3km–26.9km · Descent of 372m averaging 10%, descent of 1056m averaging 12%. 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.
• Home · 26.9km–31.9km · 5.0km 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

The course climbs 2200m+. With 67m/km of climbing, this is a true mountain course with sustained climbs and descents. By gradient, 43% of the distance is uphill, 52% downhill and 5% flat. The longest climb runs 6.0km at an average 12.2% grade (739m of vertical). The longest descent runs 8.6km at an average 12.3% grade (1056m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 32.2% over 0.8km. The steepest descent drops at 24.8% over 0.3km. Surface: 71% trail, 19% road, and 6% technical. Flat-equivalent effort: 49.8 FlatKM.

Summits

The course also passes close to Leiterhorn (1515m).

Poles

Trekking poles are worth taking: about 6.4km of the course favours them.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 29 of 100), with 35% 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 17.1km, then run your race pace.
• #1 · 6.0–8.6 km · 327 m D−, -13.0% · 23.4 km ahead → control
• #2 · 13.3–17.1 km · 372 m D−, -9.6% · 14.8 km ahead → control
• #3 · 18.3–26.9 km · 1056 m D−, -12.3% · 5.0 km ahead → your pace

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 14°C to 23°C, with around 14°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 57%.

Results

683 finishers completed the 2025 edition. Men's winner: Stian Dahl Sommerseth (Norway) in 2:57:57. Women's winner: Julia Peter (Switzerland) in 3:58:49.