KAT Endurance Trail

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 1361m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Steep 35% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• Final 1330m 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 climb, save your quads on the descents until 51.2km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 69.0km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• 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–15.4km · Climb of 1050m. 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.
• Work · 15.4km–43.5km · Descent of 1361m averaging 9%, climb of 1384m, high point 2174m. 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. Hike the steepest pitches.
• Fade · 43.5km–69.0km · Descent of 1252m averaging 16%, climb of 1348m. 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. Hike the steepest pitches. Your heart rate drifts down on its own: don't chase your early-race numbers, go by feel.
• Home · 69.0km–80.6km · Descent of 1330m averaging 11%. 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. Hike the steepest pitches.

Course

By gradient, 45% of the distance is uphill, 42% downhill and 13% flat. The longest climb runs 12.8km at an average 10.8% grade (1384m of vertical). The longest descent runs 14.6km at an average 9.3% grade (1361m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 34.5% over 0.4km. The steepest descent drops at 33.3% over 0.2km. Surface: 55% trail, 19% road, 18% smooth, and 6% technical. Flat-equivalent effort: 125.6 FlatKM.

Summits

The highest summit on the course is Gamshag (2178m), 43.5km from the start. Other named summits along the route: Teufelssprung (2174m) and Kleiner Schütz (2075m).

Poles

Trekking poles are worth taking: about 11.2km of the course favours them.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is high (index 53 of 100), with 35% of the load in the first half: 2 critical descents, the last of them run on already damaged legs. Downhill-specific preparation and a controlled early pace pay off here.

• Control your HR on the first climb, save your quads on the descents until 51.2km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 69.0km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• #1 · 16.1–30.7 km · 1361 m D−, -9.3% · 49.9 km ahead → control
• #2 · 43.5–51.2 km · 1252 m D−, -16.1% · 29.4 km ahead → control
• 69.0–80.6 km · 1330 m D−, -11.4% · 0.0 km ahead → even, first half under control, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 14°C to 26°C, with around 12°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 68%.

Results

228 finishers completed the 2025 edition. Men's winner: Ramon Manetsch (Switzerland) in 9:05:05. Women's winner: Juliane Rössler (Germany) in 11:30:29.