MSD 50K

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 429m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Steep 38% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• Final 541m descent. Save your legs to go all out on it.
• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the way down from it until 13.7km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 34.2km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• Start · 0.0km–1.6km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.6km–13.7km · Climb of 650m, descent of 429m averaging 12%. 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 · 13.7km–22.5km · Climb of 625m, high point 1152m. Plus 1 more descent. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. Hike the steepest pitches.
• Fade · 22.5km–34.2km · Plus 1 more climb. Your energy fades, and that's normal: hold a steady effort and stop counting the miles. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. 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 · 34.2km–41.0km · Descent of 541m averaging 8%. 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.

Course

By gradient, 45% of the distance is uphill, 34% downhill and 21% flat. The longest climb runs 10.2km at an average 6.4% grade (650m of vertical). The longest descent runs 6.9km at an average 7.9% grade (541m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 26.3% over 0.8km. The steepest descent drops at 38.1% over 0.5km. Surface: 59% trail and 28% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 58.0 FlatKM.

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 4.7km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 27 of 100), with 33% of the load in the first half: 1 descent deserves a plan and a couple of downhill sessions before race day.

• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the way down from it until 13.7km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 34.2km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• #1 · 10.2–13.7 km · 429 m D−, -12.2% · 27.3 km ahead → control
• 20.5–22.5 km · 339 m D−, -16.7% · 18.5 km ahead → your pace
• 34.2–41.1 km · 541 m D−, -7.9% · 0.0 km ahead → even, first half under control, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 10°C to 16°C, with around 14°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 24%.

Results

1,725 finishers completed the 2025 edition. Men's winner: Guidu Qin (China) in 3:44:26. Women's winner: Ting Zhang (China) in 4:37:34.