Patagonia Run 42K

Race strategy

Run easy on the first mountain, then go all out on the second.

• 753m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Steep 33% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the descents until 22.7km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 38.1km.
• Start · 0.0km–2.0km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 2.0km–19.8km · Climb of 759m, climb of 727m, high point 1769m. Plus 1 more descent. Ease in: hold back more than feels necessary. The race is still ahead. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace.
• Work · 19.8km–38.1km · Descent of 753m averaging 26%. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. 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.
• Home · 38.1km–42.5km · Descent of 328m averaging 7%. 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.

Course

The course climbs 2403m+. With 57m/km of climbing, this is a true mountain course with sustained climbs and descents. By gradient, 38% of the distance is uphill, 30% downhill and 32% flat. The longest climb runs 9.5km at an average 8.0% grade (759m of vertical). The longest descent runs 4.4km at an average 7.4% grade (328m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 24.3% over 0.3km. The steepest descent drops at 37.7% over 1.0km. Flat-equivalent effort: 56.1 FlatKM.

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 3.4km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 24 of 100), with 50% 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 descents until 22.7km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 38.1km.
• #1 · 19.8–22.7 km · 753 m D−, -26.3% · 19.9 km ahead → control
• 38.1–42.6 km · 328 m D−, -7.4% · 0.0 km ahead → even, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 4°C to 11°C, with around 8°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 33%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 7% of days around this date.