Long Trail 80K

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 1123m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Steep 34% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• Long race. Control your HR and effort. Early mistakes cost the most.
• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the descents until 45.9km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 76.7km.
• Start · 0.0km–2.1km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 2.1km–26.1km · Descent of 489m averaging 6%, climb of 708m. 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.
• Work · 26.1km–41.3km · Descent of 1123m averaging 11%, high point 2211m, climb of 516m. 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 · 41.3km–76.7km · Descent of 489m averaging 11%, climb of 1039m. Plus 1 more 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. 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 · 76.7km–80.2km · Descent of 301m averaging 9%. 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

By gradient, 38% of the distance is uphill, 43% downhill and 19% flat. The longest climb runs 12.8km at an average 5.5% grade (708m of vertical). The longest descent runs 10.5km at an average 10.7% grade (1123m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 37.4% over 0.3km. The steepest descent drops at 38.7% over 0.3km. Flat-equivalent effort: 113.6 FlatKM.

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 16.4km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 45 of 100), with 50% 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 45.9km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 76.7km.
• #2 · 4.9–13.3 km · 489 m D−, -5.8% · 66.9 km ahead → control
• #1 · 26.1–36.6 km · 1123 m D−, -10.7% · 43.6 km ahead → control
• #3 · 41.3–45.9 km · 489 m D−, -10.5% · 34.3 km ahead → control
• 54.3–59.7 km · 309 m D−, -5.8% · 20.5 km ahead → your pace
• 76.7–80.2 km · 301 m D−, -8.7% · 0.0 km ahead → even, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 17°C to 22°C, with around 18°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 34%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 7% of days around this date.

Results

39 finishers completed the 2026 edition. Men's winner: PATRICIO JAVIER BOPP TOCORNAL (Chile) in 9:03:19. Women's winner: AYELEN LIBERAL (Argentina) in 10:29:39.