UTFS 90K

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 436m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Steep 37% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• Long race. Control your HR and effort. Early mistakes cost the most.
• Ease into the early runnable section, save your quads on the descents until 49.2km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 82.7km.
• 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–14.3km · 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. Running pays off here: run wherever you can. Hike the steepest pitches.
• Work · 14.3km–43.0km · Descent of 436m averaging 11%, climb of 289m, high point 569m. 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. Running pays off here: run wherever you can. Hike the steepest pitches.
• Fade · 43.0km–82.7km · Descent of 549m averaging 9%. Plus 2 more climbs and 3 descents. 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 · 82.7km–89.0km · Descent of 310m averaging 5%. 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 3705m+. With 41m/km of climbing, this is a rolling, mostly runnable course. By gradient, 32% of the distance is uphill, 34% downhill and 35% flat. The longest climb runs 6.8km at an average 6.2% grade (424m of vertical). The longest descent runs 6.3km at an average 4.9% grade (310m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 36.8% over 0.5km. The steepest descent drops at 34.7% over 0.2km. Flat-equivalent effort: 137.6 FlatKM.

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 10.0km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 43 of 100), with 45% of the load in the first half: 2 descents deserve a plan and a couple of downhill sessions before race day.

• Ease into the early runnable section, save your quads on the descents until 49.2km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 82.7km.
• #1 · 14.3–18.1 km · 436 m D−, -11.4% · 70.9 km ahead → control
• #2 · 43.0–49.2 km · 549 m D−, -8.8% · 39.8 km ahead → control
• 60.0–63.6 km · 360 m D−, -10.0% · 25.4 km ahead → your pace
• 66.4–68.6 km · 276 m D−, -12.4% · 20.4 km ahead → your pace
• 82.7–89.0 km · 310 m D−, -4.9% · 0.0 km ahead → even, let go at the end
• Plus 1 more notable descent not listed: your pace.

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 11°C to 19°C, with around 20°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 55%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 12% of days around this date.

Results

59 finishers completed the 2026 edition. Men's winner: Samuel Audet (Canada) in 11:47:04. Women's winner: Sandrine Laflamme Thibault (Canada) in 15:05:45.