Mitja Marató dels Dements d'Aín

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 356m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Final 515m descent. Save your legs to go all out on it.
• Steep 39% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the descents until 10.1km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 19.2km.
• 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–12.0km · Climb of 637m, high point 1067m, descent of 279m averaging 11%, descent of 356m averaging 18%. Plus 2 more climbs. 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 · 12.0km–19.2km · Climb of 602m. 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.
• Home · 19.2km–23.0km · Descent of 515m averaging 14%. Build to the finish: leave whatever you have left out on the course. Hike the steepest pitches.

Course

The course climbs 2007m+. With 89m/km of climbing, the course is exceptionally steep, with long hiking-grade sections. By gradient, 42% of the distance is uphill, 52% downhill and 6% flat. The longest climb runs 5.9km at an average 10.2% grade (602m of vertical). The longest descent runs 3.8km at an average 13.6% grade (515m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 44.8% over 0.3km. The steepest descent drops at 39.4% over 0.4km. Surface: 87% trail and 9% smooth. Flat-equivalent effort: 40.5 FlatKM.

Summits

The highest summit on the course is Picaio (1016m), 3.6km from the start. Other named summits along the route: Penya del Pastor (991m). The course also passes close to Pic d'Espadà (1103m).

Poles

Trekking poles are worth taking: about 6.1km of the course favours them.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 25 of 100), with 41% of the load in the first half: 2 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 10.1km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 19.2km.
• #2 · 4.9–7.3 km · 279 m D−, -11.5% · 15.6 km ahead → control
• #1 · 8.0–10.1 km · 356 m D−, -17.7% · 12.9 km ahead → control
• 12.0–13.3 km · 285 m D−, -22.3% · 9.7 km ahead → your pace
• 19.2–23.0 km · 515 m D−, -13.6% · 0.0 km ahead → free

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 5°C to 12°C, with around 8°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 24%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 5% of days around this date.