Trail do Xisto

Race strategy

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

• 414m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Steep 27% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• The finish is runnable. Save your legs to run it all the way.
• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the way down from it until 10.4km, then run your race pace.
• Start · 0.0km–1.5km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.5km–15.7km · Climb of 531m, descent of 414m averaging 8%, climb of 522m. 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 · 15.7km–26.1km · Descent of 811m averaging 8%, high point 1191m. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort.
• Home · 26.1km–31.7km · 5.6km of runnable trail. Build to the finish: leave whatever you have left out on the course. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.

Course

The course climbs 1728m+. With 54m/km of climbing, this is a true mountain course with sustained climbs and descents. By gradient, 43% of the distance is uphill, 42% downhill and 15% flat. The longest climb runs 5.3km at an average 10.0% grade (531m of vertical). The longest descent runs 10.4km at an average 7.8% grade (811m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 27.5% over 0.5km. The steepest descent drops at 34.2% over 0.3km. Surface: 49% smooth, 28% trail, and 23% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 48.4 FlatKM.

Summits

The highest summit on the course is Neve (1193m), 15.8km from the start. Other named summits along the route: Safra (1024m).

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 4.6km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is low (index 19 of 100): a few descents worth noting, none of them decisive.

• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the way down from it until 10.4km, then run your race pace.
• #1 · 5.3–10.4 km · 414 m D−, -8.2% · 21.3 km ahead → control
• 15.7–26.0 km · 811 m D−, -7.8% · 5.6 km ahead → your pace

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 11°C to 16°C, with around 14°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 45%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 17% of days around this date.

Results

103 finishers completed the 2026 edition. Men's winner: João Janeiro (Portugal) in 2:53:26. Women's winner: Antónia Uvaldo (Portugal) in 3:39:52.