Marathon

Race strategy

Run the climb at race pace, build your speed on the downhill, and go all out at the finish.

• Start easy and control your HR up to the aid station at 22.1km.
• Hold your race pace up to 37.4km, but stay in control.
• Ease into the early runnable section, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 37.4km.
• Start · 0.0km–1.8km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.8km–22.2km · Ease in: hold back more than feels necessary. The race is still ahead. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.
• Work · 22.2km–37.4km · Climb of 366m, high point 1619m. Plus 1 more descent. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.
• Home · 37.4km–41.4km · Descent of 208m 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 1067m+. With 25m/km of climbing, this is a rolling, mostly runnable course. By gradient, 21% of the distance is uphill, 30% downhill and 49% flat. The longest climb runs 2.4km at an average 15.2% grade (366m of vertical). The longest descent runs 4.1km at an average 5.1% grade (208m of vertical). The steepest descent drops at 17.3% over 0.3km. Surface: 90% trail and 9% technical. Flat-equivalent effort: 54.8 FlatKM.

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 2.4km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is low (index 15 of 100): a few descents worth noting, none of them decisive.

• Ease into the early runnable section, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 37.4km.

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 2°C to 12°C, with around 15°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 16%.