Moab's Red Hot Ultra 55k

Race strategy

Run hard on the first mountain, but save energy for the second.

• Start easy and control your HR up to 18.3km.
• Hold your race pace up to 41.1km, but stay in control.
• The finish is runnable. Save your legs to run it all the way.
• Ease into the early runnable section, then run your race pace.
• Start · 0.0km–1.9km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.9km–18.3km · Climb of 266m, high point 1748m. 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.
• Work · 18.3km–41.1km · Plus 1 more climb and 1 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 · 41.1km–51.8km · 10.7km of runnable trail. No heroics: settle back into your own effort and hold it to the line. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.

Course

The course climbs 1414m+. With 26m/km of climbing, this is a rolling, mostly runnable course. By gradient, 28% of the distance is uphill, 28% downhill and 44% flat. The longest climb runs 4.8km at an average 5.5% grade (266m of vertical). The longest descent runs 3.8km at an average 7.8% grade (295m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 17.6% over 0.3km. Surface: 84% trail and 8% extreme. Flat-equivalent effort: 61.8 FlatKM.

Poles

The course is runnable enough that trekking poles are not needed.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is low (index 13 of 100): a few descents worth noting, none of them decisive.

• 37.3–41.1 km · 295 m D−, -7.8% · 10.7 km ahead → your pace

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 1°C to 13°C, with around 7°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 23%.