Bella Vista 55K

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• Big early climb with 1130m gain. Hold your pace, save your legs for later.
• 1414m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Steep 40% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• Final 695m descent. Save your legs to go all out on it.
• Ease into the early runnable section, save your quads on the descents until 21.9km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 47.7km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• Start · 0.0km–2.1km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 2.1km–21.9km · Climb of 1125m, high point 1940m, descent of 1414m averaging 13%. 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. Running pays off here: run wherever you can. Hike the steepest pitches.
• Work · 21.9km–29.2km · Plus 1 more climb. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace.
• Fade · 29.2km–47.7km · Climb of 600m. Plus 1 more descent. Your energy fades, and that's normal: hold a steady effort and stop counting the miles. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. Running pays off here: run wherever you can. Your heart rate drifts down on its own: don't chase your early-race numbers, go by feel.
• Home · 47.7km–56.3km · Descent of 695m averaging 8%. No heroics: settle back into your own effort and hold it to the line. Very long descent: first half under control, then even, let go only near the end.

Course

The course climbs 3000m+. With 52m/km of climbing, this is a true mountain course with sustained climbs and descents. By gradient, 30% of the distance is uphill, 40% downhill and 31% flat. The longest climb runs 7.4km at an average 8.2% grade (600m of vertical). The longest descent runs 11.2km at an average 12.7% grade (1414m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 37.8% over 0.4km. The steepest descent drops at 40.6% over 0.6km. Surface: 73% trail, 20% smooth, and 7% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 79.4 FlatKM.

Poles

Trekking poles are strongly recommended: about 8.1km of the course is steep enough for them to pay off.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 33 of 100), with 52% of the load in the first half: 1 descent deserves a plan and a couple of downhill sessions before race day.

• Ease into the early runnable section, save your quads on the descents until 21.9km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 47.7km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• #1 · 10.7–21.9 km · 1414 m D−, -12.7% · 34.4 km ahead → control
• 36.2–40.4 km · 269 m D−, -6.5% · 15.9 km ahead → your pace
• 47.7–56.3 km · 695 m D−, -8.1% · 0.0 km ahead → even, first half under control, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 1°C to 9°C, with around 1°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 21%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 1% of days around this date.