4 Summits

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 866m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Steep 53% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• All downhill to the finish: go all out!
• Long race. Control your HR and effort. Early mistakes cost the most.
• Ease into the early runnable section, save your quads on the descents until 37.7km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 68.5km.
• 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–14.8km · Climb of 907m. 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 · 14.8km–37.7km · Descent of 866m averaging 9%, climb of 1071m, descent of 1038m averaging 11%. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. 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.
• Fade · 37.7km–68.5km · Climb of 1092m, high point 1838m, descent of 1470m averaging 9%, climb of 614m. Your energy fades, and that's normal: hold a steady effort and stop counting the miles. 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. Your heart rate drifts down on its own: don't chase your early-race numbers, go by feel.
• Home · 68.5km–70.8km · Descent of 462m averaging 20%. No heroics: settle back into your own effort and hold it to the line. Hike the steepest pitches.

Course

By gradient, 38% of the distance is uphill, 49% downhill and 14% flat. The longest climb runs 8.8km at an average 12.5% grade (1092m of vertical). The longest descent runs 15.9km at an average 9.3% grade (1470m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 61.4% over 0.8km. The steepest descent drops at 31.8% over 0.6km. Surface: 79% trail, 12% smooth, and 8% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 111.2 FlatKM.

Poles

Trekking poles are strongly recommended: about 12.3km of the course is steep enough for them to pay off.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is high (index 53 of 100), with 44% of the load in the first half: 3 critical descents, the last of them run on already damaged legs. Downhill-specific preparation and a controlled early pace pay off here.

• Ease into the early runnable section, save your quads on the descents until 37.7km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 68.5km.
• #1 · 14.8–24.6 km · 866 m D−, -8.8% · 46.2 km ahead → control
• #2 · 28.4–37.7 km · 1038 m D−, -11.1% · 33.0 km ahead → control
• #3 · 46.5–62.4 km · 1470 m D−, -9.3% · 8.4 km ahead → your pace
• 68.4–70.8 km · 462 m D−, -19.9% · 0.0 km ahead → free

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 18°C to 26°C, with around 14°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 52%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 8% of days around this date.

Results

238 finishers completed the 2026 edition. Men's winner: Miguel Arsenio (Portugal) in 8:01:29. Women's winner: Therese Årvik (Norway) in 10:17:27.