Ultra Rocks

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 816m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Big early climb with 1150m gain. Hold your pace, save your legs for later.
• 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 77.4km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 111km.
• Start · 0.0km–1.7km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.7km–15.2km · Climb of 929m. 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 · 15.2km–57.0km · Descent of 816m averaging 14%, descent of 886m averaging 8%, descent of 1034m averaging 11%. Plus 2 more climbs. 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 · 57.0km–111km · Climb of 745m, descent of 1102m averaging 7%, climb of 970m, high point 1838m. Plus 1 more climb and 1 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. 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 · 111km–113km · 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, 39% of the distance is uphill, 47% downhill and 14% flat. The longest climb runs 12.2km at an average 9.4% grade (1151m of vertical). The longest descent runs 15.9km at an average 9.3% grade (1475m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 61.4% over 0.8km. The steepest descent drops at 37.1% over 0.6km. Surface: 75% trail, 12% smooth, 7% technical, and 5% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 189.7 FlatKM.

Poles

Trekking poles are strongly recommended: about 17.8km of the course is steep enough for them to pay off.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is high (index 68 of 100), with 51% of the load in the first half: 4 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 77.4km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 111km.
• #1 · 15.2–20.8 km · 816 m D−, -14.5% · 92.1 km ahead → control
• #3 · 33.1–43.9 km · 886 m D−, -8.2% · 69.1 km ahead → control
• #2 · 47.6–57.0 km · 1034 m D−, -11.1% · 56.0 km ahead → control
• #4 · 62.5–77.4 km · 1102 m D−, -7.4% · 35.5 km ahead → control
• 110.7–113.0 km · 462 m D−, -20.1% · 0.0 km ahead → free
• Plus 1 more notable descent not listed: your pace.

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 18°C to 26°C, with around 9°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

100 finishers completed the 2026 edition. Men's winner: Alejandro López García (Spain) in 16:12:30. Women's winner: Elena Alexandra Ungureanu (Romania) in 21:14:22.