Akaa 59K

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 450m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• 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 31.9km, then run your race pace.
• 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–22.0km · Plus 1 more climb. 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 · 22.0km–31.9km · Descent of 450m averaging 9%. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. 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.
• Fade · 31.9km–50.7km · Climb of 682m, high point 2361m. 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. Your heart rate drifts down on its own: don't chase your early-race numbers, go by feel.
• Home · 50.7km–56.8km · Climb of 631m. No heroics: settle back into your own effort and hold it to the line. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace.

Course

The course climbs 2500m+. With 43m/km of climbing, this is a rolling, mostly runnable course. By gradient, 36% of the distance is uphill, 34% downhill and 30% flat. The longest climb runs 9.1km at an average 7.5% grade (682m of vertical). The longest descent runs 9.7km at an average 7.8% grade (763m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 22.3% over 0.3km. The steepest descent drops at 31.5% over 0.2km. Surface: 33% smooth, 19% trail, and 8% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 81.0 FlatKM.

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 5.6km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 28 of 100), with 28% 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 31.9km, then run your race pace.
• #1 · 27.0–31.9 km · 450 m D−, -9.3% · 25.0 km ahead → control
• 41.0–50.7 km · 763 m D−, -7.9% · 6.2 km ahead → your pace

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 8°C to 13°C, with around 21°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 30%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 4% of days around this date.

Results

214 finishers completed the 2026 edition. Men's winner: Jonatan Uriel Mendieta Castillo (Mexico) in 6:08:31. Women's winner: Iris Citlali Sedano García (Mexico) in 8:28:11.