Great Wall 100K

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 294m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• The finish is runnable. Save your legs to run it all the way.
• 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 19.8km, then run your race pace.
• Start · 0.0km–1.3km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.3km–17.5km · Descent of 294m averaging 7%. 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. 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.
• Work · 17.5km–61.6km · Descent of 268m averaging 11%, 25.5km of runnable trail, high point 1530m. Plus 1 more climb. 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. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.
• Fade · 61.6km–67.7km · Plus 1 more climb. 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 · 67.7km–99.3km · 31.6km 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 3987m+. With 40m/km of climbing, this is a rolling, mostly runnable course. By gradient, 36% of the distance is uphill, 35% downhill and 29% flat. The longest climb runs 6.0km at an average 4.4% grade (266m of vertical). The longest descent runs 4.2km at an average 7.1% grade (294m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 26.2% over 0.2km. The steepest descent drops at 30.8% over 0.3km. Surface: 48% trail and 22% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 133.5 FlatKM.

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 6.1km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 40 of 100), with 43% of the load in the first half: 2 descents deserve a plan and a couple of downhill sessions before race day.

• Ease into the early runnable section, save your quads on the descents until 19.8km, then run your race pace.
• #1 · 9.9–14.1 km · 294 m D−, -7.1% · 85.2 km ahead → control
• #2 · 17.5–19.8 km · 268 m D−, -11.5% · 79.5 km ahead → control

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 18°C to 27°C, with around 17°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

750 finishers completed the 2026 edition. Men's winner: Xutao Yu (China) in 9:28:48. Women's winner: Lingjie Chi (China) in 11:03:22.