Kosci100

Race strategy

Run easy on the first mountain, then go all out on the second.

• 436m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Final 562m descent. Save your legs to go all out on it.
• 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 72.5km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 100km.
• Start · 0.0km–1.9km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.9km–27.1km · Climb of 494m, high point 2223m. 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 · 27.1km–64.0km · Descent of 436m 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 · 64.0km–100km · Descent of 715m averaging 8%, climb of 547m. 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. 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 · 100km–105km · Descent of 562m averaging 12%. No heroics: settle back into your own effort and hold it to the line. Long descent: keep it even and let go only near the end.

Course

The course climbs 2973m+. With 28m/km of climbing, this is a rolling, mostly runnable course. By gradient, 37% of the distance is uphill, 34% downhill and 30% flat. The longest climb runs 10.7km at an average 4.6% grade (494m of vertical). The longest descent runs 8.5km at an average 8.4% grade (715m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 29.8% over 0.2km. The steepest descent drops at 22.7% over 0.5km. Surface: 68% trail, 20% smooth, and 10% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 126.4 FlatKM.

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 4.3km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 41 of 100), with 49% 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 72.5km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 100km.
• #1 · 33.9–38.9 km · 436 m D−, -8.8% · 65.8 km ahead → control
• #2 · 64.0–72.5 km · 715 m D−, -8.4% · 32.2 km ahead → control
• 100.0–104.7 km · 562 m D−, -12.1% · 0.0 km ahead → even, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 3°C to 12°C, with around 10°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 44%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 10% of days around this date.