MUT 60

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 421m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Steep 29% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• 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 24.6km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 49.9km.
• Start · 0.0km–1.6km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.6km–13.2km · Climb of 707m, high point 985m. 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 · 13.2km–24.6km · Descent of 421m averaging 15%, climb of 520m, descent of 370m averaging 8%. 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 · 24.6km–49.9km · Plus 2 more climbs 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. 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 · 49.9km–57.1km · Descent of 471m averaging 7%. 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 3005m+. With 52m/km of climbing, this is a true mountain course with sustained climbs and descents. By gradient, 37% of the distance is uphill, 35% downhill and 28% flat. The longest climb runs 4.7km at an average 15.2% grade (707m of vertical). The longest descent runs 9.3km at an average 7.7% grade (718m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 37.6% over 0.3km. The steepest descent drops at 39.4% over 0.2km. Surface: 67% trail, 20% smooth, and 6% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 83.0 FlatKM.

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 10.2km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 34 of 100), with 45% 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 24.6km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 49.9km.
• #1 · 13.2–16.0 km · 421 m D−, -15.2% · 41.2 km ahead → control
• #2 · 20.2–24.6 km · 370 m D−, -8.4% · 32.6 km ahead → control
• 36.9–46.2 km · 718 m D−, -7.7% · 11.0 km ahead → your pace
• 49.9–57.2 km · 471 m D−, -6.5% · 0.0 km ahead → even, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 12°C to 17°C, with around 13°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 23%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 3% of days around this date.

Results

217 finishers completed the 2026 edition. Men's winner: Jacques Buys (South Africa) in 5:56:09. Women's winner: Rebecca Kohne (South Africa) in 6:37:59.