MSD 50K

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 433m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Steep 37% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• Final 541m descent. Save your legs to go all out on it.
• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the way down from it until 15.0km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 35.5km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• Start · 0.0km–2.2km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 2.2km–21.7km · Climb of 728m, descent of 433m averaging 12%, climb of 617m, high point 1152m. 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. Hike the steepest pitches.
• Work · 21.7km–35.5km · Plus 1 more climb and 1 descent. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. Running pays off here: run wherever you can. Hike the steepest pitches.
• Home · 35.5km–42.0km · Descent of 541m averaging 8%. No heroics: settle back into your own effort and hold it to the line. Very long descent: first half under control, then even, let go only near the end.

Course

The course climbs 2000m+. With 48m/km of climbing, this is a true mountain course with sustained climbs and descents. By gradient, 42% of the distance is uphill, 35% downhill and 23% flat. The longest climb runs 11.4km at an average 6.4% grade (728m of vertical). The longest descent runs 6.5km at an average 8.3% grade (541m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 30.8% over 0.7km. The steepest descent drops at 36.8% over 0.5km. Surface: 61% trail and 26% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 59.8 FlatKM.

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 7.9km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 28 of 100), with 32% of the load in the first half: 1 descent deserves a plan and a couple of downhill sessions before race day.

• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the way down from it until 15.0km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 35.5km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• #1 · 11.4–15.0 km · 433 m D−, -12.2% · 27.1 km ahead → control
• 21.7–23.7 km · 337 m D−, -17.1% · 18.3 km ahead → your pace
• 35.5–42.1 km · 541 m D−, -8.3% · 0.0 km ahead → even, first half under control, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 9°C to 16°C, with around 14°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 25%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 2% of days around this date.