TransLantau 50

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 268m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Steep 32% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the descents until 19.5km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 37.4km.
• Start · 0.0km–2.1km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 2.1km–15.2km · Descent of 268m averaging 10%. 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 · 15.2km–28.2km · Descent of 346m averaging 15%. Plus 2 more climbs. 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 · 28.2km–37.4km · Climb of 443m, high point 459m. 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. Hike the steepest pitches. Your heart rate drifts down on its own: don't chase your early-race numbers, go by feel.
• Home · 37.4km–43.8km · Descent of 459m 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 2500m+. With 56m/km of climbing, this is a true mountain course with sustained climbs and descents. By gradient, 31% of the distance is uphill, 36% downhill and 33% flat. The longest climb runs 4.5km at an average 5.9% grade (266m of vertical). The longest descent runs 6.5km at an average 7.1% grade (459m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 31.9% over 0.5km. The steepest descent drops at 24.6% over 0.8km. Surface: 40% road, 31% smooth, and 27% trail. Flat-equivalent effort: 66.3 FlatKM.

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 6.4km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 26 of 100), with 46% of the load in the first half: 2 descents deserve a plan and a couple of downhill sessions before race day.

• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the descents until 19.5km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 37.4km.
• #1 · 4.5–7.2 km · 268 m D−, -9.8% · 36.6 km ahead → control
• #2 · 17.3–19.5 km · 346 m D−, -15.3% · 24.3 km ahead → control
• 37.4–43.8 km · 459 m D−, -7.1% · 0.0 km ahead → even, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 18°C to 25°C, with around 23°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 22%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 4% of days around this date.