Ehrwald Trail

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 986m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Steep 34% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• Final 1328m 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 49.1km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 60.1km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• Start · 0.0km–1.8km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.8km–14.2km · Climb of 838m, high point 2046m. 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 · 14.2km–39.7km · Descent of 986m averaging 15%. 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. Hike the steepest pitches.
• Fade · 39.7km–60.1km · Descent of 479m averaging 8%, climb of 1269m. 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. This descent is hard on the legs: short steps, stay in control, poles if you have them. Your heart rate drifts down on its own: don't chase your early-race numbers, go by feel.
• Home · 60.1km–73.1km · Descent of 1328m averaging 10%. 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 3000m+. With 41m/km of climbing, this is a rolling, mostly runnable course. By gradient, 35% of the distance is uphill, 35% downhill and 31% flat. The longest climb runs 11.0km at an average 11.5% grade (1269m of vertical). The longest descent runs 13.0km at an average 10.2% grade (1328m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 25.8% over 0.5km. The steepest descent drops at 34.0% over 1.0km. Surface: 56% trail, 24% smooth, 12% road, and 8% technical. Flat-equivalent effort: 98.8 FlatKM.

Summits

The highest summit on the course is Wamberg (1307m), 43.4km from the start. The course also passes close to Osterfelderkopf (2060m) and Kreuzeck (1651m).

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 14.3km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 42 of 100), with 36% 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 49.1km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 60.1km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• #1 · 14.2–20.9 km · 986 m D−, -14.7% · 52.2 km ahead → control
• #2 · 43.4–49.1 km · 479 m D−, -8.4% · 24.0 km ahead → control
• 60.1–73.1 km · 1328 m D−, -10.2% · 0.0 km ahead → even, first half under control, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 8°C to 20°C, with around 8°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 67%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 17% of days around this date.

Results

193 finishers completed the 2026 edition. Men's winner: Tomáš Hudec (Czech Republic) in 7:03:14. Women's winner: Ida Sophie Hegemann (Germany) in 8:07:17.