Blue Race

Race strategy

Short race: go all out.

• Hold your race pace up to 6.4km, but stay in control.
• Ease into the early runnable section, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 6.4km.
• Start · 0.0km–2.1km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Work · 2.1km–6.4km · Plus 1 more climb. 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.
• Home · 6.4km–9.3km · Descent of 235m averaging 8%, high point 430m. Kick for the line: give it everything you've got.

Course

By gradient, 28% of the distance is uphill, 49% downhill and 23% flat. The longest climb runs 1.0km at an average 16.7% grade (172m of vertical). The longest descent runs 2.9km at an average 8.2% grade (235m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 29.4% over 0.2km. The steepest descent drops at 16.0% over 0.6km. Surface: 79% trail and 16% smooth. Flat-equivalent effort: 13.2 FlatKM.

Poles

The course is runnable enough that trekking poles are not needed.

Quad damage

There is too little runnable descent to damage the quads: plan the race around climbing and fuelling.

• Ease into the early runnable section, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 6.4km.

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 18°C to 29°C, with around 23°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 52%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 13% of days around this date.