MSA Classic Up & Down

Race strategy

Short race: go all out.

• Steep 32% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• Hold your race pace up to Mont Sainte-Anne, but stay in control.
• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the way down from it until 5.2km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 11.2km.
• Start · 0.0km–2.6km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Work · 2.6km–11.2km · Descent of 267m averaging 19%, climb of 539m, climb of 317m, high point 797m. 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. This descent is hard on the legs: short steps, stay in control, poles if you have them. Hike the steepest pitches.
• Home · 11.2km–15.1km · Descent of 622m averaging 16%. Kick for the line: give it everything you've got. Long descent: keep it even and let go only near the end.

Course

The course climbs 1211m+. With 79m/km of climbing, the course is exceptionally steep, with long hiking-grade sections. By gradient, 41% of the distance is uphill, 45% downhill and 15% flat. The longest climb runs 3.8km at an average 9.0% grade (340m of vertical). The longest descent runs 3.8km at an average 16.2% grade (622m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 32.4% over 0.5km. The steepest descent drops at 28.2% over 0.7km. Surface: 81% trail, 11% technical, and 7% smooth. Flat-equivalent effort: 24.0 FlatKM.

Summits

The highest summit on the course is Mont Sainte-Anne (808m), 11.2km from the start.

Poles

Trekking poles are worth taking: about 4.9km of the course favours them.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is low (index 19 of 100): a few descents worth noting, none of them decisive.

• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the way down from it until 5.2km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 11.2km.
• #1 · 3.8–5.2 km · 267 m D−, -19.4% · 9.9 km ahead → control
• 7.6–9.7 km · 307 m D−, -14.6% · 5.4 km ahead → your pace
• 11.2–15.1 km · 622 m D−, -16.2% · 0.0 km ahead → even, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 8°C to 18°C, with around 9°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 43%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 8% of days around this date.

Results

206 finishers completed the 2026 edition. Men's winner: Philemon Ombogo Kiriago (Kenya) in 1:11:24. Women's winner: Nina Engelhard (Germany) in 1:20:34.