HK100

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• Steep 29% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• 548m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• All downhill to the finish: go all out!
• 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 48.3km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 87.8km.
• Start · 0.0km–1.9km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.9km–15.6km · Descent of 308m averaging 11%. 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 · 15.6km–48.3km · Descent of 548m averaging 8%. 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. Hike the steepest pitches.
• Fade · 48.3km–87.8km · Climb of 533m, climb of 1169m, high point 915m. 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 · 87.8km–92.2km · Descent of 440m averaging 10%. 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 5028m+. With 54m/km of climbing, this is a true mountain course with sustained climbs and descents. By gradient, 40% of the distance is uphill, 39% downhill and 21% flat. The longest climb runs 11.1km at an average 10.5% grade (1169m of vertical). The longest descent runs 6.6km at an average 8.4% grade (548m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 37.9% over 0.2km. The steepest descent drops at 34.1% over 0.3km. Flat-equivalent effort: 129.0 FlatKM.

Poles

Trekking poles are worth taking: about 13.4km of the course favours them.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is high (index 51 of 100), with 40% of the load in the first half: 2 critical descents, the last of them run on already damaged legs. Downhill-specific preparation and a controlled early pace pay off here.

• Ease into the early runnable section, save your quads on the descents until 48.3km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 87.8km.
• #2 · 12.9–15.6 km · 308 m D−, -11.2% · 76.6 km ahead → control
• #1 · 41.7–48.3 km · 548 m D−, -8.4% · 43.9 km ahead → control
• 87.8–92.2 km · 440 m D−, -10.0% · 0.0 km ahead → even, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 12°C to 20°C, with around 10°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 18%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 3% of days around this date.