SkyMarathon 42K

Race strategy

Run easy on the first mountain, then go all out on the second.

• 1034m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Steep 30% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• Final 819m descent. Save your legs to go all out on it.
• Ease into the early runnable section, save your quads on the descents until 17.7km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 33.0km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• Start · 0.0km–2.3km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 2.3km–21.3km · 9.5km of runnable trail, high point 1406m, descent of 1034m averaging 13%. 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 · 21.3km–33.0km · Climb of 777m. Plus 1 more descent. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. Hike the steepest pitches.
• Home · 33.0km–42.3km · Descent of 819m averaging 9%. 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. Hike the steepest pitches.

Course

The course climbs 1600m+. With 38m/km of climbing, this is a rolling, mostly runnable course. By gradient, 31% of the distance is uphill, 49% downhill and 19% flat. The longest climb runs 7.7km at an average 10.1% grade (777m of vertical). The longest descent runs 9.3km at an average 8.8% grade (819m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 30.4% over 0.5km. The steepest descent drops at 34.7% over 0.3km. Surface: 45% trail, 38% smooth, and 17% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 58.7 FlatKM.

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 3.2km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 33 of 100), with 53% of the load in the first half: 1 descent deserves a plan and a couple of downhill sessions before race day.

• Ease into the early runnable section, save your quads on the descents until 17.7km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 33.0km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• #1 · 9.5–17.7 km · 1034 m D−, -12.7% · 24.6 km ahead → control
• 21.2–25.3 km · 336 m D−, -8.2% · 17.0 km ahead → your pace
• 33.0–42.3 km · 819 m D−, -8.8% · 0.0 km ahead → even, first half under control, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 5°C to 12°C, with around 9°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 24%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 9% of days around this date.