UTFS 110K

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 547m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Steep 34% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• Final 613m descent. Save your legs to go all out on it.
• Long race. Control your HR and effort. Early mistakes cost the most.
• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the way down from it until 18.8km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 95.9km.
• Start · 0.0km–2.0km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 2.0km–12.6km · Climb of 684m. Ease in: hold back more than feels necessary. The race is still ahead. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace.
• Work · 12.6km–50.5km · Descent of 547m averaging 9%. Plus 4 more climbs and 2 descents. 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 · 50.5km–95.9km · Climb of 504m, high point 650m. Plus 1 more climb and 1 descent. 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. Your heart rate drifts down on its own: don't chase your early-race numbers, go by feel.
• Home · 95.9km–102km · Descent of 613m averaging 9%. 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 4214m+. With 41m/km of climbing, this is a rolling, mostly runnable course. By gradient, 33% of the distance is uphill, 29% downhill and 38% flat. The longest climb runs 12.6km at an average 5.5% grade (684m of vertical). The longest descent runs 6.5km at an average 9.4% grade (613m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 32.4% over 0.4km. The steepest descent drops at 33.8% over 0.5km. Surface: 54% trail, 33% smooth, and 12% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 139.4 FlatKM.

Summits

The highest summit on the course is Mont Edouard (633m), 98.7km from the start.

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 14.1km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 45 of 100), with 49% of the load in the first half: 1 descent deserves a plan and a couple of downhill sessions before race day.

• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the way down from it until 18.8km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 95.9km.
• #1 · 12.6–18.8 km · 547 m D−, -8.8% · 83.6 km ahead → control
• 87.6–90.3 km · 395 m D−, -14.7% · 12.1 km ahead → your pace
• 95.9–102.4 km · 613 m D−, -9.4% · 0.0 km ahead → even, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 12°C to 18°C, with around 13°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 49%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 9% of days around this date.