Kambos Mountain Race 32K

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 325m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Final 824m descent. Save your legs to go all out on it.
• Steep 29% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the descents until 13.6km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 22.0km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• Start · 0.0km–1.5km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.5km–13.6km · Descent of 325m averaging 14%. Plus 2 more climbs and 1 descent. 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.
• Work · 13.6km–22.0km · Climb of 557m, climb of 251m, high point 1193m. Plus 1 more descent. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace.
• Home · 22.0km–31.2km · Descent of 824m 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 2265m+. With 71m/km of climbing, the course is exceptionally steep, with long hiking-grade sections. By gradient, 47% of the distance is uphill, 49% downhill and 4% flat. The longest climb runs 5.6km at an average 5.2% grade (291m of vertical). The longest descent runs 9.2km at an average 8.9% grade (824m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 27.2% over 0.4km. The steepest descent drops at 28.6% over 0.9km. Surface: 68% trail, 16% smooth, and 12% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 50.1 FlatKM.

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 7.0km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 28 of 100), with 44% 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 descents until 13.6km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 22.0km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• #1 · 11.2–13.6 km · 325 m D−, -13.6% · 17.5 km ahead → control
• 22.0–31.2 km · 824 m D−, -9.0% · 0.0 km ahead → even, first half under control, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 8°C to 13°C, with around 8°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 36%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 10% of days around this date.