Камена Баба Треил

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 515m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Steep 25% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the descents until 24.4km, then run your race pace.
• Start · 0.0km–1.6km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.6km–13.1km · Climb of 538m, descent of 350m averaging 14%, climb of 532m. 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 · 13.1km–25.6km · Descent of 515m averaging 12%, climb of 533m, high point 1276m, descent of 431m averaging 16%. Plus 1 more climb. 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.
• Fade · 25.6km–34.7km · Your energy fades, and that's normal: hold a steady effort and stop counting the miles. 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 · 34.7km–39.2km · Climb of 172m. No heroics: settle back into your own effort and hold it to the line. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace.

Course

The course climbs 2202m+. With 55m/km of climbing, this is a true mountain course with sustained climbs and descents. By gradient, 42% of the distance is uphill, 44% downhill and 15% flat. The longest climb runs 6.5km at an average 8.3% grade (538m of vertical). The longest descent runs 4.2km at an average 12.1% grade (515m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 26.3% over 0.3km. The steepest descent drops at 28.3% over 0.2km. Surface: 74% trail and 8% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 60.7 FlatKM.

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 9.6km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 30 of 100), with 48% of the load in the first half: 3 descents deserve 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 24.4km, then run your race pace.
• #2 · 6.5–9.0 km · 350 m D−, -14.3% · 30.3 km ahead → control
• #1 · 13.1–17.3 km · 515 m D−, -12.1% · 21.9 km ahead → control
• #3 · 21.7–24.4 km · 431 m D−, -15.9% · 14.8 km ahead → control

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from -2°C to 7°C, with around 5°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 35%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 5% of days around this date.