OHRID ULTRA-TRAIL

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 870m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Steep 38% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• Final 951m descent. Save your legs to go all out on it.
• 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 74.3km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 91.3km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• 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–16.2km · Climb of 708m. Ease in: hold back more than feels necessary. The race is still ahead. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.
• Work · 16.2km–58.7km · Descent of 870m averaging 6%, climb of 1525m, high point 2253m. 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 · 58.7km–91.3km · Descent of 738m averaging 12%, descent of 604m averaging 9%. Plus 2 more climbs. Your energy fades, and that's normal: hold a steady effort and stop counting the miles. 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. Your heart rate drifts down on its own: don't chase your early-race numbers, go by feel.
• Home · 91.3km–103km · Descent of 951m averaging 8%. 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.

Course

The course climbs 4800m+. With 46m/km of climbing, this is a true mountain course with sustained climbs and descents. By gradient, 31% of the distance is uphill, 34% downhill and 35% flat. The longest climb runs 12.7km at an average 12.0% grade (1525m of vertical). The longest descent runs 14.4km at an average 6.1% grade (870m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 37.8% over 0.7km. The steepest descent drops at 32.8% over 0.5km. Surface: 67% trail, 14% smooth, and 12% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 120.1 FlatKM.

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 13.2km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 46 of 100), with 33% of the load in the first half: 3 descents deserve a plan and a couple of downhill sessions before race day.

• Ease into the early runnable section, save your quads on the descents until 74.3km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 91.3km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• #1 · 16.2–30.6 km · 870 m D−, -6.1% · 72.2 km ahead → control
• #2 · 58.7–64.7 km · 738 m D−, -12.2% · 38.1 km ahead → control
• #3 · 67.6–74.3 km · 604 m D−, -9.1% · 28.6 km ahead → control
• 91.3–102.8 km · 951 m D−, -8.3% · 0.0 km ahead → even, first half under control, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 10°C to 18°C, with around 7°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 33%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 3% of days around this date.