Ten Lakes

Race strategy

Run hard on the first mountain, but save energy for the second.

• Steep 34% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• 1154m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Ease into the early runnable section, save your quads on the descents until 24.2km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 34.3km.
• 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–15.8km · Climb of 867m, high point 2434m. 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. Hike the steepest pitches.
• Work · 15.8km–30.2km · Descent of 1154m averaging 14%. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. 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 · 30.2km–34.3km · Plus 1 more climb. Your energy fades, and that's normal: hold a steady effort and stop counting the miles. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. Your heart rate drifts down on its own: don't chase your early-race numbers, go by feel.
• Home · 34.3km–41.0km · Descent of 485m averaging 7%. 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 2094m+. With 50m/km of climbing, this is a true mountain course with sustained climbs and descents. By gradient, 37% of the distance is uphill, 31% downhill and 32% flat. The longest climb runs 6.1km at an average 14.1% grade (867m of vertical). The longest descent runs 8.5km at an average 13.6% grade (1154m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 36.7% over 0.9km. The steepest descent drops at 36.3% over 1.2km. Surface: 90% trail and 5% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 65.0 FlatKM.

Summits

The highest summit on the course is Šljeme (Istočni vrh) (2445m), 16.5km from the start. Other named summits along the route: Panali (1813m). The course also passes close to Ražana glava (1862m).

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 7.3km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 25 of 100), with 54% 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 24.2km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 34.3km.
• #1 · 15.7–24.2 km · 1154 m D−, -13.6% · 16.8 km ahead → control
• 34.3–41.1 km · 485 m D−, -7.2% · 0.0 km ahead → even, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 14°C to 22°C, with around 13°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 36%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 2% of days around this date.