Whalers Great Route Ultra-Trail®

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 1444m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• 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 57.0km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 92.2km.
• Start · 0.0km–1.2km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.2km–13.5km · Climb of 919m. 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 · 13.5km–47.6km · Descent of 1444m averaging 7%, high point 1011m. 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. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.
• Fade · 47.6km–92.2km · Descent of 395m averaging 6%, climb of 908m. Plus 2 more climbs and 2 descents. 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. Your heart rate drifts down on its own: don't chase your early-race numbers, go by feel.
• Home · 92.2km–101km · Descent of 446m averaging 5%. 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 4722m+ and descends 4722m−. With 47m/km of climbing, this is a true mountain course with sustained climbs and descents. By gradient, 38% of the distance is uphill, 44% downhill and 18% flat. The longest climb runs 9.6km at an average 9.5% grade (908m of vertical). The longest descent runs 20.0km at an average 7.2% grade (1444m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 28.9% over 0.5km. The steepest descent drops at 28.9% over 0.5km. Surface: 52% smooth, 28% trail, and 16% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 143.3 FlatKM.

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 14.9km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is high (index 51 of 100), with 50% of the load in the first half: 2 critical descents, the last of them run on already damaged legs. Downhill-specific preparation and a controlled early pace pay off here.

• Ease into the early runnable section, save your quads on the descents until 57.0km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 92.2km.
• #1 · 22.2–42.2 km · 1444 m D−, -7.2% · 58.5 km ahead → control
• #2 · 50.4–57.0 km · 395 m D−, -6.0% · 43.7 km ahead → control
• 66.6–70.7 km · 384 m D−, -9.4% · 30.0 km ahead → your pace
• 92.2–100.7 km · 446 m D−, -5.2% · 0.0 km ahead → even, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 15°C to 17°C, with around 10°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 33%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 4% of days around this date.