10km

Race strategy

Short race: go all out.

• Hold your race pace up to 5.1km, but stay in control.
• The finish is runnable. Save your legs to run it all the way.
• Control your HR on the first climb, then run your race pace.
• Start · 0.0km–2.8km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Work · 2.8km–5.1km · Plus 1 more climb. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace.
• Home · 5.1km–10.2km · 5.1km of runnable trail, high point 643m. Kick for the line: give it everything you've got. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.

Course

The course climbs 223m+. With 22m/km of climbing, the course is predominantly runnable. By gradient, 17% of the distance is uphill, 19% downhill and 63% flat. The longest climb runs 5.1km at an average 3.0% grade (154m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 10.4% over 1.2km. Surface: 44% smooth, 35% trail, and 21% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 11.0 FlatKM.

Poles

The course is runnable enough that trekking poles are not needed.

Quad damage

There is too little runnable descent to damage the quads: plan the race around climbing and fuelling.

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 12°C to 22°C, with around 17°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 46%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 10% of days around this date.