Ultra Extreme Marathon

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 321m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• The finish is runnable. Save your legs to run it all the way.
• 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 31.5km, then run your race pace.
• Start · 0.0km–1.5km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.5km–25.0km · Plus 1 more climb. 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 · 25.0km–70.5km · Descent of 321m averaging 5%, climb of 539m. Plus 1 more climb and 1 descent. 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 · 70.5km–118km · Climb of 386m, high point 533m. Plus 3 more climbs and 3 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. 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 · 118km–132km · 13.4km of runnable trail. No heroics: settle back into your own effort and hold it to the line. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.

Course

The course climbs 5720m+ and descends 5720m−. With 43m/km of climbing, this is a rolling, mostly runnable course. By gradient, 39% of the distance is uphill, 36% downhill and 26% flat. The longest climb runs 8.8km at an average 5.4% grade (475m of vertical). The longest descent runs 7.3km at an average 5.4% grade (396m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 34.5% over 0.3km. The steepest descent drops at 26.9% over 0.4km. Surface: 84% trail, 10% road, and 5% smooth. Flat-equivalent effort: 179.1 FlatKM.

Summits

The highest summit on the course is Astal (485m), 10.9km from the start. The course also passes close to Crveni Čot (539m) and Pavlasov cot (531m).

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 14.8km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is high (index 54 of 100), with 54% of the load in the first half: 1 critical descent. Downhill-specific preparation and a controlled early pace pay off here.

• Ease into the early runnable section, save your quads on the descents until 31.5km, then run your race pace.
• #1 · 25.0–31.5 km · 321 m D−, -4.9% · 100.3 km ahead → control
• 54.6–58.5 km · 258 m D−, -6.6% · 73.2 km ahead → your pace
• 92.0–95.4 km · 253 m D−, -7.4% · 36.4 km ahead → your pace
• 98.3–105.6 km · 396 m D−, -5.4% · 26.2 km ahead → your pace
• 112.5–116.0 km · 353 m D−, -10.1% · 15.8 km ahead → your pace

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 10°C to 18°C, with around 6°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 36%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 4% of days around this date.