Full Iron

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 511m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Steep 31% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• Big early climb with 1100m gain. Hold your pace, save your legs for later.
• Long race. Control your HR and effort. Early mistakes cost the most.
• Control your HR on the first climb, save your quads on the descents until 72.2km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 108km.
• 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–15.2km · Climb of 566m. 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 · 15.2km–62.7km · Descent of 511m averaging 13%, descent of 300m averaging 11%, descent of 771m averaging 7%. Plus 2 more climbs. 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 · 62.7km–108km · Climb of 644m, high point 1260m, descent of 525m averaging 9%. Plus 3 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 · 108km–112km · Descent of 441m averaging 10%. 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 4350m+. With 41m/km of climbing, this is a rolling, mostly runnable course. By gradient, 40% of the distance is uphill, 45% downhill and 15% flat. The longest climb runs 21.0km at an average 5.2% grade (1098m of vertical). The longest descent runs 10.8km at an average 6.1% grade (662m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 33.2% over 0.4km. The steepest descent drops at 31.3% over 0.7km. Surface: 55% smooth, 31% trail, 8% technical, and 5% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 151.6 FlatKM.

Summits

The highest summit on the course is Jablanik (1274m), 66.3km from the start. Other named summits along the route: Kicer (1109m). The course also passes close to Golubac (1056m).

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 15.8km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is high (index 54 of 100), with 37% of the load in the first half: 4 critical descents, the last of them run on already damaged legs. Downhill-specific preparation and a controlled early pace pay off here.

• Control your HR on the first climb, save your quads on the descents until 72.2km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 108km.
• #1 · 15.2–19.1 km · 511 m D−, -13.0% · 93.3 km ahead → control
• #3 · 28.3–31.1 km · 300 m D−, -10.8% · 81.3 km ahead → control
• #2 · 52.1–62.7 km · 771 m D−, -7.3% · 49.7 km ahead → control
• #4 · 66.2–72.2 km · 525 m D−, -8.8% · 40.2 km ahead → control
• 107.8–112.4 km · 441 m D−, -9.6% · 0.0 km ahead → even, let go at the end
• Plus 2 more notable descents not listed: your pace.

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 12°C to 23°C, with around 7°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 44%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 5% of days around this date.