Ultra Rocks

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 816m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Steep 53% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• All downhill to the finish: go all out!
• 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 78.6km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 112km.
• Start · 0.0km–1.6km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.6km–15.4km · Climb of 929m. 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 · 15.4km–58.0km · Descent of 816m averaging 14%, descent of 889m averaging 8%, descent of 1038m averaging 11%. 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 · 58.0km–112km · Climb of 745m, descent of 1105m averaging 7%, climb of 978m, high point 1838m. Plus 1 more climb and 1 descent. 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. Hike the steepest pitches. Your heart rate drifts down on its own: don't chase your early-race numbers, go by feel.
• Home · 112km–114km · Descent of 462m averaging 20%. No heroics: settle back into your own effort and hold it to the line. Hike the steepest pitches.

Course

The course climbs 7000m+. With 61m/km of climbing, this is a true mountain course with sustained climbs and descents. By gradient, 39% of the distance is uphill, 47% downhill and 14% flat. The longest climb runs 11.5km at an average 8.5% grade (978m of vertical). The longest descent runs 15.9km at an average 9.3% grade (1475m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 61.4% over 0.8km. The steepest descent drops at 37.1% over 0.6km. Surface: 75% trail, 12% smooth, 7% technical, and 6% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 191.5 FlatKM.

Poles

Trekking poles are strongly recommended: about 18.3km of the course is steep enough for them to pay off.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is high (index 68 of 100), with 50% 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.

• Ease into the early runnable section, save your quads on the descents until 78.6km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 112km.
• #1 · 15.4–21.1 km · 816 m D−, -14.5% · 93.2 km ahead → control
• #3 · 34.4–44.9 km · 889 m D−, -8.5% · 69.4 km ahead → control
• #2 · 48.7–58.1 km · 1038 m D−, -11.1% · 56.2 km ahead → control
• #4 · 63.6–78.6 km · 1105 m D−, -7.4% · 35.7 km ahead → control
• 112.0–114.3 km · 462 m D−, -20.0% · 0.0 km ahead → free
• Plus 1 more notable descent not listed: your pace.