Chattanooga 100K

Race strategy

Start easy, build your effort, and go all out at the finish.

• Start easy and control your HR up to 9.7km.
• 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–1.9km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.9km–9.7km · 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.
• Home · 9.7km–101km · 91.0km of runnable trail, high point 636m. 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 2437m+. With 24m/km of climbing, the course is predominantly runnable. By gradient, 30% of the distance is uphill, 27% downhill and 43% flat. The longest climb runs 9.7km at an average 4.0% grade (391m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 24.6% over 0.4km. Flat-equivalent effort: 123.8 FlatKM.

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 3.5km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 23 of 100), with 38% of the load in the first half: 0 descents deserve a plan and a couple of downhill sessions before race day.

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 15°C to 21°C, with around 24°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 49%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 13% of days around this date.