Ultra Trail Chianti Castles

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 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, then run your race pace.
• Start · 0.0km–1.8km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.8km–50.6km · 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 · 50.6km–61.9km · Plus 1 more descent. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.
• Fade · 61.9km–116km · 5.9km of runnable trail, high point 900m. Plus 2 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. 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 · 116km–121km · 5.2km 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 5200m+. With 42m/km of climbing, this is a rolling, mostly runnable course. By gradient, 38% of the distance is uphill, 36% downhill and 26% flat. The longest climb runs 6.2km at an average 7.3% grade (452m of vertical). The longest descent runs 6.9km at an average 5.4% grade (370m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 28.0% over 0.3km. The steepest descent drops at 21.8% over 0.4km. Flat-equivalent effort: 149.0 FlatKM.

Summits

The highest summit on the course is Poggio a Barberi (679m), 68.3km from the start. The course also passes close to Monte San Michele (893m) and Poggio Pedano (857m).

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 11.5km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is high (index 50 of 100), with 51% of the load in the first half: 0 critical descents, the last of them run on already damaged legs. Downhill-specific preparation and a controlled early pace pay off here.

• 58.9–61.9 km · 264 m D−, -8.6% · 58.8 km ahead → your pace
• 68.2–75.1 km · 370 m D−, -5.3% · 45.7 km ahead → your pace
• 108.7–115.5 km · 510 m D−, -7.5% · 5.2 km ahead → your pace