E51 Panorama Trail

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• Big early climb with 1560m gain. Hold your pace, save your legs for later.
• Steep 42% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• 264m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• The finish is runnable. Save your legs to run it all the way.
• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the way down from it until 20.5km, then run your race pace.
• Start · 0.0km–2.0km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 2.0km–18.9km · Climb of 1558m. Ease in: hold back more than feels necessary. The race is still ahead. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. Hike the steepest pitches.
• Work · 18.9km–25.3km · Descent of 264m averaging 16%, climb of 631m, high point 2635m. 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. At altitude your pace drops, and that's fine.
• Fade · 25.3km–44.2km · Descent of 1542m averaging 10%. 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. At altitude your pace drops, and that's fine. Your heart rate drifts down on its own: don't chase your early-race numbers, go by feel.
• Home · 44.2km–51.3km · 7.1km 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 3100m+. With 61m/km of climbing, this is a true mountain course with sustained climbs and descents. By gradient, 40% of the distance is uphill, 39% downhill and 21% flat. The longest climb runs 18.9km at an average 8.2% grade (1558m of vertical). The longest descent runs 14.7km at an average 10.5% grade (1542m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 42.1% over 0.4km. The steepest descent drops at 25.8% over 0.6km. Surface: 73% trail, 16% road, and 8% smooth. Flat-equivalent effort: 77.9 FlatKM.

Summits

The highest summit on the course is Faulhorn (2680m), 25.3km from the start. The course also passes close to Chiemattenhubla (2029m) and Geiss (2017m).

Poles

Trekking poles are worth taking: about 6.6km of the course favours them.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 37 of 100), with 25% of the load in the first half: 2 descents deserve a plan and a couple of downhill sessions before race day.

• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the way down from it until 20.5km, then run your race pace.
• #2 · 18.9–20.5 km · 264 m D−, -16.1% · 30.7 km ahead → control
• #1 · 25.3–40.0 km · 1542 m D−, -10.5% · 11.2 km ahead → your pace
• 40.7–44.2 km · 559 m D−, -16.1% · 7.1 km ahead → your pace

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 10°C to 18°C, with around 12°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 56%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 10% of days around this date.