Grindstone 50K

Race strategy

Run easy on the first mountain, then go all out on the second.

• Start easy and control your HR up to 19.7km.
• Hold your race pace up to 27.8km, but stay in control.
• The finish is runnable. Save your legs to run it all the way.
• Ease into the early runnable section, 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–19.7km · 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. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.
• Work · 19.7km–27.8km · Climb of 588m, high point 1146m. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace.
• Fade · 27.8km–42.5km · Plus 1 more descent. Your energy fades, and that's normal: hold a steady effort and stop counting the miles. Your heart rate drifts down on its own: don't chase your early-race numbers, go by feel.
• Home · 42.5km–51.9km · 9.4km 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 1550m+. With 31m/km of climbing, this is a rolling, mostly runnable course. By gradient, 32% of the distance is uphill, 29% downhill and 39% flat. The longest climb runs 8.1km at an average 7.3% grade (588m of vertical). The longest descent runs 14.8km at an average 6.1% grade (899m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 29.7% over 0.3km. The steepest descent drops at 20.8% over 0.5km. Surface: 57% trail, 20% road, 13% smooth, and 10% extreme.

Summits

The course also passes close to Sand Spring Mountain (1137m).

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 3.0km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is low (index 15 of 100): a few descents worth noting, none of them decisive.