King's Ascent 25K

Race strategy

Run hard on the first mountain, but save energy for the second.

• Big early climb with 1060m gain. Hold your pace, save your legs for later.
• Steep 41% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• Final 1006m descent. Save your legs to go all out on it.
• Ease into the early runnable section, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 14.9km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• Start · 0.0km–2.5km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 2.5km–12.9km · Climb of 1055m, high point 1970m. 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. Hike the steepest pitches.
• Work · 12.9km–14.9km · Plus 1 more climb and 1 descent. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace.
• Home · 14.9km–25.1km · Descent of 1006m averaging 10%. Build to the finish: leave whatever you have left out on the course. Very long descent: first half under control, then even, let go only near the end. Hike the steepest pitches.

Course

The course climbs 1206m+. With 51m/km of climbing, this is a true mountain course with sustained climbs and descents. By gradient, 31% of the distance is uphill, 37% downhill and 32% flat. The longest climb runs 7.7km at an average 13.7% grade (1055m of vertical). The longest descent runs 10.2km at an average 9.9% grade (1006m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 41.5% over 0.7km. The steepest descent drops at 38.7% over 0.5km. Surface: 52% road and 29% trail. Flat-equivalent effort: 37.4 FlatKM.

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 3.4km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is low (index 16 of 100): a few descents worth noting, none of them decisive.

• Ease into the early runnable section, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 14.9km under control, then go all out near the bottom.