mozart Marathon

Race strategy

Run the climb at race pace, build your speed on the downhill, and go all out at the finish.

• 489m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Steep 26% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• The finish is runnable. Save your legs to run it all the way.
• Ease into the early runnable section, save your quads on the descents until 27.3km, then run your race pace.
• 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–20.3km · 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 · 20.3km–27.3km · Descent of 489m averaging 7%, high point 1090m. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. This descent is hard on the legs: short steps, stay in control, poles if you have them. Hike the steepest pitches.
• Home · 27.3km–43.5km · 16.2km 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 1600m+. With 36m/km of climbing, this is a rolling, mostly runnable course. By gradient, 28% of the distance is uphill, 29% downhill and 43% flat. The longest climb runs 4.2km at an average 9.6% grade (399m of vertical). The longest descent runs 7.0km at an average 7.0% grade (489m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 35.0% over 0.2km. The steepest descent drops at 30.3% over 0.2km. Surface: 53% trail, 37% road, and 6% smooth. Flat-equivalent effort: 51.6 FlatKM.

Summits

The highest summit on the course is Klausberg (902m), 19.5km from the start.

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 3.1km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is low (index 19 of 100): a few descents worth noting, none of them decisive.

• Ease into the early runnable section, save your quads on the descents until 27.3km, then run your race pace.
• #1 · 20.3–27.3 km · 489 m D−, -7.0% · 16.2 km ahead → control

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 11°C to 22°C, with around 17°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 66%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 16% of days around this date.