MUT Marathon

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 311m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Start easy and control your HR up to 21.2km.
• Hold your race pace up to 35.2km, but stay in control.
• Ease into the early runnable section, save your quads on the descents until 15.8km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 35.2km.
• Start · 0.0km–1.7km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.7km–21.2km · Climb of 700m, high point 985m, descent of 311m averaging 12%. Ease in: hold back more than feels necessary. The race is still ahead. 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. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.
• Work · 21.2km–35.2km · Descent of 721m averaging 8%. Plus 2 more climbs. 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.
• Home · 35.2km–42.4km · Descent of 466m averaging 6%. No heroics: settle back into your own effort and hold it to the line. Long descent: keep it even and let go only near the end.

Course

The course climbs 2312m+. With 54m/km of climbing, this is a true mountain course with sustained climbs and descents. By gradient, 37% of the distance is uphill, 36% downhill and 27% flat. The longest climb runs 4.5km at an average 15.6% grade (700m of vertical). The longest descent runs 9.3km at an average 7.7% grade (721m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 38.1% over 0.3km. The steepest descent drops at 37.4% over 0.2km. Surface: 82% trail, 8% road, and 8% smooth. Flat-equivalent effort: 59.9 FlatKM.

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 4.3km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 27 of 100), with 35% of the load in the first half: 2 descents deserve a plan and a couple of downhill sessions before race day.

• Ease into the early runnable section, save your quads on the descents until 15.8km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 35.2km.
• #1 · 13.3–15.8 km · 311 m D−, -12.1% · 26.6 km ahead → control
• #2 · 22.1–31.4 km · 721 m D−, -7.7% · 11.0 km ahead → your pace
• 35.2–42.4 km · 466 m D−, -6.4% · 0.0 km ahead → even, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 10°C to 15°C, with around 12°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 23%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 3% of days around this date.