Tenerife Bluetrail 68K

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 791m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Steep 35% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• Final 1328m descent. Save your legs to go all out on it.
• Long race. Control your HR and effort. Early mistakes cost the most.
• Ease into the early runnable section, save your quads on the descents until 49.9km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 51.8km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• 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–13.7km · Climb of 689m. 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 · 13.7km–39.5km · Descent of 791m averaging 13%, climb of 687m. 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. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.
• Fade · 39.5km–51.8km · Descent of 1202m averaging 12%, high point 1693m, climb of 607m. 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. Hike the steepest pitches. Your heart rate drifts down on its own: don't chase your early-race numbers, go by feel.
• Home · 51.8km–66.1km · Descent of 1328m averaging 9%. No heroics: settle back into your own effort and hold it to the line. Very long descent: first half under control, then even, let go only near the end.

Course

The course climbs 3600m+. With 53m/km of climbing, this is a true mountain course with sustained climbs and descents. By gradient, 42% of the distance is uphill, 45% downhill and 13% flat. The longest climb runs 8.2km at an average 8.4% grade (689m of vertical). The longest descent runs 14.3km at an average 9.3% grade (1328m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 34.7% over 1.5km. The steepest descent drops at 31.1% over 0.3km. Surface: 69% trail, 19% road, and 11% smooth. Flat-equivalent effort: 103.0 FlatKM.

Summits

The course also passes close to Montaña la Mesa (1456m) and Montaña de los Agustinos (1438m).

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 13.6km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is high (index 50 of 100), with 40% of the load in the first half: 2 critical descents, the last of them run on already damaged legs. Downhill-specific preparation and a controlled early pace pay off here.

• Ease into the early runnable section, save your quads on the descents until 49.9km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 51.8km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• #1 · 20.5–26.7 km · 791 m D−, -12.8% · 39.4 km ahead → control
• #2 · 39.5–49.9 km · 1202 m D−, -11.6% · 16.2 km ahead → control
• 51.8–66.1 km · 1328 m D−, -9.3% · 0.0 km ahead → even, first half under control, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 12°C to 15°C, with around 9°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 17%.