PILOLCURA 100K

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 643m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Steep 30% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• The finish is runnable. Save your legs to run it all the way.
• Long race. Control your HR and effort. Early mistakes cost the most.
• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the descents until 64.1km, then run your race pace.
• Start · 0.0km–1.9km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.9km–20.9km · Descent of 296m averaging 10%, climb of 580m. 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. This descent is hard on the legs: short steps, stay in control, poles if you have them. Hike the steepest pitches.
• Work · 20.9km–51.4km · 12.0km of runnable trail, high point 707m, descent of 643m averaging 14%. 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. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.
• Fade · 51.4km–90.4km · Climb of 522m, descent of 542m averaging 10%. Plus 1 more climb and 2 descents. 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. Running pays off here: run wherever you can. Hike the steepest pitches. Your heart rate drifts down on its own: don't chase your early-race numbers, go by feel.
• Home · 90.4km–99.9km · 9.5km 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 4100m+. With 41m/km of climbing, this is a rolling, mostly runnable course. By gradient, 35% of the distance is uphill, 30% downhill and 35% flat. The longest climb runs 11.9km at an average 4.9% grade (580m of vertical). The longest descent runs 5.2km at an average 10.3% grade (542m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 28.1% over 0.7km. The steepest descent drops at 33.2% over 0.3km. Surface: 46% smooth, 39% trail, and 14% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 132.4 FlatKM.

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 9.5km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 40 of 100), with 48% of the load in the first half: 3 descents deserve a plan and a couple of downhill sessions before race day.

• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the descents until 64.1km, then run your race pace.
• #2 · 6.0–9.1 km · 296 m D−, -9.6% · 90.8 km ahead → control
• #1 · 32.9–37.6 km · 643 m D−, -13.7% · 62.3 km ahead → control
• #3 · 58.9–64.1 km · 542 m D−, -10.4% · 35.8 km ahead → control
• 72.6–74.6 km · 295 m D−, -14.8% · 25.2 km ahead → your pace
• 85.2–90.4 km · 302 m D−, -5.8% · 9.5 km ahead → your pace

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 3°C to 11°C, with around 7°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 63%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 22% of days around this date.