Wild Glacier Marathon

Race strategy

Run easy on the first mountain, then go all out on the second.

• 321m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Big early climb with 1310m gain. Control your HR at altitude.
• Steep 32% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• The finish is runnable. Save your legs to run it all the way.
• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the way down from it until 12.1km, then run your race pace.
• Start · 0.0km–2.2km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 2.2km–21.6km · Climb of 812m, descent of 321m averaging 17%, climb of 1313m, high point 2751m. 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. At altitude your pace drops, and that's fine. Hike the steepest pitches.
• Work · 21.6km–31.1km · Descent of 1298m 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. At altitude your pace drops, and that's fine. Hike the steepest pitches.
• Home · 31.1km–39.0km · 7.8km 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 2500m+. With 61m/km of climbing, this is a true mountain course with sustained climbs and descents. By gradient, 40% of the distance is uphill, 38% downhill and 22% flat. The longest climb runs 10.2km at an average 8.0% grade (812m of vertical). The longest descent runs 9.6km at an average 13.6% grade (1298m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 41.1% over 0.3km. The steepest descent drops at 30.3% over 0.2km. Surface: 58% trail, 21% technical, 9% smooth, and 7% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 64.7 FlatKM.

Poles

Trekking poles are worth taking: about 7.2km of the course favours them.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 26 of 100), with 25% of the load in the first half: 2 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 way down from it until 12.1km, then run your race pace.
• #1 · 10.2–12.1 km · 321 m D−, -16.6% · 26.8 km ahead → control
• #2 · 21.6–31.1 km · 1298 m D−, -13.6% · 7.8 km ahead → your pace

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 7°C to 15°C, with around 7°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 48%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 10% of days around this date.