Ehrwald Trail

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• Big early climb with 1270m gain. Hold your pace, save your legs for later.
• 974m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Final 1310m descent. Save your legs to go all out on it.
• 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 31.8km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 71.0km 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–10.3km · Climb of 1271m, high point 2203m. Ease in: hold back more than feels necessary. The race is still ahead. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace.
• Work · 10.3km–50.7km · Descent of 974m averaging 14%, climb of 639m, descent of 987m averaging 15%. 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. Hike the steepest pitches.
• Fade · 50.7km–71.0km · Climb of 1266m. Plus 1 more climb and 1 descent. Your energy fades, and that's normal: hold a steady effort and stop counting the miles. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. Hike the steepest pitches. Your heart rate drifts down on its own: don't chase your early-race numbers, go by feel.
• Home · 71.0km–84.3km · Descent of 1310m averaging 10%. 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 4295m+. With 50m/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 10.9km at an average 11.6% grade (1266m of vertical). The longest descent runs 13.3km at an average 9.8% grade (1310m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 26.0% over 0.8km. The steepest descent drops at 46.3% over 0.3km. Surface: 60% trail, 24% smooth, 8% technical, and 8% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 125.0 FlatKM.

Summits

The highest summit on the course is Wamberg (1307m), 54.3km from the start. The course also passes close to Osterfelderkopf (2060m) and Kreuzeck (1651m).

Poles

Trekking poles are worth taking: about 12.3km of the course favours them.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is high (index 50 of 100), with 50% 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.

• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the descents until 31.8km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 71.0km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• #1 · 10.2–17.4 km · 974 m D−, -13.7% · 66.9 km ahead → control
• #2 · 25.1–31.8 km · 987 m D−, -14.7% · 52.5 km ahead → control
• 54.3–60.0 km · 479 m D−, -8.5% · 24.3 km ahead → your pace
• 71.0–84.3 km · 1310 m D−, -9.8% · 0.0 km ahead → even, first half under control, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 11°C to 23°C, with around 12°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 65%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 17% of days around this date.