I'm attempting to an "ultra-trail" race at Ras al Khaimah.
I'm dropping some quick notes for planning purposes.
Race: Oasis Ultra
Distance: 55K
GPS: 50K
Estimated Elapsed Time: 12:00:00
Peculiarities of this course (I've never attempted it before):
START: 6:40AM
1. Start to CP1, 2.5km: These first 2.5km are downhill 5% gradient and on pavement.
2. CP1 to CP2, 6.5km: The descent into Wadi Galilah loses 1500m of elevation at -20.7% gradient average. That is not something one can run on. It has to be hopped and walked. It seems to me that using poles can be one strategy to save the quads.
3. CP2 to CP3, 7.7km: This seems to be the nastiest segment in the course, gaining nearly all the elevation gain lost before with 1467m vert at average 16.5% gradient. No choice but to walk, with frequent breaks. I estimate 2:15:00 minutes on this climb.
CP3: 10:20-10:40AM.
Typically, this is when my feet starts to cramp or fatigue. If I've taken my time on the huge uphill, then I won't be too much in the red.
Mental reminder to stretch all parts and take my time hanging around at CP3: I would like to be here an encourage the others to catch up.
4. CP3 to CP4, 5.5km: Another climb at 6.2% grade. If at all possible, I'm going to jog this one and take my ground contact time. A break of 30s every 2minutes sounds fantastic.
It is interesting to note that the trail reaches 1884m at KM20. I expect some altitude effect to kick in.
CP4: 11:20AM - 12Noon
This gives me the decision point on whether to continue or not. The weather could get worse.
Considering all the checkpoints and segments, the aim is to test this course in a total of 12 hours. It's all a stretch of the imagination at this point.
No comments:
Post a Comment