Beinhoat das VERTICAL Training Plan & Preparation

Course & Elevation

The course leads from the village centre of Dorfgastein straight up to the Fulseck and is one pure ascent: no flat section, no descent, virtually every metre steep. In total there are a good 1,100 metres of climbing, taken as a single continuous ascent of the highest category. A special feature of the format is free choice of line — you decide where to climb the meadow and alpine slopes, and whether to go with or without poles.

The race is certified by the International Skyrunning Federation and capped at 333 starters, which gives the evening a dense, almost familial competition atmosphere: international elites and ambitious amateurs climb the same slope. At the top, the race ends at the Fulseck summit station overlooking the Gastein valley.

Pacing Strategy

A vertical race has no sections to catch your breath, so control at the start is everything. The biggest trap lies in the first minutes: fresh legs, start-line adrenaline and a slope that looks runnable, even though brisk rhythmic hiking is almost always more economical from about 25 percent gradient upward. Settle early into an effort you can hold for an hour and regulate it by breathing and heart rate, not by pace or kilometre marks.

The decisive part is the upper half, where the steepest ramps of up to 47 percent meet increasingly heavy legs. Steady pole work and short, constant steps pay off here; anyone who overcooked the lower slope loses more time on each upper ramp than they ever gained below.

12-Week Preparation

Depending on your level, budget roughly 45 to 90 minutes of racing — short enough to be a high-intensity event, long enough that every pacing mistake takes its revenge.

The demand is one continuous near-threshold effort on extreme gradients: no anaerobic spikes from changing terrain, just a single climb that tests climbing economy, strength endurance in calves, thighs and glutes, and clean pole technique. Downhill running plays no role, so the entire preparation can be devoted to ascending.

Train with steep hill intervals and long single climbs collecting as much vertical gain per session as possible, with dedicated pole-hiking at race gradients, and with strength work for the extensor muscles. Repeated climbs of 300 to 500 vertical metres near planned race intensity mirror the event best; add general aerobic endurance so that the hour of full effort rests on a stable foundation.