eagleXman: Course, Elevation & Route Profile

Course & Elevation

The day starts in the dark. At 05:00 you enter Lago di Campotosto, a reservoir inside the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga national park that already sits at the altitude of many alpine passes. A wetsuit is compulsory, neoprene caps, gloves and socks are banned under FITri rules, and the organisation hands every starter a tow float with a light stick, because at five in July there is no sun on the water yet. The field is capped at 100, so it is a solitary race from the first stroke.

Out of the water you go straight onto the bike for 180 kilometres through the park. The roads are not closed, drafting is forbidden, and while a support car is not required the organiser strongly recommends one: ride without it and you carry a full day of food, clothing and repair kit on the bike. There is a single aid station on the bike leg, at kilometre 65.

The run is why this race is called extreme. After two laps you reach Fonte Cerreto at the foot of the cable car at kilometre 36, and that is where the real final act begins: six kilometres of climbing onto the Campo Imperatore plateau, where the finish is. From there a supporter is mandatory, and a referee and a doctor check you and your compulsory kit before letting you start: hooded hardshell, long trousers, thermal top, headlamp, survival sheet, reusable cup. The finish closes at 00:30 on Sunday morning.

Pacing Strategy

Work backwards. The day is not decided on the bike but by whether you can still walk the last six kilometres without them taking two hours. Everything before that is preparation for it, and that includes the swim: 3,800 metres in a mountain lake at 1,300 metres costs more than the same distance at sea level, if only because your breathing and the water temperature behave differently.

On the bike the time limits are generous, twelve hours for swim and bike together, but the altitude is not. The course sits on a plateau that rarely drops below a thousand metres, and the power that would be your middle-distance number at home is half a step too high here. Eat and drink earlier and more than feels right: almost the whole course lies between the two feed points.

The two run laps down to Fonte Cerreto are transport, not racing. Run them at marathon pace and you arrive at kilometre 36 in front of a climb you can no longer climb, and the check-point shuts at 21:30. Pace the laps conservatively, eat properly at the foot of the ascent, and put the warm layer on before you are cold: above 2,000 metres at night it is a different season than it is below.

Training plan for eagleXman: 12-week build

Altitude is the one factor you simulate worst at home and the one that runs alongside you all day here. If you live at sea level, move as many long sessions as you can into the mountains in the final weeks: not for the climbing alone, but because digestion, breathing and head all behave differently up there. Two or three days on site before the race are preparation, not comfort.

On the bike, train long efforts with no draft and no change of rhythm: multi-hour sessions in the lower long-distance range, deliberately ridden alone, fully self-supported. Practise with what you will actually carry if you race without a support car: the weight and handling of spare tube, jacket and food are part of the exercise.

The run asks for two different skills. The two laps down to Fonte Cerreto are marathon work on tired legs, so long brick runs off hard bike sessions. The last six kilometres are uphill running and hiking at the end of a very long day: train steep hiking with a pack as its own session, not as a fallback.

Finally, the logistics. eagleXman requires a support crew, a compulsory kit list and two bag drops the evening before. Walk the list once in full, pack the finish bag the way you want to open it in the dark with cold fingers, and agree with your supporter where they will see you: at Fonte Cerreto and on the climb they may be carrying your kit.