Festival des Templiers: Course, Elevation & Route Profile

Course & Elevation

The first twenty kilometres are a long traverse of the Causse Noir that spreads the field out, but they are not a warm-up: at kilometre seven a 1.9 kilometre climb averaging close to twenty per cent lifts you onto the plateau. The route then drops into the Gorges du Tarn, follows the Balcon du Vertige down to the hamlet of Le Truel in the Jonte valley, and climbs back to Espaliès and the Ermitage St-Michel. The long section at kilometre 42 is among the hardest of the day: 3.5 kilometres, 463 metres of gain, ramps to 35 per cent.

On the left bank of the Jonte you then run a very technical path along the top of the cliffs. The elevation profile there is nearly flat and the pace is still slow, because the ground dictates it. Past the prehistoric Champignon rock, the chapel of St-Jean-des-Balmes and St-André-de-Vézines the course reaches Montméjean, climbs to Roquesaltes and drops into the technical descent to La Roque-Ste-Marguerite through the Ravin du Riou Sec. The closing stretch runs the Larzac corniches above the Dourbie, falls to Massebiau, and climbs steeply one last time: 1.8 kilometres at 22 per cent at kilometre 92, with ramps of 45 per cent.

The terrain is limestone causse: box scrub, pine woods, white slabs, rock arches and karst pavement, linked by sandy forest tracks. Much of the night is run on narrow paths reopened by the organiser for this weekend alone. Start and finish are at the Domaine St Estève in Millau below the Pouncho d'Agast, and you reach the line after a final descent through the Grotte du Hibou.

Pacing Strategy

The four in the morning start reshapes the whole race: you run the first hours in the dark, half the day in daylight, and often the finish under a head torch again. Treat the opening twenty kilometres over the Causse Noir as a deliberate approach. The climb at kilometre seven is too steep to run; hike it briskly and under control rather than spending heart rate there.

The race is decided between kilometre 40 and 60. The 463 metre climb to the Ermitage and the cliff path above the Jonte that follows cost a lot of time for very little gain, and anyone who reads that as lost kilometres and forces the pace pays for it on the Larzac corniches. Five aid stations over 100 kilometres also means you plan for yourself: two hours or more between posts is normal.

The real trap is the finish. After Massebiau, kilometre 92 brings a 1.8 kilometre ramp averaging 22 per cent, followed by the technical descent to the Grotte du Hibou. Almost eighteen per cent of the course sits in the steep downhill band, and your quadriceps are not fresh after 90 kilometres of limestone. Hold a deliberate reserve for those last ten kilometres.

Training plan for Festival des Templiers: 12-week build

Expect 14 to 22 hours on the Endurance Trail as an age-group runner. That is an effort almost entirely in the extensive aerobic range, and its difficulty comes from duration, ground and darkness rather than from intensity. The share of steep terrain is high: a good eighteen per cent steeply uphill, nearly eighteen per cent steeply downhill, only twelve per cent genuinely flat.

The most valuable training content is therefore time on technical ground, not volume on forest roads. The limestone of the causses is sharp, often loose, and slick after autumn rain; the corniche sections above the Jonte and the Dourbie demand sure footing for hours. Build long sessions on rocky ground and practise fast hiking on steep gradients, because three of the eight climbs average over eighteen per cent.

The second emphasis is downhill running under fatigue. The descents to La Roque-Ste-Marguerite and to the Grotte du Hibou come late and are technical. Months of eccentric preparation, in the form of long runs with descents actually run rather than braked, decide more here than any threshold work.

Two conditions need planning of their own. First darkness: the start is in the middle of the night, the marking is set tightly in the first and last third, but you should have done night sessions on single track to judge your pace without a visual reference. Second self-sufficiency: with only five aid stations you need to have managed your own carbohydrate and fluid intake over long training blocks. Mid October on the plateau can bring warm afternoons and cold nights in the same day.