Hirtstein Trophy Training Plan & Preparation

Course & Elevation

The individual event combines the Hirtstein-Trophy's two courses into one race: first the running course covers 7.9 kilometres and 110 metres of climbing through hilly terrain — a rolling route with a first rise straight after the start and a more distinct 900-metre ramp at a good eight percent shortly before the transition.

Then it is onto the bike: the 6-kilometre lap with around 90 metres of gain per circuit is ridden twice, each time over the Hirtstein — with the same eight-percent ramp as the core of every lap. In total, 12 bike kilometres with 180 metres of climbing follow before the finish in the start-finish area.

The early-October Trophy is a club event with a participation-sport character: alongside the Run&Bike there are a pure run, walking and youth races. The individual event is the sportiest variant — a small-format duathlon in which running and cycling form add up honestly.

Pacing Strategy

A duathlon is almost always lost on the first discipline: run the 7.9 kilometres like a standalone race and you mount the bike on heavy legs, losing more over twelve bike kilometres than you gained running.

Run the first leg five to ten percent below your pure running race pace — controlled over the opening rise, even across the rollers, and deliberately restrained on the eight-percent ramp just before the transition. In the changeover, routine beats haste: an ordered transition costs twenty seconds, a chaotic one a minute.

On the bike the lap is your friend: after the first circuit you know the ramp over the Hirtstein and what the second passage costs. Ride lap one as reference, lap two as the race — if you can push there, you dosed the run correctly. The lap's descents are fast; on October autumn tarmac, control beats risk.

Over one to one and a half hours of total effort, a bottle on the bike and a gel before the start suffice — this race is decided by distribution, not fuelling.

12-Week Preparation

Plan one to one and a half hours for the Run&Bike individual event depending on level — an intense combination effort whose preparation spans two sports and one transition.

The basic structure: two runs and one to two bike sessions per week over six to eight weeks. Runs: one easy 40-to-60-minute run in hilly terrain plus one session with tempo segments (three to five times five minutes brisk). Bike: one ride of one to two hours with short, punchy climbs — the eight-percent ramp of the bike lap demands exactly that.

The decisive duathlon building block is brick training: every one to two weeks, switch straight from a run onto the bike (or the reverse as a test), short at first, later at race-typical length. The first bike minutes after running always feel wooden — knowing that feeling means no race-day shock.

Add transition practice in detail: shoes, helmet, race-number band, bike position — played through once completely, it saves nerves and seconds on race day. In race week two short activations, an equipment check, and fresh legs for an event that rewards versatility.