Hochkönig Ultraks Training Plan & Preparation

Course & Elevation

One mountain, one direction. The HK-Vertical-Race at Hochkönig Ultraks in Maria Alm is uphill running in its most distilled form: 5.9 kilometres, 1,109 metres of elevation gain, virtually no descent, climbing straight out of the valley into the rock scenery of the Hochkönig massif. At more than 180 vertical metres per kilometre it is by far the steepest course of the entire event.

The profile is a single uninterrupted ascent averaging just over 18 percent. Nearly 70 percent of the distance qualifies as steep, and the hardest passages reach gradients around 45 percent and beyond, where running gives way entirely to climbing. There are effectively no flat metres, and therefore no recovery: from the start arch to the finish line high on the mountain, the race is one continuous effort against gravity.

As part of the international Ultraks series, the event across the three villages of Maria Alm, Dienten and Mühlbach draws a strong international field, and the Vertical has traditionally been the specialists' distance. If you want to find out how much height you can gain in roughly an hour under your own power, there is hardly a more honest format.

Pacing Strategy

A vertical is paced like an uphill time trial: from the gun you set an intensity you can hold for forty-five minutes to just over an hour, no more. With virtually no flat or downhill metres — over two thirds of the course is steeper than the usual thresholds — there is no section to absorb a start that was too hard.

That explosive opening on the gentler first kilometre is exactly the common mistake. Hold back there, because from kilometre four the gradient bites hardest at over 20 percent, and that is where you want reserves. Switch early and without hesitation to efficient power-hiking with hands on the thighs — on 40-percent ramps, brisk hiking beats running.

The race is decided in the final steep third above 1,500 metres, where altitude and gradient stack together.

12-Week Preparation

Most age-group runners will be on course for 50 to 100 minutes, a sustained effort at or just below threshold with no recovery anywhere. Since the course only goes up, a single ability decides everything: how many vertical metres per minute you can hold for about an hour.

The effort is steadier than the gradient figures suggest. Unlike rolling trails there are no changes of pace, just one constant, high aerobic load. Train it specifically with uphill threshold intervals, for example three to five repetitions of 10 to 15 minutes on a steep climb, and progressively raise the total vertical gain per session over the weeks.

The race is decided on the steepest passages above 40 percent, where technique governs speed. Powerful, rhythmic hiking, the use of poles where permitted, and bracing your hands on your thighs all need rehearsing, because every clumsy transition between running and climbing steps costs energy you cannot get back. Hands-on-knees sections in training are not bad style here; they are preparation.

Support the uphill work with strength training for calves, glutes and the posterior chain, which do the heavy lifting at an average of 18 percent. And pace deliberately conservatively: on a profile without recovery, a minute overspent early is gone for good. A course recce, or at least one session on the actual slope, helps you find the key sections and your own climbing rhythm.