Madrisa Trail Klosters presented by LOWA: Course, Elevation & Route Profile

Course & Elevation

The loop starts and finishes on the Bahnhofplatz in the middle of Klosters. The first nine kilometres climb moderately to the Alpenrösli aid station at 1,447 metres, then the character changes: the descent into the Schlappintobel, short ramps of up to thirty percent, and from kilometre 14 the first long climb to the Jägglisch Horn, a good three kilometres at close to fourteen percent. Via the Saaser Alp, the Eggberg and the St. Antönier Joch the route works its way across to Gafia; by then roughly two thirds of the vertical is done and the legs have yet to see level ground.

From kilometre 34 comes the section that defines the T54: 810 metres of ascent in three and a half kilometres, averaging over twenty percent and touching more than forty at its steepest. On top a ridge trail follows the national border towards the Gafier Platten, the course crosses the Rätschenjoch and reaches the day's high point of around 2,600 metres at the Rätschenhorn. What is left is a single unbroken descent of some 1,500 metres over the Saaser Calanda and the Saaser Alp down to Klosters Dorf.

Ninety percent of the course is trail, and the terrain is pure Rätikon: alpine pasture, boulder fields, narrow mountain paths, aid stations on working alps rather than at the roadside. Klosters itself stays present – start, finish and expo sit at the Rhaetian Railway station in the village centre, and the last two kilometres run back from Klosters Dorf along the valley path. One pattern runs through the reports of past editions: sun and high temperatures in the valley, wind and cold at 2,600 metres.

Pacing Strategy

Barely six percent of the course is flat; roughly two thirds of it is steep, either up or down. Planning a finishing time from kilometre splits does not work here – the sensible unit is the climb. The three big ramps to the Jägglisch Horn, the Eggberg and the St. Antönier Joch belong at a brisk hiking pace, breathing under control, with no accelerations at all.

The race is decided from Gafia onwards. Reach the 810-metre wall at kilometre 34 with intact legs and you can hike it at an even rhythm and run again on the ridge above; overspend before it and you lose more there than the entire first half gained. The ridge is exposed and wind-prone – not the place to start eating and drinking for the first time.

The bigger trap is the descent. From the Rätschenhorn the course drops around 1,500 metres in one go, on quads carrying nine to eleven hours of mountain work. The early descent from the Alpenrösli into the Schlappintobel is the test of that: let it run unbraked in the dark on fresh legs and you pay for it on the Saaser Calanda.

Training plan for Madrisa Trail Klosters presented by LOWA: 12-week build

For age-group athletes the T54 is realistically a nine to twelve hour day; the winners come back in around six and a half. The load is aerobic and low-intensity throughout but muscularly extreme: fast hiking on steep ground, pole work, and over 32 percent of the course in the steep downhill band, meaning a great deal of eccentric loading. Building the preparation around tempo sessions on the flat trains for a different race than this one.

The decisive phases come late, and the build should reflect that. The wall from Gafia demands 810 metres in one push after two thirds of the day's vertical is already spent – which calls for long sessions with the climbing loaded at the back: six to eight hours out, the hardest ascent last. The descent deserves equally deliberate work: 1,500 metres in one drop over boulder fields and narrow alpine paths is only survivable if you regularly run downhill on tired legs.

Conditions are part of the task. The race falls on the second weekend of August, and the organisers report consistent sunshine and high temperatures from recent editions, while the high point sits at around 2,600 metres. Heat acclimatisation and a rehearsed drinking strategy for the widely spaced alp aid stations belong in the plan, as does time above 2,000 metres and fluent handling of the mandatory kit – headlamp, wind- and waterproof jacket, personal cup.

The emphases follow on their own: volume measured in vertical metres rather than kilometres, technical running on rocky ground, strength endurance for hours of uphill hiking, and a fuelling plan rehearsed across six aid stations. The organisers frame the shorter T33 as the step towards the T54, which makes it the obvious dress rehearsal for terrain and footing.