Obertauern Trailrun Summit Training Plan & Preparation

Course & Elevation

The Trail Ultra 8 Summits leaves the Radstädter Tauernpass in Obertauern before sunrise and returns to the same pass after a 75.6-kilometre loop over eight summits — start and finish sit at the same point, and total climbing and descent are near-identical at roughly 5,100 metres each.

The first of three hors-catégorie climbs starts at kilometre 9.5 and runs 5.7 kilometres up into high-alpine terrain, crossing scree fields and former ski slopes that set the technical tone early. After a short category-3 ramp at kilometre 16.2, the second HC block begins at kilometre 21.9 and holds for 6.5 kilometres — the longest sustained effort on the course, passing alpine lakes and huts. Two short, sharp category-4 ramps at kilometre 33.9 and 34.9 break up the following stretch before a third HC climb at kilometre 51.5 tests the field again more than fifty kilometres in. Two category-2 climbs close out the profile at kilometre 60.9 and 65.8 — shorter, but no less felt on tired legs.

More than 60 percent of the course runs steeply up or down, with almost no flat ground in between — exposed ridgelines and some scrambling-grade passages punctuate the route, broken into manageable stretches by nine aid stations along the loop.

Pacing Strategy

Three hors-catégorie climbs spread across 75 kilometres mean this loop isn't decided on a single ascent, but on whether you can still pay for the third one. The climb from kilometre 51.5 is the real race decider — it arrives once the first two HC blocks and more than 3,500 metres of climbing are already in the legs, and whoever can still climb evenly there, rather than just fight, holds the race together.

The trap sits at the start: starting before sunrise, fresh legs, and the crowd on the first flank all tempt you to attack the opening HC climb from kilometre 9.5 too hard — on a loop where more than 60 percent of the terrain runs steeply up or down, that mistake only shows up hours later. Keep the early kilometres deliberately restrained before that first climb begins.

Between the three big blocks there is no recovery terrain, only technical up-and-down with short, sharp ramps at kilometre 33.9, 34.9, 60.9 and 65.8 — use those stretches to eat and drink, not to push pace. The nine aid stations along the loop break the day into stages; plan in time windows rather than kilometres, since over more than 5,000 metres of climbing across this distance, sustained economy matters more than raw pace in the end.

12-Week Preparation

At 75.6 kilometres and roughly 5,100 metres of climbing over largely steep terrain, effort duration for most age-group athletes falls somewhere between twelve and seventeen hours — a distance that calls for day-planning rather than a race-pace mindset.

The effort is predominantly aerobic and shifts into steady power-hiking once the three hors-catégorie climbs begin: with more than 60 percent of the loop running steeply, hiking with poles is the base technique here, not running. Sharper, more intense surges come on the steep ramps at kilometre 33.9, 34.9, 60.9 and 65.8, and in the technical, exposed sections linking the summits.

The race is decided on the third HC climb from kilometre 51.5, which arrives after two previous summit blocks and more than half the distance — this is where leg strength for even climbing either holds or doesn't. Just as decisive: the long, steep descents that make up over 30 percent of the loop and become the real injury risk on tired legs.

Preparation should prioritise long sessions with a back-loaded elevation profile — runs whose biggest climbs come after several hours of fatigue rather than fresh legs uphill. Pole-assisted power-hiking on steep, rough terrain belongs in training alongside technical downhill running on scree and roots under fatigue. Since the race starts before sunrise, practising pacing and orientation by headlamp is worth building in too. Finally, an effort of this length calls for a tested fuelling strategy spread across many hours, matched to the nine stations along the loop.