SciaccheTrail: Course, Elevation & Route Profile

Course & Elevation

The start is on Piazza Garibaldi in the old centre of Monterosso, a few metres from the water. After a short stretch of promenade the first climb begins at kilometre 0.8: 2.3 kilometres averaging 13.5 percent onto the Punta Mesco headland. Rolling singletrack leads to Colle di Gritta, a second short steep ramp comes at kilometre 6.7, then a narrow trail drops to the sanctuary of Reggio. From there the longest climb of the day, 3.5 kilometres and 371 metres from kilometre 12.1, lifts you onto the Alta Via delle Cinque Terre. Between Monte Malpertuso, at 750 metres the high point, and Colle del Telegrafo the ridge stays above 600 metres for around ten kilometres.

The second half belongs to the sea. From kilometre 26 the course loses everything over five kilometres down to Riomaggiore, and then the section the race is known for starts. First 209 metres at close to 15 percent up to Groppo, then another 272 metres to Volastra from kilometre 35, and finally a short sting behind Vernazza at kilometre 42.9. Each of those three climbs ends in an equally steep descent back to the water.

The whole route lies inside the Cinque Terre national park. At Groppo the course runs straight through the Cantina Cinque Terre, past the steel vats where the Sciacchetra that gives the race its name is made. Volastra sits in the densest vineyard on this coast, and the closing kilometres follow the Sentiero Azzurro, closed to walkers for the day. Three hundred runners drawn by lottery line up, plus the elite athletes the organisation invites.

Pacing Strategy

There is almost no terrain here on which a rhythm survives: 8.8 percent of the course is flat, around 21 percent is steep climbing and nearly 25 percent steep descent. The first ascent arrives at kilometre 0.8, while you are still cold and boxed into a queue on narrow trail, and that is where many races come apart. Treat the 25 kilometres to Colle del Telegrafo as the approach, not the race.

The decision is made between Riomaggiore at kilometre 31 and Corniglia. Three climbs of one to two kilometres at around 15 percent wait there, all of them from sea level and all of them on tired legs. Anyone who let the long descent off the Alta Via run free will be walking those stairways. The two gates, Telegrafo at 12:30 and Manarola at 14:30, are set to bite in exactly this stretch.

The real trap is not the climbing but the descending. A quarter of the course drops steeply, over terrace stairways, dry stone walls and paved mule tracks. After March rain the stone is slick, and your quadriceps will give out long before your breathing does. Brake early and briefly rather than late and long.

Training plan for SciaccheTrail: 12-week build

For 46 kilometres with close to 2,000 metres of climbing on this surface, plan on six to eight and a half hours; the cut-off is ten. The demand is not evenly aerobic but comes in bursts: eight climbs of one to three and a half kilometres with technical descents in between that never really let your heart rate settle. Between gradients of 15 percent up and much the same down there is barely any running terrain at all.

The race is decided on the long climb to the Alta Via from kilometre 12 and on the three closing climbs after Riomaggiore. The first takes the substance you need for the last fifteen kilometres, and the last three collect it. Build that into your long runs: sessions whose vertical sits in the back half, with the steepest ramps in the final hour.

The main emphasis belongs to downhill running under fatigue. Stairways, terrace steps and paved paths load the quadriceps eccentrically, and that stimulus can only be trained by going downhill. Add fast hiking on 15 percent gradients, since you will be walking the steepest sections anyway, and footwork on wet stone.

The conditions are Ligurian rather than alpine: the organiser quotes five to twenty degrees, with wind, fog and rain possible. You start early and cool beside the water and can be standing on open terraces in the sun by midday, so train with the mandatory pack, half a litre of water, survival blanket and jacket. Plan the qualification in as well: without an ITRA or UTMB index of 350 points for men or 300 for women you cannot even enter the lottery.