Traunsee Trailrunning Cup by La Sportiva Training Plan & Preparation

Course & Elevation

The Traunstein is Gmunden's local mountain, and the point-to-point course around it has a clear shape: two waves of climbing, then one long descent. A short sharp kick right off the start gives way at kilometre 0.5 to the first Category 2 climb, roughly a kilometre and a half long, followed by a brief breather before the second and longer Category 2 climb begins at kilometre 3.8 and runs for 2.2 kilometres. Together they carry you from 459 metres at the start to the course's high point near 1,061 metres, on well-built forest roads and hiking trails past Schönberg, with views out over the Traunsee.

A third, shorter ramp around kilometre 6.9 to 7.7 is the last climbing of the day — after it, the course tips decisively downhill: more than 40 percent of the distance is steep descent, well above the share that's steep ascent. The trail drops past the Laudachsee to the finish at the Hoisn, and the net elevation actually ends slightly below where it started. Runners who manage the climbs well but fade on the long technical final descent give back more than they gained going up.

Pacing Strategy

The main pacing trap on Rund um den Traunstein isn't the first climb, it's the second: push too hard on the sharp opener and the first Category 2 climb, and there's nothing left in the legs for the longer, second Category 2 climb from kilometre 3.8 — the one that actually takes you to the course's high point.

The race, though, is decided afterwards. With more than 40 percent steep descent against roughly 25 percent steep ascent, the long technical final descent past the Laudachsee is the toughest and most decisive stretch. Save your quads for that section instead of spending them on the way up, and you gain more places there than on any climb. After the third, short ramp around kilometre 6.9 to 7.7, keep climbing under control — then commit fully on the long descent to the finish.

12-Week Preparation

For most recreational runners, Rund um den Traunstein takes somewhere between ninety minutes and two and a half hours, depending on running pace and how confidently you move over technical ground. The demand isn't one steady aerobic effort — it alternates between two intense climbing phases in the first half and a long, muscularly demanding descent in the second. The two Category 2 climbs starting at kilometre 0.5 and 3.8 repeatedly ask for strength near threshold, while the technical final descent shifts the load toward eccentric leg strength and footwork on uneven ground rather than cardiovascular output.

The race-deciding phases fall into two groups accordingly: the double load of the early climbs requires pacing your strength across two climbing blocks instead of one sustained push, and the long descent past the Laudachsee demands focused, technical downhill running on tired legs.

Prepare accordingly. Build repeated hill efforts into your running that come in two blocks rather than one continuous climb, mirroring the structure of the first half. Add dedicated downhill running on technical, rooty or rocky ground — ideally at the end of a longer run, when your legs are already fatigued, since that's exactly what awaits here after the two climbs. Eccentric strength work for the quadriceps helps you handle the long descent without breaking down.