S1 Borin 5.5 km

Everything you need to prepare for the race is already on this page: the map, with the ITRA-certified distance and elevation gain, and the point-by-point checkpoint table, showing the kilometre mark, the ascent and descent of each section, the refreshment points and, where there are any, the time barriers and their closing times. These are the official race figures — the ones that count under the regulations and for ITRA points — and they are final: with that table you can plan your pacing, your split times, what to carry and where to refuel.

We hold the GPX back for two reasons, and neither is an oversight.

The first is your safety. People who download the track weeks in advance don’t go back and check it, and in exceptional cases the course can change at the last minute: a road closed, a path no longer passable, extreme weather. Set off with an old track on your device and you’ll find yourself following a line that no longer exists — and that’s where the risk becomes very real.

The second is that some sections cross private land. They are open for the race under agreements made for that day: they aren’t routes you can go out and do whenever you like.

Holding the track back for now isn’t a shortcoming: it’s how we make sure you have the right course on race day. The official GPX is released in the week before the race, in its final version, ready for you to load onto your device. On the day, the course is marked in any case: GPS is an extra check, not what you navigate by.

We often publish training loops and segments covering the stretches that are open all year round, so you can get to know the terrain before the race.

In the meantime, we recommend:

• looking at previous years’ tracks online, which help you get to know the terrain — though the course changes from year to year and some sections are only open on race day;
• consulting the interactive map to plan your recces;
• checking our Facebook page and the articles on the site for updates and recce loops.