Templiers Aid Station Planner

The Grand Trail des Templiers covers 80.7km and 3,443m of elevation gain through the Tarn and Dourbie gorges and across the Causse Noir plateau around Millau, in Aveyron, southern France. Run in late October with a pre-dawn start, it is the historic centrepiece of the Festival des Templiers and one of France's most beloved trail ultras.

Key sections. The race starts at Millau Plage and follows the Tarn valley before climbing onto the Causse Noir. Peyreleau (22.5km) is the first assisted checkpoint, with limited supplies. Saint-Andre-de-Vezines (36.3km) is the main full aid station. The Dourbie gorge sections around La Salvage (55.8km) and the perched village of Cantobre are technical and exposed. From Massebiau (70km) the final time barrier is behind you and the run back into Millau is fast.

Conditions. Late October in Aveyron is mild by mountain standards - expect 15-20°C during the day with a cold pre-dawn start. The shorter duration (winners around 7 hours, most finishers 9-15 hours) means less nutrition complexity than a 24-hour race, but the pace is faster and carbohydrate demand per hour is higher.

Crew access: Crew access is limited compared to the alpine ultras - Peyreleau and Saint-Andre-de-Vezines are the practical assistance points, while La Salvage and Ferme du Cade are reachable by official shuttle only. Brief your crew accordingly.

Checkpoint km marks follow the official time-barrier list; cumulative gain/loss between checkpoints is estimated. Verify against the current official race guide at festivaldestempliers.com before your race.

Most runners build race pacing plans by dividing total distance evenly - which ignores the fact that an uphill kilometre takes far longer than a flat one. This planner uses TrailMath's enhanced km-effort model to distribute your goal time proportionally by effort, not by distance.

The km-effort formula for each segment is: distance_km + gain_m/100 + loss_m/150. This is TrailMath's extension of the standard ITRA gain-only formula, which adds descent cost based on Minetti's finding that steep technical descents carry real metabolic load. A 5km segment with 500m of gain and 200m of loss has an effort of 5 + 5 + 1.3 = 11.3 km-effort - equivalent to running 11.3km flat. Time is allocated proportionally to this effort score.

Why gain and loss have asymmetric costs. Minetti et al. (2002) mapped the metabolic cost of inclined locomotion across gradients from -45% to +45%. The key findings: metabolic cost rises steeply above 15-20% uphill grade, making power hiking more energy-efficient than running on steep climbs. On descents, eccentric muscle loading (quads acting as brakes) creates its own metabolic cost - steep technical descents are far more demanding than the same gradient on a smooth fire road. The gain/100 + loss/150 asymmetry in the formula reflects this - gain is more costly per metre than loss, but loss is not free.

Power hiking threshold is flagged at segments where your computed pace exceeds 12 min/km (19 min/mile). This threshold corresponds to the crossover point where walking biomechanics become more efficient than running on steep uphill terrain. Strategic power hiking on marked segments preserves leg muscle for descents and reduces overall race time compared to running everything.

This km-effort model is the same formula used in TrailMath's training engine for load calculation (following Dan Johnston's asymmetric elevation scoring methodology), ensuring consistency between how your training load is measured and how your race effort is planned.

Minetti AE et al. (2002). Energy cost of walking and running at extreme uphill and downhill slopes. J Appl Physiol. 93(3):1039-46. Minetti AE et al. (1995). Mechanical determinants of gradient walking energetics in man. J Physiol. 481(Pt 1):235-43. ITRA. km-effort formula. International Trail Running Association. itra.run