Around the Bay: Route (Revisited)

As noted in my previous post, I cobbled together an elevation plot for the route to get some rough estimates of the course detail. Since that post, however, I've found a properly measured version of this at mapmyrun.com (link), which contained an option to download a .csv file containing detailed elevation information for the route (versus the extrapolated version I used before). As such, I'm redoing my basic analysis of the course here as the actual course is a lot cleaner than the plot that was generated using topographical information.

The following is a detailed analysis of the course elevation, with grade and length calculations for each of the major segments and some additional measurements for smaller hills along the path. Below that is a plot of the grade over the entire course (in percentage terms). Click on the image for a more detailed look over the data:


Major Segments (Displayed Above):
0m 98.1m
3981m 87.3m 3981m -0.3%
8310m 91.6m 4329m +0.1%
10416m 79.3m 2106m -0.6%
17160m 77.4m 6744m 0%
18855m 88.1m 1695m +0.6%
20727m 88.6m 1872m 0%
21233m 94.3m 506m +1.1%
21644m 94.2m 411m 0%
24265m 108.5m 2621m +0.5%
24643m 108.3m 378m 0%
25852m 91.3m 1209m -1.4%
27080m 101.0m 1228m +0.8%
27235m 99.0m 155m -1.2%
28438m 110.7m 1200m +1.0%
28781m 109.4m 343m -0.4%
30000m 100.1m 1219m -0.8%

As noted in my previous post, there are some long stretches with moderate grades but no really steep sections (assuming that this data is correct). Naturally, with tired legs going at race pace these hills will be challenging one way or the other, however there is nothing like the 4-6% hills that I've been using for my training.

Looking at the weather reports at this juncture, there is a possibility of rain as well as some potentially nasty winds so I'll have to keep an eye on that. The temperature looks like it will be relatively comfortable, however, so it shouldn't be too bad of a day one way or the other. Will have to keep my eye on that, however, and plan accordingly.

Edit (02/04/2009): Thanks to data provided by a fellow blogger, I've posted an accurate recording of the course elevation in 'Around the Bay: Elevation'. Please see that article for more detail about the vertical component of this route ;)