Mountain Running
Discover the brutal reality of Red Bull 400, the world's toughest 400m race
A heart rate of 200 bpm, a 37 degree climb, burning lactic acid build-up, and 400 metres uphill. Are you ready for another season of Red Bull 400?
The world’s toughest 400 metre race is set for another season, with Red Bull 400 kicking off in Finland, Japan and the USA on Saturday, May 12.
Competitors from around the globe have 17 events at which to race up a ski jump ramp in the quickest time possible.
Here's all you need to know:
2018 is the biggest Red Bull 400 season yet
© Jan Kasl / Red Bull Content Pool
- It has unsurprisingly been billed as the hardest 400m of your life, taking 600 to 800 steps to reach the peak.
- The climb reaches 37 degrees steepness, with most athletes reduced to all fours when the slope reaches 30 degrees.
With the right attitude and good teamwork everything’s possible
© Sinisa Kanizaj / Red Bull Content Pool
- On average, the heart rate hits around 200 bpm when getting towards the top.
- In all, the elevation gain over the 400m course is 140m.
- The crawling begins when your thigh muscles can’t get enough oxygen and the muscles start to lose their contractile function. Meanwhile, the lactic acid build-up is about 20 times more than normal.
This is, hands down, the hardest 400m race the world has seen
© Pavel Sukhorukov / Red Bull Content Pool
- The defending men’s champion is Turkey’s Ahmet Arslan, who's remarkably won 14 of the 16 races in which he he's competed. The 31-year-old was the first Red Bull 400 world champion and the event’s first ever race winner. One of his dreams is to see mountain running become an Olympic sport.
- Arslan says of Red Bull 400: "A good warm-up is important. You must use the whole body. When I reach the finish line, I don't feel my muscles. You can run only 100m or 150m, after that you must give too much effort. All muscles are tight, your breath is tight, it's too much lactic acid."
When the going gets tough…
© Denis Klero/Red Bull Content Pool
- Red Bull 400 was born back in 2011, the aim being to find the quickest person up a 400m ski jump ramp.
- This season in 2018, there are now 17 events spanning from May to October, four more than in 2017, with Whistler Mountain in Canada back on the calendar.
3 of 17 events on three continents kick off the 2018 season
© Denis Klero/Red Bull Content Pool
- There are men, women and relay events to be decided over the course at each event starting with heats, going onto semi-finals and then onto the final itself. The heats can involve up to 100 athletes and the winner of each heat advances to the next round.