Planning is not optional: it’s your competitive advantage
Gretel Planner. It all starts long before the starting gun.
When you are at home, studying the race profile with the zoom of your cell phone. When you mentally repeat where to place the gels, how many meters of elevation gain there are between kilometer 32 and 38, or if that last refreshment station will be before or after the hill that you can see on the map.
Planning is not a craze. It is part of the ritual. It is respect for the terrain, for your body and for distance.
Those of us who run ultras and mountain races know it well: it’s not just about getting there in shape. You can have strong legs, a strong mind and miles on your legs, but if you don’t know when to save your strength, when to push or when to stop for lunch, the mountain will put you in your place. And that place can be far, far away from the finish line.
The day you didn’t plan… you remember it, don’t you?
Maybe it was that time when you had a bout of panic because you forgot to eat on the way out of the forest. Or when you thought the next aid station was 5 km away and it was 9 km… and the water didn’t reach you. Or when you didn’t calculate the realistic pace for that leg-breaking climb that looked “short on the profile”. Yes, we all have that story.
Because the trail does not forgive improvisation.
But now imagine another scenario.
One where you arrive at the start knowing exactly what to expect on each leg. One where you know your target pace for the first 10 km, you know where to start saving energy, and you have strategic reminders to eat and drink before your body screams for it.
Imagine a tool that, without complicating your life, gives you a clear, printable sheet with your strategy by sections, your estimated paces, and all the key data at your fingertips. Not to complicate your life, but to free you from the mental noise and let you run with focus.
What is Gretel Planner?
Gretel Planner is that. And more.
It is a free digital planner designed by and for mountain runners. A space where you can take the race data -profile, distance, elevation gain, refreshment points- and turn them into a realistic, visual and above all, useful strategy.
The tool allows you to:
Divide the route into logical sectors according to the terrain.
Estimate your pace in each section, according to difficulty
Plan nutrition and hydration in advance.
Print out your personalized race sheet and take it with you
All without the need to be an expert in spreadsheets or spend hours with the altimeter.
It’s like having a mini-coach working in the background while you concentrate on what’s important: running.
And the best thing is that it doesn’t impose a method on you. Gretel doesn’t tell you how to run. She gives you the tools so that you can decide wisely.
Why is it key for long races, ultras and skyraces?
Because when the clock shows 6 hours and there are still 30 km to go.
Because when you are 2,000 meters positive and you have another peak to go.
Because when the weather changes, the legs get heavy and the fog erases your confidence…
That’s where pre-planning saves the day.
Gretel helps you leave no room for the unknown. It doesn’t eliminate suffering – this is trail, after all – but it transforms it into something manageable. And that changes the whole experience.
Having a clear sheet with reminders, time forecasts and marked sections gives you a brutal sense of control. And when everything seems to be shaky, that’s worth more than any state-of-the-art watch.
What does TrailRunAdvisor bring to this partnership?
Most of us discover new races by recommendation: a training buddy, a story on Instagram, a video that gives you goosebumps. But then comes the important part: understanding if that race is for you.
Because beyond the hype, what you need to know is:
What is the terrain really like?
How are the trails marked?
How are the refreshment posts?
Is it a fast or technical race?
Do you suffer more on climbs or descents?
That information is not on the promotional poster. It is in the voice of those who have already been there.
And that’s what TrailRunAdvisor does: it gives you access to real, unfiltered experiences, told by runners just like you. Reviews written in the heat of the moment after crossing the finish line, or days later, with your legs still loaded but your mind full of learnings.
More than reviews: informed decisions
Our platform not only helps you find races by country, distance or date. It also gives you tools to:
Compare events according to level of difficulty, beauty of the course, logistical support or ambiance
Filter by type of terrain or technical level
To know if it is an ideal race to make your debut, improve your performance or live an extreme adventure.
And now, with this collaboration with Gretel Planner, we take the next step: we not only help you to choose better, but also to prepare better.
That is, you can:
Discover an interesting race on TrailRunAdvisor
Read what other runners experienced there
Access your profile in Gretel Planner
And build your own customized strategy, before you put on your sneakers.
A new way of living the trail
This is not about being faster. It’s about being more conscious. More strategic. About enjoying more and suffering less from avoidable mistakes.
Thanks to this alliance, the complete mountain runner’s experience takes a leap in quality. You no longer have to search for information separately, nor rely on your memory to plan key sections. Now, everything is connected.
The community inspires you.
The tool organizes you.
And you… you run with confidence.
Discover. Plan. Run better.
Trail running is more than running in the mountains. It is learning to listen to your body when there is no coverage. To read the terrain when all you see is fog. To make decisions when fatigue blurs your judgment.
And in that context, every tool counts. Every real tip is worth gold. Every planned detail brings you closer to the goal. .
With TrailRunAdvisor and Gretel Planner working together, you no longer run blind. You discover races that suit you. You access the experiences of those who have already been there. And you plan your strategy with precision, without complications.
Because the passion for the trail is not improvised.
It is lived. It is shared. It is prepared.
Ready to take the plunge?
Start planning your next adventure with Gretel Planner: gretelplanner.com
Discover your next epic run with TrailRunAdvisor: trailrunadvisor.com
You train the legs.
We give you the information.
Together, wemake every race count.
