The Engine
Terrain Intelligence Engine™ v1.0.
Built by a trail runner, for trail runners.
Every race tells a story hidden in its terrain. The Vertical Trail Engine transforms official race profiles and checkpoint data into objective performance intelligence, revealing how athletes truly climb, descend, and endure.
Our proprietary methodology goes beyond finishing times to measure performance in the context of the terrain itself.
The final result tells us who finished first. It doesn't necessarily tell us how an athlete performed across the mountain.
VTL analyzes race terrain and checkpoint performance to understand what happens throughout a race: climbing, descending, terrain transitions, fatigue, pacing, endurance, and performance across different sections of the course.
The platform transforms race data into structured performance information that can be explored at race and athlete level.
🧗 VPI — Vertical Power Index
Meters of elevation gain per hour, measured only on strong-climb segments (slope ≥12%). Measures pure climbing efficiency and specific power output on severe vertical gains.
VPI = Σ(elevation gain on segments ≥12%) / Σ(athlete time on those segments)
📉 DMI — Descent Mastery Index
Speed (km/h) on strong-descent segments (slope ≤-12%). Measures technical downhill skill and muscular resilience against heavy eccentric loading.
DMI = Σ(distance on segments ≤-12%) / Σ(athlete time on those segments)
🏆 ER — Endurance Rating
A 0-100 score measuring pacing degradation between the first and second half of the race, measured in effort-kilometers (distance + elevation/100) instead of raw distance.
ER = 100 − (pacing decay % between halves)
Founder
Pablo Jali
Founder · Vertical Trail Labs
Vertical Trail Labs was created by Pablo Jali, a trail runner interested in understanding what happens beyond the finish line.
The idea behind VTL came from a simple observation: race results tell us who finished first, but they only tell part of the story.
Mountain races are shaped by terrain, climbing, descending, pacing and fatigue. VTL was created to analyze those elements and turn them into measurable performance signals.
What started as a personal project has evolved into an independent platform focused on building a structured database of trail running performance.
Independent project. Vertical Trail Labs is an independent project and is not affiliated with UTMB, LiveTrail or any race organizer unless explicitly stated.
Contact
Questions, collaborations, data requests or feedback?
Get in touch at hello@vertlabs.run