GPX Explorer: Trail Race Elevation Profile & Climb Analysis

Free GPX viewer for trail runners. See the elevation profile coloured by gradient, every climb and descent, the steepest kilometre, km-effort and the map. Your file stays on your device.

Access

  • Free, no account: the complete analysis.
  • Private by design: the GPX is read and analysed in your browser. Nothing is uploaded to our servers.

What It Shows

  • Distance, elevation gain and loss, highest and lowest point, gain per km
  • ITRA km-effort (distance + gain / 100) and the ITRA category, XXS to XXL
  • Elevation profile coloured by gradient, with the waypoints in the file marked on it
  • The map of the course
  • Terrain mix: how much of the route is steep descent, descent, runnable, climb and steep climb
  • Every sustained climb and descent: start and end km, length, gain or loss, average and steepest gradient
  • The steepest kilometre up and down, and the 95th percentile gradient in each direction
  • Waypoints in the file (often the aid stations), placed on the track

How the Numbers Are Calculated

The track is resampled every 100 metres and the elevation is lightly smoothed, so a single noisy GPS point cannot create a wall that is not there. Gradients are measured over those 100 metre steps; the steepest kilometre over a sliding one kilometre window. Climbs and descents come from the same segmentation as the pacing planner.

The 95th percentile gradient is how steep the steepest twentieth of the climbing (or descending) is: a better guide to shoes and poles than the single worst metre.

Next Steps

One click carries the course to the aid station planner or the pacing planner in the same browser session, waypoints included.

FAQ

Is my GPX file uploaded anywhere? No. The file is read and analysed by your browser.

Why is the elevation gain different from Strava or the race website? Every tool smooths GPS elevation differently, and organisers often quote a rounded official figure. Our figure usually lands within a few percent of it.

What is km-effort? The ITRA measure of how hard a course is: distance in km plus elevation gain divided by 100.

Links