51.1 km and 2,481 m up: a trail race as a 3D video
November 6, 2026 · 4 min read · By Joao Silva
A long mountain race is hard to share. A finish photo shows the end, the map shows a squiggle, and neither shows the climbing. This is how a 51.1 km trail race with 2,481 m of climbing became a 3D route video in the app, and what made it work.
The race
The route left a village square, climbed over rocky ground to a high plateau, passed a reservoir and climbed again before the finish. It took 7 hours 24 minutes. The watch recorded the track, and a phone in the vest pocket took about ten photos along the way.
The table shows where the marker is at each stage of the video, with the numbers the stats bar shows at that moment.
| Stage | Distance | Time | Climbing so far |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start line | 0.0 km | 0:00 | 0 m |
| First long climb | 8.9 km | 1:02 | 413 m |
| Rocky plateau | 15.4 km | 2:29 | 1,442 m |
| Reservoir stairs | 19.9 km | 3:05 | 1,470 m |
| Second climb | 30.1 km | 4:53 | 1,778 m |
| Finish | 51.1 km | 7:24 | 2,481 m |
Why the 3D Elevation Video
The day was about climbing, so the elevation view was the right pick. It draws the route on shaded relief, so the two big climbs read at a glance, and the elevation figure in the stats bar keeps rising as the marker goes up.
For a long road ride the 3D Map Video is often the better choice, because towns, lakes and roads are what make that route recognisable.
Choosing the photos
Fewer, better photos make a better video. Each one pauses the flight for a moment, so a photo every few kilometres keeps the pace up. Pick the ones that show the place: the start line, the view from the plateau, the stairs by the reservoir.
Photos with a location land exactly where they were taken. Photos without one are placed by the time they were taken.
Making it
Open the activity, pick the photos and choose 3D Elevation Video. The video is made on the phone, so keep the app open until it finishes. The stats bar uses the stats you chose for your images, here distance, time and elevation gain.
The result is a portrait video of about a minute and a half with every photo stop. The clip on this page is a 30 second cut of it.
Where to post it
Instagram Reels and TikTok take the portrait video as it is, and it plays inline in WhatsApp and club group chats. If you post the race on Strava, add the video to the activity so the people giving kudos see the whole day, not just the map.
Turn your next race into a 3D video