WATCH: Joe Gray Crushes the Mt Washington Auto Road

The Mt Washington auto road runs 7.6 miles up New Hampshire’s Mt Washington, averaging 12-percent grade with some stretches that kick back as significantly as 18 percent. The last 50 yards are a dizzying 22-percent grade.

Each June, the Mount Washington Road Race draws a deep pool of elite trail runners, who come to test their mountain-running mettle against what is perhaps one of the most infamous roads in all of trail running.

Joe Gray, of Colorado Springs, an eleven-time national mountain running champion and 2016 World Mountain Running Champion, set the American record for the Mt Washington Road Race in 2015. In this video, watch him hauling his way to a win at the 2016 race. (Turn the volume up to hear the practiced rhythmic breathing of a pro.) Video courtesy of Joseph Viger.