SkyRace

Race strategy

Run easy on the first mountain, then go all out on the second.

• 574m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Steep 26% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• Final 1153m descent. Save your legs to go all out on it.
• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the way down from it until 10.0km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 17.0km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• Start · 0.0km–1.7km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.7km–5.5km · Climb of 730m. Ease in: hold back more than feels necessary. The race is still ahead. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace.
• Work · 5.5km–17.0km · Descent of 574m averaging 13%, climb of 948m, high point 2005m. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. This descent is hard on the legs: short steps, stay in control, poles if you have them. Hike the steepest pitches.
• Home · 17.0km–29.6km · Descent of 1153m averaging 9%. No heroics: settle back into your own effort and hold it to the line. Very long descent: first half under control, then even, let go only near the end.

Course

By gradient, 34% of the distance is uphill, 45% downhill and 21% flat. The longest climb runs 7.0km at an average 13.5% grade (948m of vertical). The longest descent runs 12.6km at an average 9.2% grade (1153m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 40.1% over 0.2km. The steepest descent drops at 33.8% over 0.3km. Surface: 55% trail, 19% road, 15% technical, and 11% smooth. Flat-equivalent effort: 49.3 FlatKM.

Summits

The highest summit on the course is Popadija (2030m), 17.0km from the start.

Poles

Trekking poles are worth taking: about 5.1km of the course favours them.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 26 of 100), with 34% of the load in the first half: 1 descent deserves a plan and a couple of downhill sessions before race day.

• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the way down from it until 10.0km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 17.0km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• #1 · 5.5–10.0 km · 574 m D−, -12.9% · 19.6 km ahead → control
• 17.0–29.6 km · 1153 m D−, -9.2% · 0.0 km ahead → even, first half under control, let go at the end

Results

84 finishers completed the 2024 edition. Men's winner: Srdjan Máté (Serbia) in 3:39:06. Women's winner: Marija Kostic (Serbia) in 4:04:07.