Blue Course

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 272m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Final 1270m descent. Save your legs to go all out on it.
• Steep 28% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the way down from it until 7.5km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 19.1km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• Start · 0.0km–1.4km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.4km–18.0km · Climb of 735m, descent of 272m averaging 12%, climb of 521m. Plus 1 more descent. Ease in: hold back more than feels necessary. The race is still ahead. 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.
• Work · 18.0km–19.1km · Plus 1 more climb. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace.
• Home · 19.1km–33.3km · Descent of 1270m averaging 9%, high point 1031m. 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. Hike the steepest pitches.

Course

The course climbs 2040m+ and descends 2040m−. With 62m/km of climbing, this is a true mountain course with sustained climbs and descents. By gradient, 46% of the distance is uphill, 48% downhill and 7% flat. The longest climb runs 5.2km at an average 14.1% grade (735m of vertical). The longest descent runs 14.1km at an average 9.0% grade (1270m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 27.4% over 0.2km. The steepest descent drops at 27.8% over 0.7km. Surface: 84% trail, 8% smooth, and 7% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 56.0 FlatKM.

Summits

The highest summit on the course is Vranovo Brdo (743m), 5.2km from the start.

Poles

Trekking poles are worth taking: about 6.2km of the course favours them.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 27 of 100), with 30% 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 7.5km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 19.1km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• #1 · 5.2–7.5 km · 272 m D−, -12.2% · 25.8 km ahead → control
• 12.5–18.0 km · 323 m D−, -5.9% · 15.3 km ahead → your pace
• 19.1–33.3 km · 1270 m D−, -9.0% · 0.0 km ahead → even, first half under control, let go at the end

Results

106 finishers completed the 2024 edition. Men's winner: Konstantin Serebrianitskii (Sweden) in 3:57:41. Women's winner: Sabina Bigger (Switzerland) in 4:06:56.