Sky Challenge

Race strategy

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

• 1118m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Steep 39% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• All downhill to the finish: go all out!
• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the way down from it until 13.3km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 22.9km.
• Start · 0.0km–1.2km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.2km–13.3km · Climb of 1164m, descent of 1118m averaging 16%. 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. Hike the steepest pitches.
• Fade · 13.3km–22.9km · Climb of 1583m, high point 1731m. Your energy fades, and that's normal: hold a steady effort and stop counting the miles. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. Hike the steepest pitches. Your heart rate drifts down on its own: don't chase your early-race numbers, go by feel.
• Home · 22.9km–26.7km · Descent of 344m averaging 9%. No heroics: settle back into your own effort and hold it to the line. Long descent: keep it even and let go only near the end.

Course

The course climbs 2900m+. With 107m/km of climbing, the course is exceptionally steep, with long hiking-grade sections. By gradient, 49% of the distance is uphill, 36% downhill and 11% flat. The longest climb runs 9.7km at an average 16.3% grade (1583m of vertical). The longest descent runs 7.1km at an average 15.8% grade (1118m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 60.6% over 0.2km. The steepest descent drops at 36.5% over 0.4km. Surface: 59% trail, 20% technical, and 9% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 60.8 FlatKM.

Summits

The highest summit on the course is Sveti Jure (1762m), 21.7km from the start. Other named summits along the route: Veliki Troglav (1658m) and Sedmina (1563m).

Poles

Trekking poles are strongly recommended: about 6.4km of the course is steep enough for them to pay off.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 23 of 100), with 71% 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 13.3km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 22.9km.
• #1 · 6.2–13.3 km · 1118 m D−, -15.8% · 13.4 km ahead → control
• 22.9–26.7 km · 344 m D−, -9.2% · 0.0 km ahead → even, let go at the end

Results

30 finishers completed the 2025 edition. Men's winner: Nikola Ilic (Serbia) in 5:12:44. Women's winner: Danijela Horvat (Croatia) in 6:09:06.