I FEEL SLOVENIA Bear Trail

Race strategy

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

• Start easy and control your HR up to 19.9km.
• Hold your race pace up to 34.3km, but stay in control.
• The finish is runnable. Save your legs to run it all the way.
• Ease into the early runnable section, then run your race pace.
• Start · 0.0km–2.1km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 2.1km–19.9km · Plus 1 more climb. Ease in: hold back more than feels necessary. The race is still ahead. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.
• Work · 19.9km–34.3km · Climb of 384m, high point 1085m. Plus 1 more descent. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.
• Fade · 34.3km–44.6km · Plus 1 more descent. Your energy fades, and that's normal: hold a steady effort and stop counting the miles. Running pays off here: run wherever you can. Your heart rate drifts down on its own: don't chase your early-race numbers, go by feel.
• Home · 44.6km–61.6km · 17.0km of runnable trail. No heroics: settle back into your own effort and hold it to the line. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.

Course

The course climbs 1961m+. With 32m/km of climbing, this is a rolling, mostly runnable course. By gradient, 32% of the distance is uphill, 32% downhill and 36% flat. The longest climb runs 4.8km at an average 8.0% grade (384m of vertical). The longest descent runs 2.4km at an average 10.4% grade (250m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 26.6% over 0.2km. The steepest descent drops at 25.3% over 0.2km. Surface: 66% trail, 15% technical, 14% smooth, and 5% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 78.5 FlatKM.

Summits

The highest summit on the course is Veliki Rog (1099m), 32.3km from the start. Other named summits along the route: Lovski vrh (830m). The course also passes close to Pugled (698m).

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 3.3km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 27 of 100), with 29% of the load in the first half: 0 descents deserve a plan and a couple of downhill sessions before race day.

• 32.3–34.3 km · 259 m D−, -13.0% · 27.3 km ahead → your pace
• 42.2–44.6 km · 250 m D−, -10.4% · 17.0 km ahead → your pace

Results

62 finishers completed the 2025 edition. Men's winner: Jure Orehek (Slovenia) in 5:44:48. Women's winner: Vika Koban (Slovenia) in 7:06:56.