Plava staza

Race strategy

Short race: go all out.

• Hold your race pace up to Ljuljaš, but stay in control.
• Control your HR on the first mountain, and go all out on the final descent from 4.5km.
• Start · 0.0km–2.0km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Work · 2.0km–4.5km · Climb of 460m, high point 1272m. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace.
• Home · 4.5km–10.5km · Descent of 531m averaging 9%. Kick for the line: give it everything you've got. Long descent: keep it even and let go only near the end.

Course

The course climbs 500m+ and descends 500m−. With 50m/km of climbing, this is a true mountain course with sustained climbs and descents. By gradient, 44% of the distance is uphill, 45% downhill and 11% flat. The longest climb runs 4.5km at an average 10.1% grade (460m of vertical). The longest descent runs 6.0km at an average 8.9% grade (531m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 22.4% over 0.4km. The steepest descent drops at 21.3% over 0.4km. Surface: 62% trail, 17% smooth, and 11% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 13.2 FlatKM.

Summits

The highest summit on the course is Ljuljaš (1268m), 4.5km from the start. Other named summits along the route: Orlic (1230m).

Poles

The course is runnable enough that trekking poles are not needed.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is low (index 9 of 100): a few descents worth noting, none of them decisive.

• Control your HR on the first mountain, and go all out on the final descent from 4.5km.
• 4.6–10.5 km · 531 m D−, -8.9% · 0.0 km ahead → even, let go at the end

Results

101 finishers completed the 2025 edition. Men's winner: Obrad Babić (Serbia) in 55:38. Women's winner: Elena Sokolova (Russia) in 1:05:08.