Blue Race

Race strategy

Short race: go all out.

• Hold your race pace up to 6.6km, but stay in control.
• Ease into the early runnable section, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 6.6km.
• Start · 0.0km–1.6km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Work · 1.6km–6.6km · Climb of 174m, high point 430m. 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.
• Home · 6.6km–9.5km · Descent of 232m averaging 8%. Kick for the line: give it everything you've got.

Course

By gradient, 46% of the distance is uphill, 43% downhill and 12% flat. The longest climb runs 1.2km at an average 14.6% grade (174m of vertical). The longest descent runs 2.9km at an average 8.0% grade (232m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 31.0% over 0.3km. The steepest descent drops at 17.4% over 0.6km. Surface: 78% trail and 14% smooth. Flat-equivalent effort: 13.2 FlatKM.

Poles

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

Quad damage

There is too little runnable descent to damage the quads: plan the race around climbing and fuelling.

• Ease into the early runnable section, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 6.6km.

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 18°C to 29°C, with around 23°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 51%.

Results

433 finishers completed the 2025 edition. Men's winner: Aleksandar Pavlovic (Serbia) in 52:21. Women's winner: Sara Ilić (Serbia) in 1:06:04.