Vertical Kilometer is the 4.6km vertical kilometre at Rtanj Vertikal 2026 (Rtanj, Serbia). The race starts on April 18, 2026 at 11:00 AM. It starts in Rtanj.
Short race: go all out.
The course climbs 950m+ and descends 10m−. With 207m/km of climbing, the course is exceptionally steep, with long hiking-grade sections. By gradient, 100% of the distance is uphill, 0% downhill and 0% flat. The longest climb runs 4.5km at an average 20.2% grade (918m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 34.3% over 1.4km. Surface: 57% trail and 42% smooth. Flat-equivalent effort: 11.9 FlatKM.
The highest summit on the course is Šiljak (1560m), 4.5km from the start.
Trekking poles are strongly recommended: about 2.7km of the course is steep enough for them to pay off.
There is too little runnable descent to damage the quads: plan the race around climbing and fuelling.
On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 7°C to 18°C, with around 7°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 43%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 7% of days around this date.
132 finishers completed the 2026 edition. Men's winner: Nemanja Ristovic (Serbia) in 44:41. Women's winner: Ljiljana Krasic (Serbia) in 51:53.
This page has the full results and splits, a pacing and nutrition planner, a gradient matrix, an interactive elevation profile and historical weather for Vertical Kilometer.
Other editions of Vertical Kilometer2025
Official websiteruntrace.net/rtanj2026
