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Absolute Biokovo Challenge
45.4km45.427.2km27.214km145km5

High Challenge

14.0km·1720m+
May 9
Makarska,
Croatia
source

Race Pace Calculator · GPX Analyzer · Trail Finder

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Full calendar: Croatia

High Challenge · Race profile

Distance
14.0km
Gain
1720m+
FlatKM
34.5
Max
1731m
Min
282m

About High Challenge

High Challenge is the 14.0km trail race at Absolute Biokovo Challenge 2026 (Makarska, Croatia). The race starts on May 9, 2026.

Race strategy

Run the climb at race pace, build your speed on the downhill, and go all out at the finish.

  • Steep 38% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
  • Final 345m descent. Save your legs to go all out on it.
  • Control your HR on the first mountain, and go all out on the final descent from 9.7km.
  • Start · 0.0km–1.7km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
  • Settle in · 1.7km–9.7km · Climb of 1579m, high point 1731m. Ease in: hold back more than feels necessary. The race is still ahead. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. Hike the steepest pitches.
  • Home · 9.7km–13.5km · Descent of 345m averaging 9%. Build to the finish: leave whatever you have left out on the course. Long descent: keep it even and let go only near the end.

Course

The course climbs 1720m+. With 123m/km of climbing, the course is exceptionally steep, with long hiking-grade sections. By gradient, 58% of the distance is uphill, 32% downhill and 10% flat. The longest climb runs 9.7km at an average 16.3% grade (1579m of vertical). The longest descent runs 3.8km at an average 9.1% grade (345m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 50.6% over 0.5km. The steepest descent drops at 60.7% over 0.2km. Surface: 46% trail, 27% technical, 12% road, and 5% smooth. Flat-equivalent effort: 34.5 FlatKM.

Summits

The highest summit on the course is Sveti Jure (1762m), 8.5km from the start. Other named summits along the route: Veliki Troglav (1658m) and Sedmina (1563m).

Poles

Trekking poles are strongly recommended: about 3.2km of the course is steep enough for them to pay off.

Quad damage

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

  • Control your HR on the first mountain, and go all out on the final descent from 9.7km.
  • 9.7–13.5 km · 345 m D−, -9.1% · 0.0 km ahead → even, let go at the end

Results

28 finishers completed the 2026 edition. Men's winner: Mario Prečanica (Croatia) in 2:34:47. Women's winner: Patrícia Reis (Portugal) in 3:03:50.

This page has the full results and splits, a pacing and nutrition planner, a gradient matrix, an interactive elevation profile and historical weather for High Challenge.

Other distances of Absolute Biokovo Challenge 2026Extreme Challenge (45.4km)·Sky Challenge (27.2km)·Vertical Challenge (5.0km)

Other editions of High Challenge2025

Official websiteabsolute-biokovo-challenge.com/o-utrci