Blue Course

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 260m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Final 940m descent. Save your legs to go all out on it.
• Steep 30% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the way down from it until 7.3km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 26.7km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• Start · 0.0km–1.2km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.2km–12.3km · Climb of 720m, descent of 260m averaging 12%, climb of 542m. Ease in: hold back more than feels necessary. The race is still ahead. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. This descent is hard on the legs: short steps, stay in control, poles if you have them.
• Work · 12.3km–20.4km · Plus 1 more climb and 2 descents. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. Hike the steepest pitches.
• Fade · 20.4km–26.7km · 6.3km of runnable trail, high point 1030m. 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 · 26.7km–32.7km · Descent of 940m averaging 16%. No heroics: settle back into your own effort and hold it to the line. Very long descent: first half under control, then even, let go only near the end. Hike the steepest pitches.

Course

The course climbs 2050m+ and descends 2050m−. With 61m/km of climbing, this is a true mountain course with sustained climbs and descents. By gradient, 44% of the distance is uphill, 42% downhill and 14% flat. The longest climb runs 5.1km at an average 10.7% grade (542m of vertical). The longest descent runs 5.9km at an average 15.8% grade (940m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 38.9% over 0.2km. The steepest descent drops at 30.3% over 0.9km. Surface: 83% trail, 9% road, and 8% smooth. Flat-equivalent effort: 55.9 FlatKM.

Summits

The highest summit on the course is Vranovo Brdo (743m), 5.0km from the start.

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 7.2km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 26 of 100), with 29% of the load in the first half: 1 descent deserves a plan and a couple of downhill sessions before race day.

• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the way down from it until 7.3km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 26.7km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• #1 · 5.0–7.2 km · 260 m D−, -11.7% · 25.4 km ahead → control
• 26.7–32.7 km · 940 m D−, -15.8% · 0.0 km ahead → even, first half under control, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 12°C to 18°C, with around 13°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 35%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 9% of days around this date.

Results

94 finishers completed the 2026 edition. Men's winner: Roman Shikanov (Russia) in 4:08:27. Women's winner: Victoria Keller (Serbia) in 5:12:17.