Sky Challenge

Race strategy

Run easy on the first mountain, then go all out on the second.

• 1104m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Steep 41% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• All downhill to the finish: go all out!
• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the way down from it until 13.1km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 22.6km.
• Start · 0.0km–1.5km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.5km–13.1km · Climb of 1161m, descent of 1104m averaging 15%. 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. Hike the steepest pitches.
• Work · 13.1km–22.6km · Climb of 1586m, high point 1731m. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. Hike the steepest pitches.
• Home · 22.6km–26.4km · Descent of 345m averaging 9%. No heroics: settle back into your own effort and hold it to the line. Long descent: keep it even and let go only near the end.

Course

The course climbs 2900m+. With 107m/km of climbing, the course is exceptionally steep, with long hiking-grade sections. By gradient, 51% of the distance is uphill, 36% downhill and 13% flat. The longest climb runs 9.5km at an average 16.6% grade (1586m of vertical). The longest descent runs 7.2km at an average 15.3% grade (1104m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 53.5% over 0.2km. The steepest descent drops at 41.3% over 0.4km. Surface: 59% trail, 20% technical, and 9% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 60.3 FlatKM.

Summits

The highest summit on the course is Sveti Jure (1762m), 21.4km from the start. Other named summits along the route: Veliki Troglav (1658m) and Sedmina (1563m).

Poles

Trekking poles are strongly recommended: about 7.5km of the course is steep enough for them to pay off.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 22 of 100), with 69% 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 13.1km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 22.6km.
• #1 · 5.9–13.1 km · 1104 m D−, -15.3% · 13.3 km ahead → control
• 22.6–26.4 km · 345 m D−, -9.2% · 0.0 km ahead → even, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 14°C to 22°C, with around 10°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 30%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 6% of days around this date.