31.7km

Race strategy

Run hard on the first mountain, but save energy for the second.

• 259m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• The finish is runnable. Save your legs to run it all the way.
• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the way down from it until 4.3km, then run your race pace.
• Start · 0.0km–1.8km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.8km–17.0km · Climb of 241m, high point 1085m, descent of 259m averaging 13%. Plus 1 more climb and 1 descent. 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. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.
• Work · 17.0km–21.9km · Plus 1 more descent. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort.
• Home · 21.9km–32.0km · 10.1km of runnable trail. Build to the finish: leave whatever you have left out on the course. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.

Course

The course climbs 1016m+. With 32m/km of climbing, this is a rolling, mostly runnable course. By gradient, 31% of the distance is uphill, 37% downhill and 32% flat. The longest climb runs 2.3km at an average 7.1% grade (163m of vertical). The longest descent runs 4.9km at an average 4.9% grade (242m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 23.6% over 0.3km. The steepest descent drops at 27.1% over 0.2km. Surface: 63% trail, 19% smooth, and 12% technical. Flat-equivalent effort: 42.9 FlatKM.

Summits

The highest summit on the course is Veliki Rog (1099m), 2.3km from the start. Other named summits along the route: Lovski vrh (830m). The course also passes close to Bezgova gorica (1009m).

Poles

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

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 20 of 100), with 56% 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 4.3km, then run your race pace.
• #1 · 2.3–4.2 km · 259 m D−, -13.0% · 27.8 km ahead → control
• 12.3–14.7 km · 250 m D−, -10.4% · 17.3 km ahead → your pace

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 10°C to 20°C, with around 14°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 46%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 10% of days around this date.