Blue Race

Race strategy

Short race: go all out.

• Hold your race pace up to 2.7km, but stay in control.
• The finish is runnable. Save your legs to run it all the way.
• Control your HR on the first mountain, then run your race pace.
• Start · 0.0km–1.0km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Work · 1.0km–2.7km · Climb of 153m, high point 1085m. Plus 1 more descent. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace.
• Home · 2.7km–9.7km · 7.0km of runnable trail. Kick for the line: give it everything you've got. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.

Course

By gradient, 44% of the distance is uphill, 52% downhill and 4% flat. The longest climb runs 1.0km at an average 14.7% grade (153m of vertical). The longest descent runs 1.6km at an average 11.3% grade (183m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 23.3% over 0.6km. The steepest descent drops at 21.3% over 0.3km. Surface: 55% trail and 45% smooth. Flat-equivalent effort: 14.1 FlatKM.

Summits

The course also passes close to Crni vrh (1096m).

Poles

Trekking poles are worth taking: about 1.6km of the course favours them.

Quad damage

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

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from -4°C to 10°C, with around 3°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 36%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 5% of days around this date.