We set the scene for this weekend’s big weekend of mountain running
After 13 gruelling stages across three continents and four months of high-octane competition, the World Cup reaches its dramatic finale this weekend. And where better to crown this year’s champions than the iconic slopes of Smarna Gora – a venue rich in mountain running history and prestige?
Slovenia takes centre stage for this ultimate showdown, hosting a blockbuster of a mountain running weekend that promises edge-of-the-seat racing. The action kicks off at Velika Planina in Kamnik on Saturday August 23, with one last lung-busting classic uphill race. Then, all eyes turn to Smarna Gora on Sunday for the grand finale – a classic up-and-downhill race to decide the World Cup’s ultimate victors.
Velika Planina follows a course used in the 2010 World Mountain Running Championships and the 2017 European Off-Road Championships. This very route is set to host the European Off-Road Running Championships in June 2026, so it will not only be a testing route for the World Cup competitors, but it will also provide a dress rehearsal for some of the athletes targeting the championship next year. It’s an 8.5km course with 1280m of ascent, starting at Stahovica and finishing at Gradišče.
The following day the World Cup heads 20km away to Ljubljana, the scene of many World Cup competitions over the years, and a race with a deep mountain running history. Smarna Gora began in 1979 and it is an absolute ‘must-do’ in the race calendar. In 2020 it was voted the greatest mountain race of all time by the public, in a poll by WMRA. Smarna Gora might not take place in the high mountains, like some of the other World Cup races, but it packs a punch into its 10km with 705m of ascent and 350m of descent.
Both races showcase the best of Slovenian running and culture. Velika Planina is a race of alpine scenery, forests and meadows and it offers panoramic views of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps. It is also home to one of Europe’s few remaining high-mountain shepherd’s villages, with oval huts with spruce shingles. They bring their cattle down to graze on the plateau in what is a centuries-old tradition.
Smarna Gora Race takes place on a famous hill in the area which boasts a Baroque church dating back to 1711. The church bells, a hallmark of Slovenian tradition known as “pritrkovanje,” will ring out on Sunday, welcoming the runners. And as they take on this stunning, and, in places, technical…
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