Two key reasons why anyone in
love with trail running should consider this competition for their race
calendar are as follows: first, it`s one of the eighteen elite ultra-trail
races that fall into the Ultra-trail World Tour, second, it can also be an
occasion for a holiday adventure since it takes place in one of the most
beautiful tourist destinations at the Adriatic Sea. 100 Miles of Istria is
actually much more than these two facts. It`s a trail running event which
provides an amazing experience of the Istrian coastal scenery and continental countryside,
it`s a multi race competition which offers a wide range of long distance races
suitable for runners of most diverse preferences, varying from 42, 69, 110
kilometers and 100 miles. There are also two road races, 5 kilometers for
amateurs or fast and furious runners and 1 mile for the toddlers and youngsters.
It`s a perfect place to be whether you`re a family type travelling with your
spouse and kids, or a trail running maniac travelling around with your crew
searching for good run and fun.Affordable UTWT race
100 Miles of Istria saw
its fourth edition in 2016. Though it`s a brand new ultra-trail, its organizers set
high aspirations from the very beginning and only after three years since their
start, introduced their competition into the World Tour as a Future race.
Completely devoted to the idea of organizing a quality trail race, they developed
and grew together with it into a gigantic crew of professionals capable of
mobilizing local communities and organizations as well as state institutions
and associations. It`s not always a case in this part of the world that a trail
race becomes an event acknowledged and recognized by relevant authorities.
Therefore, it`s worth mentioning that throughout its short history, race
organizers recorded remarkable improvement in all segments of event management. Well marked courses, fantastic aid stations and volunteers are references by which they set high standards for other race organizers.Accessible destination
Istria, as a Croatian province,
is easily accessed by highways. Those travelling by air can choose Trieste or
Zagreb or Pula airport for their flight destinations and then travel by
car/bus/van to Umag. The organizer provides timely information about all relevant
issues via their web site and facebook page, prepares a Race Guide which will
help you in finding your way around, studying the race course, making an itinerary
for the support team or simply in utilizing other facilities and offers during
your stay in Istria.
Umag, the host city
The central event in 2016 was in the city
of Umag where runners collected their start packages at the expo and where the
finish line was. Start packages included Salomon technical t-shirt and gift
accessories provided by the organizer and Compressport varying from a headband,
racing socks or calf sleeves. Runners were then transferred from Umag to Labin,
Lovran, Buzet and Motovun from where 100 miles started on Friday at 16:00, 110
km at the midnight, 69 km started on Saturday at 09:00 and 42 km at the noon.
Red Course - 100 miles
250 runners from 30 different
countries ran from Labin to Rabac where they reached the seaside at the east
part of the peninsula and from where they then turned into the inner land
traversing Učka ridge and Vojak mountain, passing through beautiful Medieval cities
of Buzet, Motovun, Grožnjan to reach the west side coast and the city of Umag. The
course had 7120m climb and 7400m descend. The first man to finish the red course was
Thomas Wagner, Austrian who crossed the finish line after 19h 49min thus
setting new course record. Toni Vencelj from Slovenia finished the race in 20h
19 min as second while Jay Aldous, American and the previous record holder,
came third after 20h 25min. The first woman finishing 100 miles was the last
year`s winner, Francesca Canepa, Italian who needed 24h 12min to reach the
finish line. Only 32 minutes after her, Julia Boettger from Germany finished as
second while Denise Bourassa from USA finished as third after 25h 6min.
Blue Course - 110 km
200 runners from 29 different
countries ran 110 kilometers from Lovran, city placed on the east coast of
Istrian Peninsula, to Umag along the course which mostly coincided with the
course of the longest race. The first man who finished the blue course was Petr
Zakovsky from the Check Republic crossing the finish line after 11h 57min.
Alister Bignell from Switzerland came as second after 12h while Marek Causidis
came third after 12h 23min. Jelena Brezak from Croatia was the first woman on
the blue course finishing it in 15h 59min. Sanja Mladenović also from Croatia
came as second after 16h 43min while Olga Puchkareva from the Check Republic
finished as third after 16h 51min. Green Course - 69 km
210 runners and 27 different
nationalities ran from Buzet to Umag traversing the Istrian inner land along
the green 69-kilometer-long course with 2400 m climb and 2550 descend. The
fastest man on this course was Sebastian Fuchs from Germany who finished race
in 6h 31min. Marc Boivin from Canada came as second after 6h 39min while Mahmut
Yavuz from Turkey came as third finishing the race in 6h 57min. Ajda Radinja
from Slovenia came as the first woman and overall second, Anita Wais finished
the green course after 7h 51min as second woman while Genevieve Beaudoin
reached the finish line in 8h 7min as third. Yellow Course - 42 km
173 runners coming from 25
different states set off from Motovun to run 42 km long yellow course with
1100m climb and 1250m descend. After 3h 42min Igor Yovanovitch Gil from Spain
finished the race as the fastest man, 18 minutes after him, Boštjan Vilčnik
from Slovenia finished as second while Kristijan Zrinić finished as third after
4h 21min. The first woman and second overall was Stephanie Manivoz from France
who finished the yellow course in 3h 59min. Hristina Kozareva-Leikeb from
Bulgaria came as second after 4h 5min while Marija Trontelj from Slovenia came
as third after 6h 10min. (foto: 3sporta.com) My personal pursue
After having finished somewhat
shorter green course last year, I came back this time to pursue my first 100-miler.
An excellent ultra-marathoner of Bosnian origin now living in Austria, Mirsad
Abdaković, accompanied me on this venture and provided great support along 170
km long course. Despite some really tough moments, the images that cross my
mind when I think about this experience are the beautiful nocturnal views over
the city of Rijeka, almost the full Moon emerging behind the Vojak mountain, dawn
over the city of Buzet, and fantastic last 10 kilometers which were the fastest
ones we ran along the course. Finishing the race in this manner is really hard
to believe since I suffered an injury at kilometer 156 and was facing the brutal
reality of having to walk last 14 kilometers. After having massaged the painful
knee and taken a pain killer, I was ready to get back into the game and accept
Mirsad`s challenge of finishing the race in less than 33 hours. Jahorina Ultra-Trail® Team & 1000 miles
The fact that I finished my first
100 miler in 32h 58min is not something I`m most proud of. By finishing this
race I also contributed to the sum of 1000 miles which Jahorina Ultra-Trail®
Team I represented had planned to run. 15 of us gathered into a team that also
promoted the only Bosnian ultra-trail race which was organized last year for
the first time on the Olympic mountain of Jahorina and which we organize for
the second time this year on July 30-31. Apart from having our team scored over
1600 kilometers run through the beautiful Istrian landscape, our team member,
Igor Yovanovitch Gil climbed the podium after having won the 42 km long race
thus bringing us the fame of also having the elite runners among us. Some of us
were there to beat the others, some to beat themselves by accomplishing their
personal goals. But, what we all learned from this experience is that our
respective individual achievements now weight more as they contribute to
the collective one. 
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