The Smarna gora
mountain running race
It all began in 1979. It was a time of the
development of mass sport - recreational events. Cross-country skiing, cycling,
mountaineering and running in particular were the most popular sports.
There was quite a large group of professional and fun athletes practicing
on the slopes of Smarna gora. A story about one of us reaching the summit in an
unbeliveable time taking an unknown path on an unknown day was often heard.
The organization of a race starting at the foothills with the finish at
the summit was an obvious result of our unofficial competitions.
The idea was ready to be realized in autumn 1979. The organization did not cause many
complications - all we needed were some enthusiasts for taking care of all the technical
details, medals for the winners, some memorial gifts and a gallon of hot tea for tired
runners.
It had been a nice local event for the first eleven
years, and in 1992 the first national championships in the newly born Slovenia took place.
After that the organizers' ambitions grew and in 1994 the first foreign competitors took
part. In the meantime the Mountain Running Association of Slovenia was acknowledged by the
Slovenian Athletic Federation and new Mountain Running Committee started its work wherein
Smarna gora race played an important role.
Since 1993 it has been the final race of the Slovenian MR cup and in 2001
and 2002 it is also the WMRA Grand Prix race.
- Course
The course as well as the philosophy of the race has been
changing during these 20 years. The "fil-rouge" of the course was the lap around
the Smarna gora starting at the foothill, going anti-clockwise up around the hill and
finishing at the summit.
In the first decade, the start area had moved from the local road to the sports park and
in 1992 the lap over the Grmada summit was added; in 1993 a small lap at km 2 was added
and since then the course has not changed.
Please move the mouse over the red spot (
 ) to see
the photo taken at that part.
|
