XCM Herzegovina

The Marathon, the sporting highlight of the festival, guarantees fun and excitement. Choose from two thrilling routes with distinct characters and relish your adventure!

The Marathon, the sporting highlight of the festival, guarantees fun and excitement. Choose from two thrilling routes with distinct characters and relish your adventure!

Experience the adrenaline rush, and enjoy the race. The marathon kicks off on July 14, 2024, at 10:00 AM in the scenic Blidinje SKI center.
Get ready for the adventure!

Immediately after the race starts in front of the Blidinje SKI Center, riders will embark on a fast descent and ride through the Tourist Settlement Risovac. They will then exit onto the main road, turning right towards the Risovac settlement. This section is quite fast, and we believe riders will maintain a strong pace, experiencing some fast rides. At the 5th kilometer in the Lagumovići settlement, or at the famous Sovića Vrata, riders descend onto a gravel section, and the first serious ascents follow, leading towards the Gornji Gvozdac and Diva Grabovčeva.

At the 11th kilometer, the first descent follows after the ascent, where the riders will take a short break and gather strength, while also starting the ride around the magnificent Vran. They will experience a ride through the picturesque forest of Mount Vran for about 10km, then exit onto a wide gravel road, from where they will descend towards Tomislavgrad. 

At the 28th kilometer, the distinction between the large and small marathon is made! Riders of the large marathon at the 28th kilometer continue straight, while riders of the small marathon turn into the forest, taking a shorter route towards the regional road leading to Blidinje Lake. However, there is no need to worry about intersections and constantly check your Garmin device for mileage because there will be a marshal at each of these intersections redirecting you and ensuring that shortcuts are not taken, or simply a visual marker on the track where shortcuts are not possible.

At the 32nd kilometer, you cross the Blidinje road (regional road) where vehicle traffic is possible, so be cautious even though there will be marshals at that location. At this point, riders of the small marathon turn left, riding on a bicycle path along the regional road, leading to Blidinje Lake. As you approach the lake, beautiful views await you.

At the 39th kilometer, you turn right into the field, where you ride about 2km through the field, then enter the Varićak grove and continue riding towards Masna Luka. However, you do not go directly to Masna Luka but continue towards the settlements of Donje Badnje and Gornje Badnje, and towards the tourist settlement near the Blidinje SKI Center. Entering the tourist settlement signifies that you need to accelerate and give it your all to achieve the best placement, as it is also a sign that you are entering the final meters of the track, and the finish line is just around the corner.