Istria 168K

Istria 168K

The longest race of Istria 100 crosses the peninsula from east to west. It leaves the old town of Labin, the organiser calls it 3,000 years old, in the evening and climbs Učka, the highest mountain in Istria and the high point of the course, before descending through the Ćićarija range to Buzet. Buzet is the largest aid station and the drop-bag point. From there the route runs through the interior and its medieval towns, Motovun, Grožnjan and Oprtalj among them, to the coast and the finish in Umag.

The organiser warns that the course is more demanding than its profile suggests and should not be taken lightly: really technical terrain, a little coasteering, deep forests, town centres, an old railway line and muddy valleys. It is a UTMB World Series 100M race worth 4 Running Stones. With a 17:00 start, the climb over Učka and the descent through Ćićarija fall in the first night.

With up to 45 hours on course and a second night for slower runners, family and friends need a way to know roughly where their runner is without waiting for the next checkpoint. On Livebib the runner shares one link. It opens in a browser with no account or app and shows the position on the course line, the distance covered and a finish estimate for Umag that updates as the race goes. In the forest under Učka or a valley with no signal, the position is carried forward along the course and marked as estimated, never shown as measured.