Istria 69K

Istria 69K

The 69K is the hill-town race. From Buzet it passes Butoniga lake and then strings together Motovun, Oprtalj, Završje and Grožnjan before running down to the city of Umag. The organiser lists strenuous climbs, steep slopes, creek crossings, and muddy and rocky ground, with long stretches of softer surface between the ever-present Istrian rock.

The race stats give 69.6 km and 2,400 m of climbing. The description on the same page gives +2,331 m. It is a UTMB World Series 50K race worth 2 Running Stones, and the maximum time is 15 hours, so the course closes at midnight. The 110K started from the same town two hours earlier, and the 42K joins the trail at Motovun at noon.

For people following from home, the interesting part is the run of hill towns in the middle: each one is a climb up and a drop off again. On Livebib the runner shares one link. Family and friends open it in a browser, no account and no app, and see the position on the course line, the distance covered and a finish estimate for Umag that updates as the race goes. In a valley without signal the position is carried forward along the course and marked as estimated rather than freezing.