Organized by the Sports and Recreation Club PULS from Ližnjan, the 5th round of the Istrian Trekking Cup, Svetica Trek, took place on November 16th. The meeting place was at Monte Madonna in Šišan - Sissano, in a hangar that is slowly but surely becoming the "temple" of Istrian trekking. Almost 300 registered competitors from Croatia, Slovenia, Italy and the UK were divided into 3 categories: LIGHT - 13 km, CHALLENGER – 27 km and the most prestigious 50 km long ULTRA category for the bold and experienced trekkers.
The SRK Puls team prepared a real trekking treat. The competitors of the ultra and challenger categories had to be transferred to the starting line by bus. The Ultra category started against the clock and their start immediately shook the sleepy town of Vodnjan drawing curious glances from random passers-by. Their first task was urban orientation that led them through beautiful old streets and next to old churches to the entrance to the Young Olive Oil Fair. On the course of the race in the direction of Marčana and all the way to Mutvoran, wonderful microlocations of hidden caves, puddles, hunting towers, canals, valleys and, of course, already well known dense unforgiving Istrian macchia were waiting for them. The Budava Canal, its fairytale and somewhat mystical paths, led them in the direction of Nesactium, a city built by the old Histrians and after which Istria was named, while the nearby Cape Cuf hid some other checkpoints. Its cliffs that crash into the sea from a height of 50 meters certainly leave no one indifferent.
An equally attractive race course awaited the competitors in the challenger category. Equipped with compasses and maps, a massive start of more than 100 competitors again shook the town of Vodnjan an scattered them after the urban orientation in almost all directions. Their goal was to find 5 checkpoints in Vodnjan in the shortest time possible, and then 12 checkpoints in a set order that led them to Monte Madonna. Luckily, almost all of the competitors made it to Monte Madonna.
The Light category started at Monte Madonna, in the Temple of Istrian trekking at noon. There awaited a 13 kilometers long, orienteering lightweight course along which the competitors had to collect 6 checkpoints and reach the finish line in less than an hour.
Race director Denis Mirkovic had the following to say:
"Looking at all the satisfied faces of the competitors entering the finish line, I got the impression that we had made a good race again. We knew beforehand that there was a lot of work ahead of us, especially on the course. According to exit polls and from talking to a few experienced trekkers, it turned out that the maps (which is very important for the orienteering race) were almost perfect. SRK Puls is, in organizational terms, setting new standards and again we raised the bar very high.
I take the opportunity to thank the host town of Vodnjan - Dignano, the Vodnjan Tourist Board who took us in like we were family, the "Olive Oil Days" fair, Chiavalon Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil Vodnjan, the Ližnjan - Lisignano Tourist Board, the Municipality of Ližnjan - Lisignano, Central Government Office for Sport and of course our longtime loyal partners Sportbox, Enduro bike & staff, Outdoors magazine, Istra trailsu, Ara electronic."
The SRK Puls team prepared a real trekking treat. The competitors of the ultra and challenger categories had to be transferred to the starting line by bus. The Ultra category started against the clock and their start immediately shook the sleepy town of Vodnjan drawing curious glances from random passers-by. Their first task was urban orientation that led them through beautiful old streets and next to old churches to the entrance to the Young Olive Oil Fair. On the course of the race in the direction of Marčana and all the way to Mutvoran, wonderful microlocations of hidden caves, puddles, hunting towers, canals, valleys and, of course, already well known dense unforgiving Istrian macchia were waiting for them. The Budava Canal, its fairytale and somewhat mystical paths, led them in the direction of Nesactium, a city built by the old Histrians and after which Istria was named, while the nearby Cape Cuf hid some other checkpoints. Its cliffs that crash into the sea from a height of 50 meters certainly leave no one indifferent.
An equally attractive race course awaited the competitors in the challenger category. Equipped with compasses and maps, a massive start of more than 100 competitors again shook the town of Vodnjan an scattered them after the urban orientation in almost all directions. Their goal was to find 5 checkpoints in Vodnjan in the shortest time possible, and then 12 checkpoints in a set order that led them to Monte Madonna. Luckily, almost all of the competitors made it to Monte Madonna.
The Light category started at Monte Madonna, in the Temple of Istrian trekking at noon. There awaited a 13 kilometers long, orienteering lightweight course along which the competitors had to collect 6 checkpoints and reach the finish line in less than an hour.
Race director Denis Mirkovic had the following to say:
"Looking at all the satisfied faces of the competitors entering the finish line, I got the impression that we had made a good race again. We knew beforehand that there was a lot of work ahead of us, especially on the course. According to exit polls and from talking to a few experienced trekkers, it turned out that the maps (which is very important for the orienteering race) were almost perfect. SRK Puls is, in organizational terms, setting new standards and again we raised the bar very high.
I take the opportunity to thank the host town of Vodnjan - Dignano, the Vodnjan Tourist Board who took us in like we were family, the "Olive Oil Days" fair, Chiavalon Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil Vodnjan, the Ližnjan - Lisignano Tourist Board, the Municipality of Ližnjan - Lisignano, Central Government Office for Sport and of course our longtime loyal partners Sportbox, Enduro bike & staff, Outdoors magazine, Istra trailsu, Ara electronic."
OFFICIAL RESULTS:
Ultra W
1. Tamara Ravnak
2. Dorotea Kutleša
3. Renata Batur
Ultra M
1. Jure Zmrzlikar
2. Tomaž Cankar
3. Mauricio Krizmanić
Ultra W
1. Tamara Ravnak
2. Dorotea Kutleša
3. Renata Batur
Ultra M
1. Jure Zmrzlikar
2. Tomaž Cankar
3. Mauricio Krizmanić
Challenger W
1. Meta Dagarin
2. Ana Sandrić
3. Mateja Krzišnik
Challenger M
1. Dražen Gadžić
2. Luka Filetin
3. Igor Rudan
1. Meta Dagarin
2. Ana Sandrić
3. Mateja Krzišnik
Challenger M
1. Dražen Gadžić
2. Luka Filetin
3. Igor Rudan
Light W
1. Iva Rogulj Hrelja
2. Barbara Spremo Hodžić
3. Mihaela Kaligari Hek
Light M
1. Matjaž Štafnel
2. Alan Alagić
3. Ivan Peruško
1. Iva Rogulj Hrelja
2. Barbara Spremo Hodžić
3. Mihaela Kaligari Hek
Light M
1. Matjaž Štafnel
2. Alan Alagić
3. Ivan Peruško
"Hi there. I just wanted to congratulate everyone who was involved in organising the Svetica trek races! It was a fantastic day and one of the best races I have been to. Excellent organising, well planned routes and super friendly people well done all! I can’t wait to come back to Istria and run some more of your races. Thank you again."
"You can feel that you went that extra mile in organizing everything and we all appreciate that. Hot coffee on site, vegetarian menus that are not just tomato sauce, a wine voucher, a video wall .. Looks pretty good!"
"Your races, impeccable organization, at the highest level ... I mean, can it be better? You think of every little detail. From the registration itself which was quick to the pre-race amenities (great coffee), music, a video wall, good atmosphere. The race itself had a perfect course (ok, we had some mistakes, but we made them ourselves), super food (the vegetarian menu was excellent), the beer ... Thank you! "
"Your work and effort can been seen throughout the race ... Throughout the day. Bravo!"
"Praise to the organizer for preparing a great trekking race."
"A race not to be missed! Great organization! Keep it up!"
"You can feel that you went that extra mile in organizing everything and we all appreciate that. Hot coffee on site, vegetarian menus that are not just tomato sauce, a wine voucher, a video wall .. Looks pretty good!"
"Your races, impeccable organization, at the highest level ... I mean, can it be better? You think of every little detail. From the registration itself which was quick to the pre-race amenities (great coffee), music, a video wall, good atmosphere. The race itself had a perfect course (ok, we had some mistakes, but we made them ourselves), super food (the vegetarian menu was excellent), the beer ... Thank you! "
"Your work and effort can been seen throughout the race ... Throughout the day. Bravo!"
"Praise to the organizer for preparing a great trekking race."
"A race not to be missed! Great organization! Keep it up!"
Photo: Julijen Duval
