STA, 6 May 2022 - The Ultra Trail Vipava Valley (UTVV) endurance running event is staring in Ajdovščina today. This year, a record 1,400 runners from 32 countries have registered, making UTVV I Feel Slovenia the leading trail running event in the country. The participants will be in this picturesque valley in south-western Slovenia until Sunday.
Six distances are available to the runners - the Emperor route is 170 kilometres long and takes the athletes across 7,700 vertical metres, the Centurion features 107 kilometres and 5,500 vertical metres, while runners can also choose between 54, 30 and 13 km routes.
The competitors' escorts and hikers will meanwhile be able to take things slowly on an eight-kilometre-long Obelix Hike and Wine tour on Sunday.
The longest route is expected to take the runners around 46 hours. They will start in the town of Ajdovščina, with the route taking them through the Trnovo Plateau to Nova Gorica and Gorizia, along the southern slopes of the Vipava Valley to Podnanos, where they will climb Mt. Nanos and then head back to the town of Vipava.
By participating in the ultra-marathon, the neighbouring municipalities of Nova Gorica and the Italy's Gorizia will mark the start of preparations for the European Capital of Culture, which they will host jointly in 2025.
The first Ultra Trail Vipava Valley event was held in 2015, when 415 runners from five countries took part. Four years later, 1,050 runners from 30 countries registered for the event, and now the number is expected to exceed 1,400.
UTVV Slovenia is also part of the Alpe Adria Trail Cup running league and is one of nine major running events in Central Europe.
