Having once participated in his the first mountain raceI wanted to find something similar abroad, namely in the "Goverla Race". The best option was the trail races in Polandwhere there is a fairly large selection of such competitions, and it is also much easier and cheaper to get there. However, the year 2020 and the quarantine restrictions that affected almost all European countries put a damper on my plans. So, while looking for an interesting foreign mountain race, I accidentally came across trail league “Golden Trail League” in Croatia, a country where the restrictions were not as severe as in Poland or any other EU country.
“Golden Trail League” consisted of national series from around the world, including France, the United States, Canada, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Mexico, Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Japan, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Slovenia, Hungary, etc. In 2021, Croatia joined the League. The "Golden Trail National Series" in Croatia includes such mountain races as:
- Risnjak Trail - 30 kilometres with an altitude gain of 1733 m
- Ucka Trail - 31 kilometres with an altitude gain of 1520 m
These two mountain races the series takes place in the vicinity of Rijeka, which makes them quite convenient in terms of travel.
To participate in the “Golden Trail National Series” in Croatia, each participant must take part in two races of the series. After each race, the top 30 participants receive the corresponding points (1st place - 100 points, 30th - 2 points). The overall ranking of the "Golden Trail National Series" in Croatia is based on the sum of the points received by the participant for the two races. However, if the participants have an equal number of points, the one who spent less time overcoming two mountain races will be the best.
In addition, the first three places of the "Golden Trail National Series", both among men and women, receive a cash prize and a "Golden Pass", which allows them to take part in “Golden Trail Championship”.
I got acquainted with this series by chance when I came across a trail series called “Kvarner Trails Series” in Croatia. It includes 4 mountain races including “Risnjak Trail” and “Ucka Trail”. Since these two running events are part of the "Golden Trail National Series" in Croatia, I was able to run a foreign mountain race and take part in the "Golden Trail National Series" at the same time.
