Ribn'ca Trail

The Ribn'ca Trail is run in Ribnica, a small town in southern Slovenia set in a valley between the Mala gora and Velika gora ranges. First held in 2019 and organised by Klub ponosnih posameznikov, a local sports association active since 2017, the race takes place on a Saturday around the turn of August and September and now runs under the "hosted by I feel Slovenia" banner. Start and finish are in the courtyard of Ribnica Castle, right in the centre of town.

There are three courses, each named with a word from the local Ribnica dialect. Ribež'n, the long loop of about 40 km with 1,900 m of climbing, starts at 8:00 and has four aid stations (Sveta Ana, Špičnik, Grmada and Prdec) plus checkpoints at Bašelj, the Stene Svete Ane cliffs and Zapuže, with an 8-hour time limit. Čebular'ca, about 26 km and 1,200 m of ascent, sets off at 9:00 with two aid stations and 6 hours to reach the finish. Kuhavn'ca, the introductory course of about 13 km and 600 m of climbing, starts at 10:00 with one aid station and a 4-hour cut-off. Each race is capped at 200 runners, and the 40 km and 26 km courses carry ITRA points.

The organisers describe their trail as deceptively easy: on the wooded ridges of Mala gora the paths sometimes disappear under fallen leaves and call for care, before opening onto wide gravel tracks where the stride can lengthen. The route mostly follows mountain paths, forest tracks and gravel roads, with a few off-trail sections and very little tarmac, limited to village crossings and main roads. The 13 km suits runners new to trail running, while the 40 km is aimed at those used to stringing climbs together over several hours.

From the high ground the view drops into the Ribnica valley and reaches as far as Snežnik and the Nanos plateau; from the Stene ridge it stretches to the peaks of Upper Carniola on one side and the rolling Gorjanci hills on the other. Ribnica is known throughout Slovenia for its tradition of wooden household goods, and the children's race, the Krošnjarčkov tek over 300 and 600 metres, pays tribute to the krošnjarji, the pedlars who carried those wares from village to village.

Bibs are collected at the castle, on presentation of an identity document, the evening before or on race morning. Each distance has a mass start, the course is marked with tape, signs and flags, and volunteers stand at key junctions. Aid stations offer water, sports drinks, fruit, chocolate, and sweet and savoury snacks; a personal cup is compulsory and no litter may be left on the course. The race goes ahead in any weather unless runners' safety is at risk.