Julian Alps Trail Run by UTMB Training Plan & Preparation

Course & Elevation

The 124-kilometre ultra of the Julian Alps begins at 21:00 on Friday night in the medieval town of Radovljica and runs point-to-point across the Julian Alps to the finish in Kranjska Gora. Lake Bled sits early on the route before the terrain turns serious: only around twelve percent of the course is flat, while more than forty percent falls into steep climbing and steep descending. The elevation adds up to nearly 5,900 metres, and although the finish sits net barely 300 metres above the start, the whole day is relentless up and down.

A first climb comes as early as kilometre 10 (3.1 km, 12 percent average), followed by further ramps around kilometres 30 and 34. After a flatter valley stretch the core of the course begins: between kilometres 61 and 76 three category-2 climbs stack back to back (16.5, 20.5 and just under 19 percent on average, with pitches up to 45 percent), rising to the high point around 2,000 metres on the Karawanks ridge over Stol, Golica and Klek.

A rolling high traverse follows, with a short, brutal wall at kilometre 88 (1.35 km, 23 percent average, up to 50 percent). Only then does the route drop into the valley, with one last short climb at kilometre 116 before the finish.

Pacing Strategy

Over 124 kilometres and almost 5,900 metres of climbing, energy management across many hours decides the race, not running speed. Take the first three climbs at kilometre 10, 30 and 34 well below your ceiling — they come early and tempt you to overreach, though the race is settled much later. The heart of the course is the block between kilometre 61 and 76: three steep climbs back to back (averaging 16.5, 20.5 and 18.9 percent, with ramps to 45 percent) leading to the high point at around 2,000 metres.

Arrive there with full legs and you make the difference; burn out beforehand and you fall apart. A long descent follows the summit — spare your quads, because at kilometre 88 a short, brutal 23-percent ramp waits for tired legs. Eat and drink consistently from the start; the classic trap is running the early, rideable climbs and leaving nothing for the steep steps of the second half and the technical descents.

12-Week Preparation

As an age-group athlete, plan for roughly 20 to 30 hours on the course; the field moves within a 32-hour time limit. This is not running in the usual sense: with only around twelve percent flat ground and more than forty percent steep terrain, long aerobic hiking uphill and technical descending trade off constantly, and a steady running rhythm rarely settles in.

The decisive stretch is the block between kilometres 61 and 76: three steep climbs in a row (up to 20 percent on average, pitches to 45 percent) up onto the Karawanks ridge, tackled with 60 kilometres already in the legs and in the middle of the night. The short wall at kilometre 88 (up to 50 percent) and the long descent into the valley that follows demand sure footing and quads that hold up on tired legs.

Preparation should therefore centre on long mountain days on back-to-back weekends, with plenty of vertical and deliberate power-hiking on steep ramps, poles included. Train descents specifically under fatigue so you can absorb the eccentric load of the long downhills. Because the race starts in the evening and the key climbs fall into the night, headlamp night runs, confident movement on technical ground and a fuelling strategy that survives many hours all belong in the plan.