Šmarna gora race
About race
It all started in 1979. These were the years of the birth of mass sports and recreational events. Only a few of the older ones do not remember the Trnovo marathon, the Bloke runs and the Run in Duplje and Cerklje, and the cycling marathons, of which only Franja and Vršič are still alive.
Šmarna gora’s trails served as a training ground for daily fitness. There were various stories circulating among us in the style: “Do you know Janez-this-pa-this? he went, but he was as fast as anyone! ” Etc.
In such circumstances, the road to the race to Šmarna gora was not long. The idea matured in the autumn of 79. We will not follow the usual route, it was quickly concluded, and a little-visited circular route around Šmarna gora was offered.
We didn’t complicate things around the organization – that there was only hot tea on top, a souvenir for everyone and medals for the fastest. For the first dozen years, Running was a pleasant local event.
Just before independence in 91, the first Šmarna gora Record was organized with a more extensive organizational scheme. Excellent organization was the reason for the national championship in mountain running in 92.
The race was followed by events that led to the change of leadership of the Mountain Running Association at the Athletic Association of Slovenia in the autumn of 1992. The new management prepared an organizational scheme for the development of mountain running in Slovenia, with the Šmarna gora race playing an important role.
The annual ranking of the Run in the Slovenian Cup gives the Run a special position during domestic events; that a good voice reaches the ninth village is confirmed by a strong international participation, which is stronger year by year.
With its inclusion in the International Mountain Running Federation’s competition calendar in the late 1990s, the Run gained a solid foothold in international recognition, culminating in its quarter-century anniversary in 2004 with the WMRA Grand Prix final and the prestigious IAAF permit. All subsequent years Running remains part of the iron repertoire of the International Mountain Running Federation. In 2012, it was agreed that the final of the Grand Prix would be the Turkish Bursa, which had previously hosted the European Championships and the World Cup, but was canceled just before the performance. By accepting the old role, Šmarna gora has just saved the reputation of the Grand Prix. Two years later, in 2014, the international federation brought the title of the cycle closer to other sports and changed the “WMRA Grand Prix” into the “Mountain Running Word Cup”, the “World Cup” in our opinion. In 2013, the organizers faced the personal hardship of one of the best runners of recent times, Eritrean Azeira Teklaya, and helped him save his family with a charity campaign during the days of the event.
“IAAF Permit”
International association of athletics federations
The International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF) grants the status of “IAAF Permit” to certain athletic events or organizers until 2001. The certificate or status is valid for a one-off performance, and can only be received by established athletic events with a long tradition and appropriate organization and participation of top athletes. The Šmarna gora race was the first athletic event in Slovenia to succeed in obtaining this prestigious permit in 2004; Tek has the status of “IAAF Permit” for all subsequent years, is a member of the elite Grand Prix and later the World Cup. The World Athletics Federation officially allows the use of its logo and thus ensures the appropriate level of the event, thus showing great confidence to the organizer. Running is also the only athletic event in Slovenia about which the IAAF publishes an extensive announcement and report on its website every year.
What is the difference between “Šmarna gora race” and “Record of Šmarna gora”?
The record of Šmarna gora race takes place on the same terrains as the Šmarna gora race, but it has completely different roots: On February 1, 1995, one of us, friends of Šmarna gora, members of the Šmarnogorska naveza, had a fatal accident in the mountains; The “record” is dedicated to Tom, who strengthened his body and spirit on the slopes behind the home house.