S1 TransKarst Ultra 55 km
New 2027! New route!
The Transkarst Ultra is for trained trail runners who are looking for something more than a long race: an experience with a strong identity, where perception changes and the idea of crossing becomes the protagonist. It is suitable for those who are comfortable with prolonged fatigue and mental management, for those who enjoy trails that feel like a journey and not just a sum of kilometres. Here the Bora feels like real territory: wider, more intense, more “to be told” when you arrive. The Bora, the wind.
📍 Logistics
🧳 Cloakroom service
🚧 Time barriers, refreshment points and checkpoints
- 🥤🍴 ⏱️🚧 Medeazza, km 9.8 09.45
- 🥤🍴 ⏱️🚧 Sela na Krasu, km 27.4 13.45
- 🥤🍴 ⏱️🚧 San Pelagio, 40.6 km 16.45
- 🥤🍴 ⏱️🚧 Santa Croce, km 46.2 17.45
🎒 Mandatory gear
- Food and water needed to run 15 km
- Personal glass or cup for drinking at refreshment points
- Headlamp
- Trousers and long-sleeved shirt, or a combination that fully covers arms and legs if needed
- Thermal blanket (emergency isothermal sheet)
- Gloves, cap and windbreaker
- Mobile phone
🚌 Shuttles
💶 Entry fees
- € 55 until 1 June
- € 65 until 1 September
- € 80 until 1 November
- € 90 until 15 December
- € 104 until 9 January
🏅 Awards
Not ready to sign up yet?
If you don't want to sign up now, let's stay in touch: we'll update you on the competition's news. At most one email a month.
Route and Altitude Profile
Cancellations and Relief
Can't find the GPS track?
Use our interactive map (and, when available, those of ITRA): they offer a accurate representation to the centimetre of the route, not downloadable but more than enough to draw your reconnaissance laps.
We often publish rings and sections precisely so that you can test the track yourself before the event.
To avoid inconsistencies and ensure that everyone uses the latest version, the official GPX track is only released once, in the week before the race. In the past, many people would download a track many months in advance and then no longer follow the updates: with any works, detours or temporarily impracticable passages, they risked using a file that was not aligned with the balisage. That is why today we only distribute the GPX close to the event.
In the meantime, we recommend:
- display previous years' tracks online, useful for training and surveys.
- consult the interactive map to plan reconnaissance;
- check our Facebook page and articles on the website for updates and reconnaissance tours;
CAI trail network
This course follows the CAI trails of the Karst
The race alternates trails from the CAI FVG registry — Sector 0, Karst — with connecting sections of its own, marked by the organisation.
- CAI 001
- CAI 001a · Sentiero del Mitreo
- CAI 033
- CAI 003a
- CAI 003 · Alta Via del Carso
- CAI 075
- CAI 079 · Abramo Schmid
- CAI 032
- CAI 010
- CAI 035
- CAI 023 · Tiziana Weiss
The route
The sea behind, the Karst in front, Slovenia beyond the Ermada. The S1 TransKarst Ultra starts from the White Cliffs of PortoPiccolo, stretches along the Sentiero Rilke between sky and sea and, from Duino, heads for the plateau.
After Medeazza the real race begins: the long branch towards Jamiano, the landscape of trenches and caves around Hill 208, the border path up to the Kremenjak and the descent into the Slovenian Karst towards Sela na Krasu. It is a crossing, not a loop — and that is exactly what gives it its name.
The way back is a long return to the sea: Precenico, San Pelagio, the Lupinc Park, Santa Croce and the Costa dei Barbari.
Who is this race for
The S1 TransKarst Ultra is for trained trail runners seeking something more than a long race: an experience with a strong identity, where the idea of traversal takes centre stage — a true journey through the Slovenian Karst, not a simple accumulation of kilometres. It is suitable for those who are comfortable with prolonged fatigue and mental management, for those who love routes that feel like a journey.
Medical certificate. Mandatory for competitive activities (athletics, cross-country skiing, triathlon, cycling, or swimming). Exemptions apply to competitors who are not Italian citizens and are not part of an Italian sports club recognised by CONI.
The right rhythm. At a sustained walking pace (around 5 km/h), the 55 km can be covered in approximately 11 hours, with room to spare within the maximum time of 13 hours. Fast hiking is compatible with completion, but the intermediate time barrier points remain binding: they do not allow for prolonged stops outside of the refreshment stations.
Dogs. Not allowed: the S1 TransKarst Ultra is a competitive/racing event.
Sister races — the 49-61 km band. Regarding physical commitment, the S1 TransKarst Ultra belongs to the 49-61 km bracket of the group's events, alongside the Sardon Ultra (49 km) on sardon.run and the Montasio (55 km) by Alpe Adria Ultra Trail, Summer edition. No 1:1 pairings are offered, but the entire bracket is presented as equally challenging alternatives.
Do you want to train on the S1 TransKarst Ultra trails even outside of race weekend? The guide Trail Running in Trieste collects paths in the Karst region that are accessible all year round.
In Trieste, you never know.
One year in short sleeves drinking beer by the sea after the race. The next year wrapped up to the teeth. The weather changes, the fun remains. Look at the statistics of 10 editions and decide at the last moment how to dress.
Gallery
PortoPiccolo - Bora Village
Start and finish of all races. The Bora Village in PortoPiccolo is the base of the event: a completely covered and heated facility overlooking the Gulf of Trieste, where you will find everything you need before, during and after the race.
A single location for bibs, expo, showers, catering and prize-giving - no trips, no dispersal. You arrive, you run, you celebrate.
Accommodation
Apartment or hotel: book independently or directly from your runner profile. At La Corsa della Bora you can share an apartment with other runners - we take care of matching roommates.
PortoPiccolo and Sistiana offer solutions within walking distance. Trieste is a 20-minute bus ride away.
Shuttles
Dedicated shuttles both to and from Trieste Central Station to Bora Village and vice versa. Each distance has its own timetable - check the page for your race.
Bora Village is also on the regular airport-Trieste bus line: you can reach it by public transport without a shuttle bus.
Arriving in Trieste
Bora Village is in a strategic location:Two minutes from the motorway exit, 15 minutes from Trieste Central Station, 20 minutes from Friuli Venezia Giulia Airport.
By car, train, bus or plane - Trieste is closer than you think. From Ljubljana it is 90 minutes, from Venice less than two hours.
PortoPiccolo, Sistiana - Duino-Aurisina (TS) - 2 min from the A4 motorway - 45.7633° N, 13.6350° E
🩺 Medical certificate: competitive and non-competitive
✅ Without medical certificate
🚧 Only with medical certificate
- NOT an Italian citizen and
- NOT a member of an Italian sports club recognised by CONI