Durmitor National Park hosted the thrilling Coinis Durmitor Trail Run on July 13, attracting around 400 runners from across Europe. Participants competed in three categories, conquering challenging 20-kilometer, 10-kilometer, and 5-kilometer trails through the breathtaking yet rugged landscapes of Durmitor Mountain in Montenegro. Combined with an unusual heat, these trails put runners’ agility and stamina to a serious test. The striking beauty of Durmitor’s landscapes created a stunning yet demanding setting, ensuring the memories of this race would be cherished for years. Coinis Durmitor Trail Run is one of those events that brought together many of my favorite aspects of an outdoor event. Therefore, I really enjoyed doing it. Let’s start with a spectacular location and environment with a backdrop that resembles vintage postcards because that is exactly what Durmitor looks like. People oftentimes say that Durmitor is a magical mountain because its shape changes in front of your eyes based on the weather conditions and sun. When you put motion and athletes in such an environment, you get the perfect combo for photo shooting because every movement is unique and amazing.
Also, I enjoy being in the mountains surrounded by incredibly beautiful and wild nature, mountain peaks, lakes, and flowers, which is the scenery I had during this event. Also, this is the first trail run in Durmitor, and all aspects of the event were at the highest possible level. With races like this one, as is the case with many projects that I work on, planning is the most important thing. If you fail in planning, there is a huge possibility that you will miss something. Given that I also did a pre-shoot for the Durmitor Trail run, we had everything planned even several weeks prior to the event. The only thing that surprised us was the incredibly high temperature, which is not typical for this part of Montenegro, but we managed. I spent a lot of time in Montenegro, so I know Žabljak and Durmitor like the back of my hand, and that was my biggest advantage in this race. Many locations that runners passed through were in my book Montenegro From a Different Perspective, in which I presented 200 known, less known, and completely unknown locations in this country.
The race started at 6.30 AM under the watchful gaze of the “mountain eyes” of the Black Lake, which lies at a height of 1416 meters above sea level. The fresh mountain morning and the almost fairy-tale atmosphere at the bottom of the mighty peaks of Durmitor contributed to an excellent atmosphere among the competitors who were impatiently waiting to start the race. The 20-kilometer race runners started first and were followed by competitors who ran 10-kilometer races and then 5-kilometer race competitors. Runners who dared to run a race of 20 kilometers had quite a heroic challenge in front of them. The route led them through dense pine forests, steep uphills and slippery rocky slopes, and unbelievably beautiful Durmitor landscapes such as five lakes – Big and Small Black Lake, and lakes called Zminje, Jablan, and Barno. In front of them was 1009 meters of vertical climb up to the ridges of the Crvena Greda peak. This trail tested their endurance and determination to the limits. Being able to complete this run required both physical and mental strength, but also a strategy.
Runners had to be focused to the highest possible level and watch their every step because one wrong step could lead them down the abyss. Visibly exhausted, competitors in all categories crossed the finish line with a big smile because they pushed their limits. The audience welcomed them with cheers and applause. The finish line was also at the Black Lake, which was bathed in the sun at that point of the day with its distinctive turquoise color. Therefore, the ambiance in which runners arrived was completely different from the one they started that morning. In the 20-kilometer race, we witnessed an amazing head-to-head battle between Ivan Bubnov and Đuro Borbelj. In the end, Bubnov crossed the finish line just a few seconds before Borbelj, with the timing of 2 hours, 7 minutes, and 48 seconds. In the female category, the fastest runner was Varvara Shikanova.
A slightly easier track was in front of the competitors, who ran 10 kilometers around three lakes with a climb of 259 meters. The 5-kilometer runners had a climb of 120 meters and a relatively easy route that led around the Black Lake. They enjoyed the beautiful scenery and tested their physical fitness on that short but challenging feat. Even the youngest runners were not left out, so a race for children at 300 and 500 meters was held on the shore of the Black Lake, in which several dozen children participated.
The Coinis Durmitor Trail Run also had a charity aspect in cooperation with the NGO Fenix—the Association of Parents of Children with Cancer. For every kilometer run, one euro is donated to the treatment of children suffering from cancer. Since athletes run 4,280 kilometers, 4,280 euros were donated, and Coinis, as the general sponsor of the race, topped that amount up to 8,000 euros.
Even with its first edition, the Coinis Durmitor Trail run exceeded all expectations of the organizers and the competitors, who praised the impeccable organization. All this hints that this race will become a recognizable brand in the coming years that will put Durmitor and Žabljak on the world map of trail races.