Istria 100 by UTMB

Istria 100 is Croatia's stop on the UTMB World Series, a spring trail running weekend that has grown since 2013 into a gathering of more than 3,000 runners from around the world. All races are point to point and converge on Umag on the west coast, so runners are bussed out to their starts and run back across the peninsula, earning Running Stones for the UTMB Mont-Blanc races along the way.

The longest race leaves from the old town square of Labin, the hilltop town above Rabac first recorded as Albona in the third century, while the others start in Buzet, the truffle town above the Mirna valley near the Slovenian border, in Motovun and in Grožnjan. The organisers describe courses that throw in every side of Istria: technical ground, a little coasteering, deep forests, streams and canyons, muddy hollows and the stone lanes of medieval towns.

Entry covers aid stations, timing, drop bags, showers and a massage at the sports centre after the finish and a hot meal, and the weekend closes with the awards ceremony at the finish line.