Ultra Kras 55 2025 (55km / 2400m+), Turňa nad Bodvou, 26.4.2025

Škrapy, a church, a gorge and other ultra beauties of the Ultra Karst

Late April rolled in and I decided to test if I can still run — six months after my last race (BBU100+), and now I'm about to find out if I can still write 😅 I'm getting pretty good at reels already 😁 so let's see if finger placement and some coherent thoughts are still present too.

I managed to trade a ticket for UK55 at the Slovak Ultra Trail closing party in a raffle with Lenka Kluska, in exchange for a ticket to BBU100+ 2025 — to our mutual satisfaction. Thank you, Leni — and yes, you’re welcome too 😊 Huge thanks to Slovak Ultra Trail 💖. In the meantime, I've actually been training for real with a real coach - the wild dream challenges (and unfinished business) I’ve lined up for 2025 aren't something I can just YOLO through with random online plans or my own “creative flair.”

On Friday afternoon, there I was drivng to Turňa in heavy rain, the windshield wiper working like crazy trying to hypnotize me. Belo is diligently watering everything to prevent drought. After all, those limestone škrapy rocks need to be thoroughly greased, right? Hypnotized by the wiper and the downpour, I arrive in Turňa for the check-in, and it’s the meetups with fellow runners, volunteers, and pancakes (let's quickly forget that fried salmon with sesame 🙈) that bring me back to life. At the bar, Julka and I throw a contest in complimenting each other - and we both won ex aequo!

The forecast for Saturday is: cloudy and cold (for my standards) until about 2 PM and a very strong wind all day. The strong wind howled all night, waking me up constantly. Oh well… sleep-deprived and surrendered to fate, I prepare my gear in the morning and show up at the start. It's cold (for my standards) and drizzling. The crowd of runners and the atmosphere under the start arch is gradually building up. We receive a quick tracker user tutorial, the usual pre-race small talk and photo shoots are underway when suddenly — 3 - 2 - 1 - START! We’re off, heading into this beautifully ultra adventure.

As a warm-up and challenge number one, we face the legendary limestone rocks (škrapy), which are rumored to chew up trekking poles and ankles. I decide to keep both, poles and ankles, tucked away for now. It’s supposed to last about 3 km. The drizzle has stopped, the very strong wind is blowing, and patches of blue sky are starting to appear. I count each step carefully —but hey, it’s not as bad as I expected, Belo! Well, that’s just the uphill — what about the downhill back to the finish with legs smashed after 50 km? Best not to think about it.

Once we hit the plateau, it’s incredibly beautiful there — time to spin around and take photos of the surrounding beauty and views into the Zádiel Gorge. I finally unleash my ankles and enjoy a nice short descent to the first aid station and checkpoint Háj (km 7). After a short snack I bust out my poles too and head up a short but steep climb to Jasovská planina. Before us unfold wide-open meadows, literally adorned (as another blog put it) with trees and occasional rocky outcrops like jewels. It’s absolutely stunning😍

All the following pics taken by Mario Kastanek:

The sky is now almost completely clear, the sun is shining, and everything is glowing with rich spring colors. Here I catch up with Mário K. — and with that very strong wind pushing against us with full force, literally blowing us backward. But we don’t give up — we keep running 💪 even if it feels like we’re running in place. In a pleasant conversation, the section flies by, and before I know it, we reach K2 Drienovské kúpele (km 17). The vibe here is top-notch, super lively (Hi Tina, Peťo, Majo, Rado, Janko!). I replenish my solid, liquid, and cosmic energy supplies and move on. A short climb through the forest spits us out on another picturesque meadow by the Plant Church of St. Ladislav. Juraj is already lurking here with his camera. I snap a photo of him too, just to prove he wasn’t slacking and took stunning pictures of all the runners.

Next up: long, winding, cycle path / forest trail, including a small detour (😡🤬) and our first selfie-checkpoint at Sedlo Železná brána (km 27), nestled in one of the beautiful fairy-tale karst meadows. I do my best and try jogging even on the annoyingly slanted flats to get this over with as soon as possible. The strong wind has mellowed into a pleasantly refreshing breeze. K3 Hačava (29.km) is buzzing — I meet&greet more familiar faces (hi, Paťo), and volunteers are treating us like royalty. Gotta fuel up well — the next aid station is 16 long undulating kilometers away. The first steep climb right after Hačava is steep, roof-like, but still not quite it, Belo! At the top, let's not forget to take a self-check selfie (Sedlo Krížna poľana – km 30), and off I go into the next stretch, which literally feels like the Javornícka 100 (as another blog noted). It’s gorgeous here — I could wander around for days. Then I remember that I actually am wandering here all day😅 and it makes me feel much better.

Around km 37 I hit a mild crisis, which I try to actively and consciously shake off. My watch says over 40 km, but the last self-checkpoint — Bodovka, which should be at km 38 — is nowhere in sight. But let's not panic — I’ve learned that a 2–3 km discrepancy here and there means nothing on routes and distances like this. Eventually, it showed up—I struck my best “Hide the Pain Harold” pose for the selfie....

Find seven differences:

...and breeze through the descent to the Zádielska chata like it's a piece of cake — at least it felt that way. Maybe the gel kicked in, or maybe it was the thought of the upcoming aid station — either way, my mood does a full 180 and I arrive at K4 Zádielska chata (km 46) in pretty high spirits. Someone yells “Petra!” at me in French, and who else would it be but Jérôme, with whom I’ve spent years pondering the deep philosophical question (read in French accent): “Why do we run?” We've found a thousand answers and none at all, and we keep running because somewhere out there, the truth might be hiding behind the next checkpoint.

I refuel all the energy available and head into the Zádielska Gorge. The legends and stories about this descent promise something special — and it didn't dissappoint. The gorge is a perfect three-ish kilometers long, with plenty to look at — rocks, cliffs, a roaring stream. On this pleasant spring day, many hikers, climbers, families with kids, strollers and dogs are out enjoying what feels like a nearly summer Saturday 😀.

This Saturday chill is broken by one last steep climb — time to whip out the poles again for the final big ascent up to the Zádiel Plateau. I’m loving it — a surge of energy hits me, I catch my 38th breath and fly up. Or at least, that’s how it feels. From an outside perspective of an independent observer it might look more like crawling, but hey, I’m enjoying it, I feel great 😃. About halfway up, an independent observer JuroKo is back with his camera, capturing epic shots of both the flying and crawling runners. You can check out his gallery here.

Only a few kilometers left to the finish, back over the limestone škrapy rocks. Again 😂 I stash away the poles and ankles and let's get it done. I better take it slow — saving a few minutes isn’t worth an injury. It at least allows me to take in the views of Turniansky Castle, the pond and the magical scenery in the distance. I pass a few runners, a few pass me, and I cross the finish line in fairly intact shape after 8 hours and 23 minutes, in 112th place overall and 12th woman. Long time no see this rush of Endorphins 😀. I get a towel and a diploma in exchange for my tracker and self-check selfies, receive congratulations, and jokingly complain the course wasn’t Beloid enough. Well, if I want to satisfy my perverted desires, I should probably sign up for a Východníarska-type debauchery again. 😂

Thank you to Cassovia Trail Runners, Slovak Ultra Trail, Belo for top-notch organization, and volunteers for their high-level care and pampering, for an Ultra Beautiful day. You were all amazing everywhere. Thank you for guiding us through the beauties of this stunning Karst region, for letting me explore a new, magical part of the East, “where there’s nothing.” But truly — there’s everything.