Lake Bled 80 course

Source: The distance and the ascent are from the race organiser (julianalps.utmb.world). We calculate the descent from the organiser ascent and the elevation difference between the start and the finish. The elevation profile and the gradient data come from a 25 m digital elevation model (EU-DEM). All elevations are to the nearest 10 m (50 ft).

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About the course

The Lake Bled 80 is a c.48 mi78 km point-to-point ultramarathon in north-west Slovenia, part of the Julian Alps Trail Run by UTMB. It starts on the shores of Lake Bled and makes its way to a long climb to the summit of Stol, the course high point at c.7,100 ft2,170 m. It then follows the Karawanks ridge along the Austrian border for close to 19 mi30 km, via Golica, before dropping into the Upper Sava Valley. A final climb over Srednji vrh, with views across the Julian Alps, leads to the finish in the alpine resort of Kranjska Gora.

The course has 12,700 ft3,870 m of elevation gain, and averages around 3,600 ft1,090 m above sea level. It is mostly on trail, combining forest paths, gorge trails and long stretches of exposed high-mountain ridgeline.

The Lake Bled 80 course climbs around 12,700 ft3,870 m over its distance and finishes around 1,100 ft330 m higher than it starts. It is two-thirds the length of the Lavaredo Ultra Trail, but its gain per km is almost identical. That makes it a steep course by European standards, with more concentrated climbing than the Montane Lakeland 100, though less than UTMB.

Ascent & descent analysis

In mid-September, the valleys around Bled and Kranjska Gora are usually mild, with daytime temperatures typically around 20°C68°F. On the high Karawanks ridge conditions are far colder, with temperatures around Stol often below 10°C50°F and sometimes dropping below freezing.

Rain is likely, and early autumn in the Alps can bring heavy downpours. The exposed ridgeline is especially vulnerable to wind, low cloud and sudden changes in the weather.

The weather data has been obtained using the Open-Meteo historical weather API.

Conditions at the start line

The pictograms below show the conditions at the start of the course on the race date in each of the last five years.

Temperature range on course

Temperatures experienced on course are impacted by elevation. The graph below shows the temperature range for the five most recent events at different parts of the course.

Daylight hours

The graph below shows the daylight hours on the day of the 2026 edition (19 September), in local time.

The Lake Bled 80 starts beside the lake at roughly 1,550 ft480 m and reaches a high point of around 7,100 ft2,170 m on Stol before finishing in Kranjska Gora at around 2,650 ft810 m. The altitude is moderate throughout and unlikely to be a major limiting factor for most runners, although the long, exposed ridge section keeps them above 4,900 ft1,500 m for an extended stretch.