On July 7, 2024, Martinské hole welcomed 130 competitors from Slovakia and abroad. The first year of running uphill – Vertikal Martinky was a real running challenge for everyone. The route with a total length of 4260 meters and an elevation of 944 meters has an average gradient of 22.15%, while the steepest section reaches up to 41% at a distance of one kilometer.
The Fatra Outdoor Team association together with the Winter Park Martinky resort and other partners are behind the vertikal run on Martinky. After its zero year in 2023, the run was included in the Slovak skyrunning “Slovak Skyrunning Association” race with the possibility of gaining points for the world ITRA (International Trail Running Association), thanks to which it attracted twice as many participants. Among the 130 registered, there were also eighteen child participants who started the run at Nova Ponorka and continued to the SVAH buffet or to the ROTUNDA according to the category.
The track record was set by Jozef Hlavčo (1985), who conquered the vertical in 00:36:12, which the organizers themselves consider an incredible performance considering the parameters of the route. He was followed by Jakub Šiarnik (1994) with a time of 00:39:12, Ján Ďurmek (1978) was third with a time of 00:40:00.
Among the women, Rebeka Cully (1995) finished first with a time of 00:47:24, followed by Eszter Hortobágyiová (1994) with a time of 00:50:01. The third woman in absolute order was Eszter Aliz Ösi (1997) with a time of 00:51:00.
The organization team took care of the running of the race, which sufficiently prepared and cleaned the entire length of the route. Visitors to Martinské hóle and recreational runners can still use it, the vertical segment is also permanently available in the STRAVA application. The Vertikal Martinky sports event was realized with the financial support of the city of Martin.
