Ještěd Skyrace 2026

The length 22.55 km, elevation gain 1422 m. Endless climbs that burn your legs and steal your breath. And just when you reach the top, on the edge of your strength, you realize… you’ll have do it all over again and again before you reach the finish line.

The descents? Even worse. Giant rocks, slippery roots, mud, even snow — every step hurts, every step matters. Yet we keep going. Because it’s not only about pain. It’s about the atmosphere. Smiles at the start, silent understanding on the course, encouragement from strangers who feel like teammates. It almost looks like a fun mountain party… while everyone is fighting their own battle.

And at the finish — pure euphoria, along with exhaustion, relief, pride. Pain that stays for days.

And still… we come back every year.

This year Erik ran with Amiga (time 3:37), I ran with our youngest and least experienced Dangee (time 4:02). Natalie ran a 13 km track with veteran Frozen in an excellent performance finished 3rd among women. Caroline ran a children’s race and also came 3rd.