THROUGH THE YEARS
13 years of stories,
challenges and milestones
2013
One spring, a handful of enthusiasts came up with the idea of organising a sporting event in their home, the Soča Valley (first a cycling event, before they added runners, probably after their third beer) and so the first ever Soča Outdoor Festival took place that September! Held at Na Logu, the small venue west of Tolmin town centre, the event attracted 320 mountain biking and running enthusiasts who competed in seven different recreational races. Do you know what the trophies were made of? Pebbles from the Soča River! One fun fact: the unofficial single-speed race was held for the first—and perhaps last—time, since cyclists had to race without changing gears and then test their skills in a speed beer-drinking contest at the finish. The “serious” cycling events were the 46.8-kilometre MTB marathon and the climb to Razor Mountain Pasture, while the running events included the 12-kilometre Alpe Adria race and the 15-kilometre Soča Trail Run. The programme also featured the SpeedGliding and Borderline competitions, combining hiking and paragliding. On Friday, we organised a discussion about issues surrounding mountain biking and screened films from the BOFF festival. On Saturday evening, the Slovenian band MI2 played for us!
2014
The festival moved to Sotočje, a beautiful spot where the Soča and Tolminka rivers meet. The Alpe Adria running course consisted of a 2.5-kilometre loop, with each runner choosing how many laps to complete – 2.5, 5 or 10 kilometres in total. There were two trail races, covering 14 and 28 kilometres, with 500 and 950 metres of elevation gain respectively. The total number of athletes – runners, cyclists, climbers and paragliders – rose to 800. On Saturday evening, the band Tabu performed for us.
2015
The festival expanded all the way to Bovec, where a kayak race took place on Friday, followed by a five-stage enduro mountain biking race on Saturday. Kobarid hosted a speed-flying competition, while Tolmin staged three running races covering 10, 14 and 28 kilometres. Shortly before the event, complications with permits forced us to cancel the third MTB marathon.
Shortly before the event, complications with permits forced us to cancel the third MTB marathon.
2016
The event took place across almost the entire Soča Valley, from Bovec, which hosted the enduro mountain biking race, to Tolmin, where a 46-kilometre running race was held for the first time alongside the 10- and 15-kilometre races. Around 1,500 competitors came from five countries: Slovenia, Croatia, Italy, Austria and Slovakia. The MTB marathon started and finished in Kobarid. Although the race, which included a climb up Mt Kobariški Stol, was spectacular, the 16-kilometre distance between the venues created a considerable logistical challenge. adidas joined us as one of the main sponsors, marking the beginning of a successful partnership that continues to this day.
2017
We added a 25-kilometre loop to the 10-, 15- and 45-kilometre running distances. The 15-kilometre race attracted the most participants, with 400 runners at the start. For the first time, we organised a 500-metre run for the youngest participants. What a sight it was to see all 70 children race off! The accompanying programme included stand-up paddleboarding, slacklining, yoga, climbing, childcare and more.
2018
The total number of competitors from 11 countries – around 70% of whom were Slovenian – rose to 1,700, and for the first time, registration closed two weeks before the event. We moved the longest race, covering 45 kilometres, from Bovec to Tolmin. In addition to the four running races, the programme featured duathlon (a combination of running and mountain biking), stand-up paddleboarding and speed-gliding competitions. Alongside the children’s run, we also held a mini MTB marathon. In cooperation with Continental and the local community, we permanently marked the Tolminka Trail, making it available to runners throughout the year. For the first time, our race became part of the Croatian Trekking League.
2019
In 2019, you once again ran distances of 10, 15, 25 and 45 kilometres and took on the duathlon, a combination of running and mountain biking. For the first time, we organised the Soča Outdoor Summit, featuring lectures, a round-table discussion and practical workshops on outdoor sports. We also eliminated single-use cups at aid stations for the first time, providing every participant with a free reusable cup. In collaboration with the University of Maribor, we conducted the first environmental impact assessment for Soča Outdoor Festival 2019. This gave us valuable expert insight into an area we had been committed to addressing from the beginning, but had previously approached more intuitively. Did you know what the event’s greatest negative environmental impact was? The way participants travelled to Tolmin – in other words, transport. Based on the report, we later created a Facebook car-sharing group and introduced a discount for everyone travelling to the event by train.
2020
Due to the coronavirus, officially known as SARS-CoV-2, the official running competition was cancelled. Nevertheless, a few enthusiasts completed the routes independently – well done, everyone! As part of a press conference addressing the challenges of e-bike use in natural environments, some of us also explored the surrounding trails by e-bike. We organised a trail maintenance and clean-up day as well, with 25 hardworking volunteers taking part. A virtual running challenge was also held as part of the AATC.
2021
Due to the coronavirus, the event was held in a limited format under strict safety measures. Runners had to meet the PCT requirement – recovered, vaccinated or tested. We had to wear masks during registration and maintain a safety distance of two metres, and runners even had to wear masks at the start! But at least we got to run! We believe the 2021 medal carries special significance.
2022
The year when we witnessed a real-life proposal between two runners in the Tolminka riverbed, just before the finish line. The event attracted 1,800 runners from 15 countries, with just over half coming from Slovenia. For the first time, the programme also included Parafestival. We offered visitors an official campsite and organised bus transport from Maribor, Ljubljana and Zagreb. E-bike riders were also able to compete in the MTB marathon for the first time, with separate rankings, of course.
2023
We celebrated our tenth anniversary (featuring a 35-kilometre race for the first time) with record attendance: 2,000 runners were joined by 250 mountain bikers, 80 road cyclists and 300 people with mobility impairments taking part in the Parafestival. For the first time, registration was completed without printing a single document, saving approximately 14,000 sheets of paper. During the event, we raised funds to reforest the wildfire-damaged Karst region, and the following spring, we picked up our shovels as part of the Together for the Karst / A Tree for Cerje project! The accompanying programme included a stand-up paddleboarding race, a children’s run and a hike along the Walk of Peace.
2024
To reduce the impact on the trails, the running programme was split across two days, with the longer races taking place on Saturday and the shorter ones on Sunday. For the first time, we introduced a five-kilometre distance, which was warmly welcomed by younger participants, the most experienced runners and those who had always wanted to run in nature but found the 10-kilometre course too demanding. We also organised our first Friday evening vertical race up Kolovrat, attracting 54 runners. Altogether, 2,500 runners from 30 countries took part in the event, with an equal split between women and men. We raised funds for mountain rescuers, reforestation and the restoration of the road to the Zatolmin mountain pastures, which our team also helped repair during a volunteer work day. In cooperation with the Sonček Association, Parafestival formed part of the event, giving people with mobility impairments the opportunity to kayak, stand-up paddleboard, practise archery, climb and explore the Tolmin area in many other ways.
2025
We reversed the direction of all the longer races, from 25 to 50 kilometres. The main reason was to ensure that runners passed through the Tolmin Gorges early in the morning, before larger numbers of visitors arrived. This also reversed the elevation profiles, but feedback from runners was positive: most people walked the shorter, steeper climbs anyway, while the gentler descents became much more runnable. We introduced a running club competition and received the Good Events sustainability certificate for the first time. Three runners had a Soča Outdoor tattoo and earned free race entry for life.
