Date: 15th September 2024

Start: 9:30 Międzybrodzie Bialskie, St. Ambrose Square

Finish: Międzybrodzie Bialskie

Wallachian Shepherds Trail

The Wallachian Shepherds Trail is the only festival run whose start and finish line are located in the same place. The route is very demanding – at 17 km the competitors have to overcome a total of 1230 m. of elevation gain, which are included in two intense ascents.

Start from St. Ambrose Square in Międzybrodzie Bialski, from where the route leads along the red trail towards Czupel. Already in the first 3 km, runners gain nearly 600 m of elevation. Then the run still leads along the red trail and according to the markings, before the top of Czupel, the route turns down towards Łodygowice. A demanding descent along the southern slopes passes the Devil’s Stone at some point and introduces the participants to the areas where Wallachian shepherds once reigned, grazing sheep and cows here. Nowadays it is more and more overgrown glades. At the intersection with the yellow trail, we turn left and follow the yellow signs through a gentler, more straight section leading through former meadows and pastures. A practiced eye can see the remains of stone shepherd’s sheds, characteristic of the Little Beskids, but no longer used today. At the next crossroads we follow the green trail to Tresna – at the end of this section we will have a sharp descent straight to the regeneration point at the commune office, just under the dam on Żywieckie Lake. From the regeneration point we set off on the blue trail, which we climb towards the pass under Rogacz (this is the same road that the day before the participants of the Marathon and Rollercoaster run down in the opposite direction). After the first kilometer leading uphill with scenic meadows, the path enters the forest and becomes steep – for about 4 km we gain another 600 m of elevation. When we reach the pass under Rogacz, we turn right onto the red trail, through which we return to the finish line of the run in Międzybrodzie.

The Wallachian Shepherds Trail can be treated as a separate competition, but you can also take part in it as one of the stages of a three-stage race within which competitors start in Friday’s Vertical, Saturday’s Three Lakes Marathon and just in the Sunday run along the Wallachian Shepherds Trail. As part of the multi-stage classification, the OPEN women’s and OPEN men’s classifications will be conducted separately.