August 30, 2022 - At the junction of Slavonia and Srijem, through vineyards and hills, forests and plains, through museums and monuments, where the Danube kisses the sky, on September 3, a new BRUTAL bicycle race is coming. After a successful race in Beli Manastir, in Baranja, BRUT arrives in Vukovar. It is a 25 or 50 km race through vineyards, fields, forests, and unpaved roads.

In addition to the race itself, on September 1 and 2, we can expect a bicycle tour of the Bata-Borovo industrial heritage as well as street art murals as part of the VukovArt program, a tourist tour around Vukovar, a children's race and a traffic safety workshop, and of course, evening entertainment programs on the 2^nd and on the 3^rd day of the event.

The full program, as presented on the official website of :BRUT, will look like this:

September 1, 2022 :BRUT Murali starting at 16:00 - 18:00 tour of the city of Vukovar and murals on buildings by bike.

September 2, 2022 :BRUT

Small children's races starting at 10:00 and duration until 12:00, city center Vukovar.
Preschool kids, 100m races.

Traffic safety - joint action with the Ministry of Interior and PD Vukovar.

September 2, 2022 :BRUT Sights starting at 16:00 a tour of the sights in the city of Vukovar – a tourist tour by bike and then a gathering in the bar "Vukovarsko naj".

September3, 2022 :BRUT Vukovar  

:BRUT official race map

Start of the race on September 3, 2022 at 16:00h (registration of participants from 14:00h)
Start - zone target: Salaš Goldschmidt (on the road between Vukovar and Sotin)
Length 25 km and 50 km (choice of route on the trail)
The path is circular in shape. Cyclists ride 1 lap in the 25km race and 2 laps in the 50km race.
The time limit (time-cut) is 3:00h (until 19:00h), and everyone who does not complete one lap in 80 minutes will not be able to go to another and will be counted time for :BRUT Vukovar 25.

After the race, lunch and drinks are provided for all participants and :BRUT Chill with a DJ, fun and socializing. 

For an awesome weekend of walking, cycling, and enjoying the sights and events, we encourage you to apply here (participation includes the start package, meal and drink, and guaranteed entertainment).

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated Lifestyle section.

August 4, 2022 - Vukovar is fast becoming the place to go for events and activities. After an eventful summer, it will welcome autumn with a unique sports event, a Water Tower race. To date, more than 150 participants have registered.

As Glas Slavonije writes, the Vukovar Athletic Club is organising a race up the stairs of the Vukovar Water Tower called Vukovarskih 198 (The Vukovar 198).

The name of the race is due to the fact that the Water Tower has 198 steps, and each competitor will also run 200 meters of the memorial path, which means that the finish line of the race will be at the top of the famous structure in Vukovar. Daniel Lovrinović, the secretary of the Vukovar Athletic Club, who runs recreationally, is the initiator of this specific race.

“Every morning I get up at five o'clock and go for a run before work, because I consider it mental hygiene. As I’ve regularly passed by the Water Tower, even while it was being renovated, I thought it would be interesting to organize a race in it. I have participated several times in the "Zagrepčanka" race in Zagreb, and running up the stairs fascinates me. As far as I know, no race has been organised in a monument such as the Water Tower, and I believed that it would attract a large number of participants”, Lovrinović told us, explaining that it is not only important to organise the race for its own sake, but also to promote the Vukovar Athletic Club, which started working actively with children this year, and will soon have activities for recreational athletes.

The organiser's wish is that Vukovar benefits from the race, because those who come from outside the city will stay for a day, two or three, which means that they will sleep in Vukovar, maybe try some local specialties, visit museums or other interesting locations. Ultimately, it will help the promotion of the city on the Danube. All those interested can apply online until August 31, and Lovrinović pointed out that more than 150 participants have registered so far out of 240, which is the maximum number.

“We cannot accommodate more runners because the Water Tower is open and we managed to reserve it for the race on September 17 from 8 am to 1 pm. We want the race to become traditional. So far, we’ve had applications from many Croatian cities, literally from Vukovar to Dubrovnik, but also from abroad - France, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Germany. The principle of the race itself is quite simple. The second runner will follow 60 seconds after the first, and when the eighth competitor reaches the top of the Water Tower near the flag, we will take a minute or two break, until the first seven reach the elevator that will take them down. When they reach the elevator, the next runner will start and so on until everyone has completed the planned course”, he explained.

This is the minimum start time difference between participants because the staircase is narrow and it is not possible to get around the runners in front who may need more time to reach the top.

For more, check out our Lifestyle section.

April 6, 2022 – On Saturday, April 9, the annual Osijek Ferivi Half Marathon will be held, with a range of events for professional and recreational athletes alike.

As SiB writes, the citizens' race and relay race will start at 10.00 am on Ante Starčević Square, while children's races will start at 5.00 pm on the promenade of the upper Drava coast, west of the winter port. A press conference was held yesterday on the central city square in Osijek, the Ante Starčević Square, at which the 18^th Osijek Ferivi Half Marathon was announced, a traditional event that will this year take place on Saturday, April 9.

This is the largest and most visited race in the ​​Slavonia and Baranja region, which has been held since 2005 and brings together many athletes, recreationists, and other citizens who want to enjoy running through the streets of Osijek. In addition to the half marathon (21.1 kilometers), there is also a 5km citizens’ race "Are you running, lega?", as well as the men's, women's, and mixed relay races of 3 x 7 kilometres and children's races from 300 meters to 1 kilometer. The organizer of the event is the Marathon Club Hrvatski Sokol from Osijek, and the sponsors are the Osijek-Baranja County, the City of Osijek, the Tourist Board of the City of Osijek, and the Croatian Red Cross.

"The pandemic finally allowed us to gather in large numbers and continue to socialize outdoors through running, cycling, walking, and other sports. I urge our citizens to come to the race because the contemporary lifestyle means a lot of sitting and using cars or public transport, so we need to practice sports. I am sure that everyone who runs the race for the first time will be excited for the next Osijek Ferivi Half Marathon," said the prefect Ivan Anušić.

The citizens' race and the relay race will be starting at 10.00 am on Ante Starčević Square, while the children's races will start at 5.00 pm on the promenade of the upper Drava coast, west of the winter port. More than 1,250 competitors have already registered, not only from Croatia but from 10 other countries (USA, Sweden, Norway, Serbia, Slovenia, Northern Macedonia, Hungary, Germany, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina).

The Osijek Ferivi Half Marathon is not just a sporting event, but a combination of sports, entertainment, culture, and tourism, and contributes to the branding of Osijek. What is especially enriching about this event is that not only athletes but also recreational athletes take part, and even more so that children do. The city will continue to support this event", said the mayor of Osijek Ivan Radić.

He added that Osijek cares about its athletes and sports facilities and that this year Osijek will acquire a real Olympic swimming pool (at the Copacabana pools) for the first time, as well as introduce scholarships for athletes of the 5th and 6th categories while striving to raise sports and recreation to a higher level.

The Osijek Ferivi Half Marathon is an event that has been organized by the Marathon Club Hrvatski Sokol since the first race. The Club entered into a partnership with Ferivi & Co d.o.o. in 2008. and the race has since been called the Osijek Ferivi Half Marathon. Last year, the event had a record number of participants and outstanding accompanying content.

To read more about sports in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.

March 10th, 2022 - The trend originating from Sweden has been taking root in Istria over the last few years

An interesting event combining fitness and ecology will take place in Pula this weekend, on Sunday the 13th of March. A so-called plogging race was announced earlier today in the Šijana forest park, reports Glas Istre.

Plogging is a unique activity which originates from Sweden and involves picking up garbage while jogging outdoors - saving the planet, one run at a time. The trend gets its original name ‘plogga’ from a combination of two words, ‘jogga’ for jogging and ‘plockka up’ which translates to ‘picking up’ in Swedish. Apart from helping the environment, plogging is also believed to be very beneficial for physical health as it involves a lot of coordinated muscle activity.

A number of plogging races were held in southern Istria in 2019 and 2020, and the praiseworthy initiative now marches on with the upcoming Sunday race in Pula.

There’s no registration fee, and anyone interested can participate in one of two categories. The first is a competitive category for runners, and will have the racers jogging on the Orchid trail (Croatian: Orhideja), collecting waste within the marked area for 60 minutes.

The second is a family-friendly category, intended for everyone who wants to lend a helping hand and do some good while out on a nice walk in nature. Teams are required to have a minimum of two members and will have an hour to collect discarded waste on the Little Prince trail (Croatian: Mali princ), i.e. on the central plateau in Šijana.

All the participants will be provided with garbage bags and gloves, and they will also receive participation certificates. Those who collect the most discarded garbage during the race will also be presented with special prizes from the event’s sponsors.

The race was announced by Silvia Butiggnoni, the director of the Public Institution Natura Histrica, and Erik Lukšić of the ISTRun company.