March 4, 2019 - Hvar's growing reputation as an active tourism destination gets another boost with the return of Mountain Madness Hvar for the second time.
Fifteen years ago, Hvar was hardly known for its adventure tourism. With the notable exception of the Faros Marathon 16km open sea swim, the most exercise experienced on the island was walking to the beach.
And then something changed.
Back in 2005, the first adventure tourism agency was founded, bringing new tourism possibilities in sailing, kayaking, cycling, hiking and rock climbing. The trend took hold and started to expand, and new events appeared on the Hvar tourism calendar.
The first Hvar Half Marathon took place about ten years ago, and it has proved a popular and very international August fixture ever since. There were more regattas, and more and more tourists took time out from the beach to hike, cycle, climb, sail and kayak.
The island's cycling credentials were given a huge boost in December 2017 when one of the world's leading teams, Bahrain Merida and including world champion Vincenzo Nibali, took up residence at Suncani Hvar's Pharos bayhill hotel for their winter training, an event they repeated in 2018.
More international events were added, including the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Hvar (see video above), which returns for the third edition in April.
And last October, Hvar's adrenaline calendar got another event - Mountain Madness Hvar.
Mountain Madness Hvar is a race designed to test strength, endurance, but also to challenge skills, speed, and ability to overcome various obstacles on a 7km long track, regardless of weather conditions. The race is suitable for participants of all ages and also for dogs!
Mountain Madness originated in Croatia in Ravna Gora, Gorski Kotar, where is has been held for four years, before moving to Zagreb for the first time for the Medvenica Outdoor Festival. The first Mountain Madness Hvar event took place on October 6 last year, the first on a Croatian island.
The event was a great success, and organisers Mountain Madness, Suncani Hvar Hotels and Run Croatia could obviously not wait a whole year to repeat it, and this year's event has been announced for April 27.
Want to get an idea of what you might be getting into? Below is a video of Mountain Madness where it began in Croatia - Ravna Gora in Gorski Kotar.
