BOKA MARATHON COURSE & ELEVATION
FORTY-TWO KILOMETRES between a mountain and the water.
The Bay of Kotor is often called Europe's southernmost fjord. Geologically, it is a ria — an ancient river valley submerged by the sea — but from the road, with mountains rising almost straight from the water, the comparison makes emotional sense. The road has nowhere to climb, so it doesn't. That's why a marathon here has 86 metres of ascent in the entire race.
Both races start at Pine in Tivat and finish inside Kotor old town. The half marathon follows the direct route between the two towns. The marathon adds repeated out-and-back sections along the shoreline before joining the same final run into Kotor, which is why marathon runners pass several villages more than once.
Map: Boka Marathon
WHAT YOU RUN PAST.
Distances given for the marathon. The half joins the same road and runs the final 21 kilometres of it.
Pine, Tivat
A flat start out of Tivat, past the marina at Porto Montenegro. This is the widest, most modern stretch of the whole race and the only part that feels like a town rather than a village.
Seljanovo
First refreshment station. The road narrows and turns toward the inner bay, and the mountains start closing in on your left.
The Verige strait
The narrowest point of the bay, barely three hundred metres across. Venetians strung chains here to close the bay against Ottoman ships — verige means chains. Marathon runners cross this stretch twice.
Stoliv
Waterside village, stone houses, a church, almost no traffic. The bay is at its widest and stillest here on a calm morning.
Prčanj
Venetian baroque palaces stacked on a narrow ledge between the cliff and the water, and an enormous church that looks far too big for the village. You pass through three times, which gives you three chances to notice it.
Muo
The last village before Kotor, directly across the water from the old town. From here you can see the finish, which is either encouraging or cruel depending on the kilometre.
Kotor Old Town
You finish inside the walls, on medieval stone, with the fortress switchbacking up the cliff above you. Very few marathons end anywhere this good. If the old-town stone is wet, hold the dramatic sprint for a few seconds and watch your footing on the final approach.
WATER, FUEL AND PACING.
The marathon has refreshment stations roughly every two to three kilometres from km 5 onward — water and isotonic drink throughout, with fruit added at most, and Coca-Cola at Prčanj and Muo. The half has stations at 5, 10, 15 and 20km. Energy gels are included in the marathon entry, which is unusual and worth knowing before you buy your own.
Pacers run the marathon from 3:00 to 5:00 in fifteen-minute steps, and the half from 1:30 to 2:30 in ten-minute steps. Medical points sit at Verige, Prčanj, Muo and the finish, with an ambulance following the field.
The honest note on this course: flat does not mean easy. It is exposed to the water almost its entire length, and a December southerly comes straight up the bay with nothing to break it. There is also very little crowd — long stretches with the sound of your own feet and not much else. If you need noise to hold a pace, bring your own plan for the quiet.