
Entry works differently for the two halves of the event, and the difference matters. The five ITRA races take SPORT entries, online only, closing 15 April 2027 — no on-the-day option, because checkpointed timing across a mountain needs a start list. The nine hiking routes take FUN entries online until the final week, or simply in person at Popovica on the morning.
Prices below are the foreign-participant rates in euros, as published. Serbian residents pay dinar rates — if that is your family, they will know.
| Wave | 134 km | 107 km | 59 km | 42 km | 22 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Now — to 15 Sep 2026 | £52 (€60) | £43 (€50) | £34 (€40) | £30 (€35) | £26 (€30) |
| 16 Sep – 1 Mar 2027 | £60 (€70) | £52 (€60) | £43 (€50) | £39 (€45) | £30 (€35) |
| 2 Mar – 15 Apr 2027 · no shirt | £69 (€80) | £60 (€70) | £52 (€60) | £43 (€50) | £34 (€40) |
| How | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Online, to 21 Apr 2027 | £9 (€10) | All nine hiking routes |
| On the day, at Popovica | £13 (€15) | Includes a small gift from the organiser |
| Staza radosti i zadovoljstva | Free | No entry fee, on principle |
Foreign-participant prices from fruskogorski-maraton.com, checked August 2026. The final SPORT wave loses the shirt from the start pack — the mountain's way of telling you not to leave it late. Group rates exist for FUN routes.
When I wrote to the race director, his reply included a sentence I have not had from any other organiser, and it deserves quoting in spirit: they do not have anything like the budget of a city marathon, and he wanted expectations to be realistic. Fifty years of this event have been built by a mountaineering community in Novi Sad, not by a sponsorship department.
Read that the right way. It is not a warning about quality — the routes are certified, tracked by GPS, checkpointed and marked with care. It is a promise about character: your €30 goes into paint, canvas signs, checkpoint volunteers and fifty years of continuity, not into a finisher village selling recovery smoothies. On a site whose whole argument is that honesty beats marketing, this is the most honest race we have ever listed.
| SPORT entry closes | 15 April 2027, online only — no race-day entry for the five ITRA routes |
| FUN entry closes | Online 21 April; or in person at Popovica on the morning |
| Start packs | Collection details published before race week; shirt included in waves 1–2 |
| Payment | Online by card on the official site |