This year marks the 120th anniversary of the birth of the Olympian Leon Štukelj. His birthplace, Novo mesto, will celebrate it with the Štukelj year 2018, featuring a series of events, including a half marathon.
Runners are already preparing for the half marathon. The Novo mesto marathon will put the Dolenjsko region capital on the sports-tourist map.
The aim is to promote sports and the big event will be a 21 km half marathon. The route has already been selected. "For years, we considered motorway junctions as obstacles, but today we see they can actually be opportunities," says Gregor Macedoni, Novo mesto mayor.
Organisers announced that every participant will receive an unusual gift. "I am sure that every runner will be happy to take home a bottle of cviček at the end. Cviček is part of our identity. In France, they have the Bordeaux wine and they also have a marathon in the town of Bordeaux," says Marjan Hribar, director of the Zavod Novo mesto.
The Novo mesto half marathon will be held in six months time, in the last weekend in September.