The plan is to climb the 24 peaks of Durmitor in 24 hours Tatjana Jovanovic from Serbia. For this challenge, Jovanović has been preparing for almost a year, and if weather conditions permit, he will implement the plan on June 24.
"Somehow everything is symbolic within the number 24", she told "Vijesti".
Tatjana Jovanović is a member of the skyrunning national team of Serbia and Montenegro and a running coach.
The idea to try to climb the 24 peaks of Durmitor in 24 hours came spontaneously:
"I came up with the very idea of the project one night while corresponding with another person who unprovoked sent me an article about how the sons of a mountaineer tried to climb 18 peaks and that their father, an experienced mountaineer, succeeded in one day. Then I said - great, we will climb the 24 peaks of Durmitor in 24 hours".
As initially planned, her two friends were supposed to be with her at Durmitor that day, but, as she said, they had to drop out due to personal commitments and injuries.
"But he will be with me on the sections where he will be needed the most and thus support the entire event. I can say that I gathered a great team of people who take care of me. I have a nutritionist who wrote the diet only according to my needs for this event," she told "Vijesti".
Along with Tatjana, there are also the main and conditioning coach, a physiotherapist...
"Who have been working for 10 months to ensure that I am the most ready. A lot of work and effort was invested in this project".
For the interlocutor of "Vijesti", Durmitor is a spiritual home.
"I feel like a chamois on those peaks," she says.
So far, he is not revealing which are the 24 peaks of Durmitor that he plans to climb during the challenge.
"I wouldn't reveal them yet, but I can tell you that it was real combinatorics, countless combinations, until we reached the magical 24 peaks of Durmitor. Follow me that day, and you will visit all the peaks with me", she said.
Climbing 24 peaks of one mountain in 24 hours is the first such challenge in her life.
"I've never tried anything like that before, I do mountain running. I think that something like this requires a certain wisdom and experience in the mountains and that you can only do it with the right team and a serious approach. For me, this challenge represents an indelible mark and a message, above all to children, that anything is possible if you dedicate yourself and make an effort. That I can do anything with my will and desire," said Jovanović.
Sports path and successes
Tatjana Jovanović has been in sports since the age of seven. At first, she was engaged in dancing for a short time, then she actively played volleyball for 18 years, after which she switched to trail running, then to skyrunning.
Trail running and skyrunning are disciplines that belong to running off paved roads, but they differ in the demanding terrain and altitude. Trail running means running on natural paths that can be of different lengths and weights. These can be forest roads, mountain paths, meadows... Skyrunning is a specific type of mountain running that takes place at high altitudes and on very steep terrains.
Tatjana Jovanović, in skyrunning, represented Serbia at the European Championships in Portugal 2021, and a year later at the World Championships in Italy.
In 2021, she won the race on Stara planina, at 64 kilometers, then in 2022, in rainy conditions, she defended her title.
This year, on Stara Planina, she also won the 100 kilometers.
The number of women in ultra races is increasing
In the last 23 years, the number of participants in ultra races has increased by 1.676 percent, according to research conducted in cooperation with the International Association of Ultra Runners.
And the number of women racing is on the rise: 23 years ago, women made up 14 percent, while now they make up 23 percent of competitors in ultra races.
According to the same research, in races over 313 kilometers (195 miles), women achieve better results than men. Specifically, at those distances, women are 0,6 percent faster.
"I think more and more women will step out of their comfort zone. As a running coach, I worked with recreational athletes for five years and I can say that there were more women than men in our club. But I think only trail and skyrunning will experience a boom when it comes to women. The mountain is attractive in itself, you just need a little more free time and courage to embark on that adventure. And I think it's easier to have a professional person, i.e. a coach who will guide you in the right way and give you the right advice when it comes to equipment and preparation itself", said Jovanović.
He believes that, when it comes to skyrunning, we shouldn't worry too much about gender differences.
"Of course, physiologically men are stronger and faster, perhaps, but women are more durable. It's all down to genetic predisposition and training methods. But there is no generalization and I think that both men and women equally enjoy the view from the top and that is the most important thing. Get out of your comfort zone, defeat yourself and become a better version and enjoy your stay on the mountain. Everything else is less important," she says.
Montenegro was created for skyrunning
Regarding skyrunning, the interlocutor of "Vijesti" says that the sport is developing.
"I think we are a cornerstone for future generations to come. It is important that we are part of the World Skyrunning Federation and thus have the privilege of participating in European and world competitions. That there are things that could be improved, certainly there are, and I believe that in the future this sport will progress and that it will reach the Olympic sport as well", she said.
He sees Montenegro as "a real treasure and an inexhaustible training ground when it comes to skyrunning".
"Durmitor, Prokletije, Rumija, Sinjajevina, these are all locations where the organization Skyrunning Serbia & MNE organized real and challenging races that we runners look forward to. Last year, the European Championship was held at Prokletije. This year, the World Junior Championship is in Rumija, which only shows how much the Skyrunning Serbia & MNE organization is trying to bring the best runners from all over the world to the pearl of nature that Montenegro has," said Jovanović.
And the World Junior Championship in Rumija is her address after the challenge in Durmitor.
"After my challenge, I go down to Bar, to support the whole team and organization of the World Junior Championship to welcome the best 'kids'. So I'm going back to Durmitor and at the end of July I'm running the Durmitor skyrunning race, which takes place on the last weekend of July. And in this way, I am preparing for the World Championship for seniors, which is being held in Spain this year, in September. You are rooting for us", said Jovanović.
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