FROM THE HISTORY OF THE LETECKÁ STOVKA
The ‘Letecká stovka’ was established in 2012 thanks to Vlado Švancár (1955–2014). Vlado, a native of Mníchova Lehota, was a member of the TJ Letecké opravovne Trenčín sports club and chairman of its hiking section. Vlado was an excellent mountaineer who took part in several expeditions, including one to the eight-thousander Shishapangma; he also competed in 100-kilometre races, where he achieved fast ultra-running times (for example, in 2013 he completed the Javornícka Stovka in 14:16; in the photo from this event, taken below the viewing tower on Marťákovský Hill, Vlado is on the right).
Ivan Horniak wrote more about the circumstances surrounding the creation of the ‘Letecká stovka’: “The ‘Letecká stovka’ was founded in 2012 by the late Vlado Švancár. As a long-time hiker and long-distance walker who had completed many ‘hundreds’, he thought it would be a good idea to expand the traditional ‘Letecká päťdesiatka’ with a new, more challenging route. The Považský Inovec mountain range offers a wealth of hiking trails, and so in 2012 the first route, 98 kilometres long, was created, leading from Trenčín via Beckov, Kálnica, Panská Javorina, Kulháň, Duchonka, Bezovec, and from there along the ridge to the summit of Inovec, finally passing through Soblahov and back to Trenčín.”
In 2012, 36 participants gathered at the start in Trenčín. Thirty-one participants successfully completed the inaugural ‘Letecká stovka’ race, reaching the finish line in Trenčín. Among the men, Peter Lešťák, Roman Babulic and Ján Pristach shared the fastest time of 15:58. The first-ever female finisher of the Letecká stovka was Anna Örsi from Hungary (18:03). The photograph by Roman Minarovič shows Vlado Švancár before the start of the first Letecká stovka.
Ivan Horniak also recalls the second edition of the Letecká stovka, during which he helped Vlad as a volunteer at the Inovec Chalet: “Following the successful inaugural event, another took place in 2013. The route remained the same, but the weather put the participants to the test. It was freezing, and despite it being March, there was still a lot of snow on the Inovec ridge.” In 2013, 44 participants took part in the Letecká stovka, 36 of whom successfully reached the finish line. The fastest man was Stanislav Ďuriga (17 hours), whilst Božena Kováčová was the fastest woman (20:25). The photo from 2013 is by Peťa Green.
In 2014, 75 participants set off on the ‘Letecká stovka’ route, which started in the evening on Friday, and 59 of them successfully completed the course. You can find organiser Vlado Švancár’s review of this year’s event in an article on the TJ LOT website. In the men’s category, Gabor Nyakas and Matej Páleník shared the victory (13:10), whilst Alena Košnárová was first among the women (19:57). Ivan Horniak, who took part this time as a long-distance skier, writes about the conditions during the third ‘Letecká stovka’: “Unlike last year, there wasn’t a trace of snow on the route, and the competitors were able to enjoy beautiful sunny weather throughout the day. Movement across the terrain was slightly hampered by fallen trees following a gale that swept through Inovce a few days before the start.” Ivan successfully completed the route. “It was a powerful experience that I’ll remember for the rest of my life. Vlado Švancár congratulated me and, in passing, mentioned that he’d also like to complete ‘his’ hundred as a participant one day. So I offered to take over from him next year and organise it myself. At the time, I had no idea how things would turn out or how this promise of mine would affect the rest of my life and the ‘Letecká stovka’ as a whole.” Photo: Ivan Martynek
Following the tragic death of Vlado Švancár in the Himalayas during a ski mountaineering and climbing expedition to the 8,000-metre peak of Dhaulagiri in the autumn of 2014, Ivan Horniak took over the organisation of the ‘Letecká stovka’, and from 2017 Rasťo Timko of TJ LOT Trenčín also joined him, Thanks to their efforts, a further five editions of this event took place between 2015 and 2019. The memory of the event’s founder, Vlado Švancár, was honoured at all subsequent editions of the ‘Letecká stovka’ (photo: Eva Kovalčíková).
Reflecting on 2015, Ivan Horniak wrote: “After Vlado’s death, we had to decide whether to carry on with this 100-kilometre race at all. Nobody had any experience of organising such an event, but I’d made a promise and felt I should keep it. Not everything went 100 per cent to plan; I still vividly remember how we arrived at the checkpoint in Kálnica and found that the first ten runners had already gone. Fortunately, the owner of the café where the checkpoint was held at least wrote their times on the receipt. We could only shake our heads in disbelief at how those runners’d managed it – 23 km in under two hours. :-) Or the poorly chosen refreshments, having to re-enter the registration details after accidentally deleting the Excel spreadsheet… Today, it just brings a smile to one’s face, but back then we certainly weren’t in the mood for laughter… And I realised that if I wanted to continue organising the Letecká stovka, I’d have to make a number of changes. But at least the late Vlado up there sorted us a lovely bit of weather. It was sunny and not too warm. At the summit, there was up to 30 cm of snow in places, which held up well in the morning but was causing problems for the participants by midday. Fortunately, this section wasn’t too long.” In 2015, a record number of ultra-runners and long-distance walkers took part in the Letecká stovka – 102 in total. 90 of them successfully completed the course. The fastest men were Ivan Slovák, Mário Jakúbek and Mikuláš Kéri, who set a new record time of 12:25. Silvia Petrjánošová claimed victory in the women’s race with an excellent time of 14:33. Photo: Ivan Horniak
In 2016, 114 people took part in the Letecká stovka, 94 of whom successfully completed the entire route. It was a year marking a small anniversary for the Letecká stovka and bringing new changes. Organiser Ivan Horniak writes: “In 2016, we celebrated a small anniversary. The Letecká stovka was being organised for the fifth time. Drawing on the experience gained from the previous year, I introduced a number of changes. Participants were already asking for better service at the refreshment stations; they wanted a better-marked route, live results, a satellite track of the route for their hiking navigation apps, and so on. I felt that the traditional long-distance hiking community was disappearing from the start list and that these places were being taken by ultra-runners. I wanted to accommodate the runners, who were now in the majority, whilst also preserving the long-distance running ‘genius loci’ of this 100-kilometre race. It wasn’t easy, and whether I succeeded – or am succeeding – is for you, the participants, to judge. I believe I have. At the same time, this year I began a collaboration with the Slovak Ultra Trail association, who provided me with plenty of useful advice, volunteers and the materials needed to organise this ever-growing event.” Mário Jakúbek won the 2016 Letecká stovka with a time of 11:59. In the women’s race, the Czech runner Eva Konszká was the fastest with a time of 16:43. Reports on the 2016 Letecká stovka were written by Julka Batmendijnová, Peter Knížat and Radek Hrabčák. Photo from the refreshment station at Duchonka: Martin Drozd
The growing interest in the Letecká stovka was confirmed once again in 2017, with 123 participants at the start and 110 crossing the finish line. How did the organiser, Ivan Horniak, describe the 2017 event? “If 2016 was all about changes, then I can say that in 2017 I turned the Letecká stovka upside down. Literally. The route remained the same, but it ran in exactly the opposite direction. What’s more, the established start time of 8.00 pm on Friday evening was moved to 6.00 am on Saturday morning. It was an experiment designed partly to help the organising team, but also to accommodate international participants, who until then had had to take Friday off work. The experiment proved successful and has now become a permanent fixture. The ‘Letecká stovka’ is beginning to attract a loyal following in Slovakia and neighbouring countries. This year, the start list was full within just two days. The weather, however, didn’t play along. The forecast was uncompromising – rain all day, wind, temperatures just above freezing, and even snowfall at higher altitudes. Fortunately, there were very few injuries, and there were even some who actually enjoyed these conditions. It motivated them to achieve faster times. :-)" Thanks to Martin Halász, the course record was broken, setting a fantastic new time of 10:50. Among the women, the fastest runner was once again a participant from the Czech Republic, this time Eliška Kaniová with a time of 14:52. You can read about the 2017 Letecká stovka in Erik Hübner’s report, whilst Valéria Jurkovská wrote about it from a volunteer’s perspective. Photo: Bálint Örsi
In 2018, 126 runners and long-distance walkers took part in the ‘Letecká stovka’ in Trenčín, with a total of 104 finishers. Conditions were far from easy at the time, as organiser Ivan Horniak recalls; he was joined this year by Rastislav Timko: “In 2018, the weather really put us to the test. ‘Phew… nobody froze to death!’ That was my first thought when I saw the last participant cross the finish line on Sunday morning. It was, as I can now reveal, my friend Milan Hota, who walked into the sports hall in Trenčín with a smile on his face. It was as if he hadn’t spent the whole night battling the strong wind and freezing cold on the embankment. I think every organiser of a similar event feels a sense of relief at this moment. After Saturday’s worries, when we sent the participants off from Kálnica onto the final stretch of the course, anxious about what might happen, this was a well-deserved relief. And I’d told myself that, after a whole day’s rain last year, nothing worse could possibly happen. The poor weather also affected turnout – out of 150 registered participants, only 126 runners eventually lined up at the start. Each and every one of them had our admiration.” Victory in both categories this year went across the River Morava – Robo Frohn completed the course in 11:23 and Eliška Kaniová improved on her time from last year to 14:28. The report on the 2018 Letecká stovka was written by Milan Hlavatý. Photo from the refreshment station in Kálnica: Adam Lisý
2019 saw a new participation record for the Letecká stovka – 150 people took part. The number of finishers was also a record – 126. For this year’s event, the organisers also adjusted the time limit and used GPS tracking. The winner in the men’s category, with a time of 11:06, was Mikuláš Kéri, whilst Marie Balšínková from the Czech Republic clocked the fastest time among the women (14:59). Julka Batmendijnová and Jozef Antala covered the 2019 Letecká stovka in their reports. Photo from 2019: Eva Kovalčíková
In 2020, the ‘Letecká stovka’ was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic (both on its usual date in March and the alternative date in October), and the same was true the following year, when the event did not take place on either the originally planned date or the alternative date in September.
V roku 2022 sa organizátorom pod vedením Ivana Horniaka podarilo v marcovom termíne zrealizovať vynovenú verziu Leteckej 50 (spolu s ňou aj kratšie trasy 30 a 15 km) s občerstvovačkami v Trenčianskych Stankovciach a na Inoveckej chate, stovka však už súčasťou akcie v roku 2022 nebola. O zážitkoch z 50 kilometrovej trate napísaj Juraj Mátel. Foto z roku 2022 Juraj Mátel
We are delighted that, with the consent of TJ LOT Trenčín and the organiser Ivan Horniak, we were able to continue the tradition of eight editions of the 100 km long-distance walk and ultra-run in the Považský Inovec mountains in 2023, under the auspices of the SLOVAK ULTRA TRAIL civic association. A huge thank you and our deepest respect go to everyone who has shaped its history since 2012.
In 2023, the Letecká stovka took place under the auspices of SLOVAK ULTRA TRAIL and with a new organisational team. The 200-place starting list filled up within a few days, making it clear that a new attendance record was on the cards. The route began along the embankment before heading into the hills. In addition to the nostalgically familiar venues, such as the Inovecká chalet and the Chata na Bezovci chalet, new checkpoints were added at the fire station in Kálnica, the Duchonka guesthouse and the Vlekárska chalet below Ostrý vrch. On Saturday morning, 180 runners lined up at the start, of whom 143 reached the finish line. Both the participation record and the record for the number of finishers on the Letecká Stovka route were broken, setting new records for the race’s entire history. The weather contributed to a relatively high number of DNFs. A strong, cold wind blew across the ridge, accompanied by snowfall and sub-zero temperatures. The fastest time among the men was set by Martin Halász in 10:26, whilst the fastest woman was Linda Boldane from Latvia with a time of 11:45:36, who also finished third overall. Several participants – Richard Balaj, Richard Pouš and Marián Feňovčík – shared their experiences in a blog. The photo is from 2023. Photographer: Peter Mečiar.
Following a successful ninth edition, we entered the 10th edition wiser and more determined to take the Letecká stovka to the next level. Denis Lauko, Jakub Vrana, Richard Kuzma, Marián Jelenák and Dušan Bloudek joined the organising team. For the first time, we used the Termínovka portal for registration. We sold out all 225 places in an incredible four days. The start list featured names such as Martin Halasz, Štverák, Frko, Huszty, Oravec, Koniarová, Burdová, Priadka… For the first time, we sought to rely on strong sponsors and partners. The race was supported by brands and companies such as Dynafit, DL Lauko, Urpiner, Tatras and many others.
A total of 211 runners took to the start line, setting yet another attendance record. The runners couldn’t have asked for better weather for March – temperatures above freezing, dry conditions, albeit a bit windy. The race started, as is traditional, at six o’clock in the morning in front of the Sokolovna. Once again, the race followed the usual route: first the embankment, then the hills, though the course did undergo some changes. The village of Kálnica lent us the premises of the Cultural Centre, and we also altered the direction of the race, continuing from Sedlo pod Pánskou Javorinou to K3 Chata Bezovec and then to K4 Duchonka via Podhradie.
As the starting line-up featured some big names, we expected course records to be broken – and that’s exactly what happened. The fastest man, Martin Halasz, crossed the finish line below Matúš Čák’s castle with an incredible time of 9:25:12, which was a course record! A record was also broken in the women’s category, courtesy of Vanda Koniarová with a time of 11:38:51!
For the first time, we used an external timing service, and professional paramedics from Emergency Support ensured the runners’ safety at selected checkpoints. A total of 185 runners successfully crossed the finish line, with the legendary Jirko Hofman bringing up the rear in a time of 23:57:30. Marián Feňovčík and Michal Hotový shared their experiences from the course in their reports. Photo from 2024. Photographer: Peter Sobek.
The 11th edition was marked by changes to the start and finish areas, as well as an increase in the number of runners from 200 to 250. We swapped TJ SOKOL for the more modern and logistically more accessible premises of the ARENA Ostrov building in Ostrov. The core organising team bid farewell to Juraj Macák, who no longer planned to organise the Letecká stovka.
The year 2025 saw a record number of participants – 243 runners took to the start line! 202 of them crossed the finish line.
A new partnership was established with the global brand GU, and we also continued our collaboration with the sports brand DYNAFIT. Many of our partners chose to support us again this year and placed their trust in us.
The weather for the 11th edition was typical for March – temperatures slightly below freezing in the morning before the start, with no rain or wind. A course record was expected in the men’s category, as the starting line-up included, so to speak, the ‘face’ of the Letecká stovka and annual participant Martin Halasz.
As time went on, the temperature rose and the sun didn’t give anyone a free ride. During the day, we moved from winter into a spring day.
In the end, Martin missed the record by just 5 minutes, crossing the finish line in first place with a time of 9:30:35. Behind him, two hours later, came Patrik Hrotek, followed by the Czech runner Václav Glos with a time of 11:37:16.
In the women’s category, the Czech runner Klára Burdová finished first with a time of 12:00:40, which also secured her an excellent 6th place overall across all categories. Behind Klára, 50 minutes behind, came our very own Evka Mareková, whilst Katka Bajčíková rounded off the top three in the women’s race with a time of 13:37:12.
In the men’s 50+ category, the Czech runner Petr Válek performed best with a time of 13:28:54. He was followed by Ľubomír Hedvigy with a time of 14:15:07, whilst the legendary Czech runner Radek Brunner took third place with a time of 14:33:01.
In the women’s 50+ category, Polish runner Aleksandra Mielczarek took first place with a time of 16:02:12, whilst Alenka Kevická came second with a time of 18:51:40. Unfortunately, third place in this category went unclaimed.
The 11th edition was brought to a close on a freezing Sunday morning by a pair of runners – Martin Moravčík and Daniela Tichá – who both finished in a time of 24:44:19. Marian Polák shared the story of his gruelling journey via his blog. Photo from 2025. Photographer: Peter Mečiar.
Rok 2026. 12. ročník sa niesol v znamení veľkých očakávaní. Registrácia na 100-kilometrovú trať sa vypredala za neuveriteľných 16 hodín. Nakoľko sme chceli ulahodiť aj tým, ktorí si na dlhé ultra netrúfnu, obnovili sme starú 55-kilometrovú trasu. Tá vedie z Trenčína cez Beckov a Selec až na Inoveckú chatu, kde sa napája na stovkársku trať.
Taktiež sme si vyskúšali organizáciu detských behov pod záštitou Arena Ostrov a v tomto koncepte plánujeme pokračovať aj do budúcna. Okrem týchto noviniek prebehli len kozmetické zmeny, ako napríklad kontrolný bod K4 Duchonka v nových priestoroch Duchonka Landu. Štartovalo sa po druhýkrát z trenčianskeho Ostrova (Arena Ostrov). Do organizačného tímu pribudol Pavel Trúchly.
Výsledky: Letecká 100
Na štart rannej stovky sa postavilo 230 bežcov desiatich národností, z ktorých do cieľa úspešne dobehlo 195. O svojej bojovnosti sa v blogu s nami podelila Vanda Dimitrovova.
Muži (celkovo):
Tomasz Kik (SVK) – 10:03:11
Václav Glos (CZE) – 10:29:37
Martin Pivoňka (CZE) – 10:58:54
Ženy (celkovo):
Evka Mareková (SVK) – 12:25:18
Marie Balšínková (CZE) – 13:19:34
Barbora Šimková (SVK) – 13:23:03 (v tesnom závese za Mariou)
Muži 50+:
Radek Brunner (CZE) – 12:06:06
Jozef Vicen (SVK) – 13:21:03
Juraj Karčák (SVK) – 13:29:40
Ženy 50+:
Martina Poelzelbauer (CZE) – 15:16:39
Stanislava Šiatinská (SVK) – 16:34:23
Vanda Dimitrovová (SVK) – 17:15:53
Výsledky: Letecká 55
Letecká 55 mala pod naším vedením premiéru, preto sme k počtu účastníkov pristupovali opatrnejšie. Na štarte o 7:00 sa pod oblúkom zhromaždilo 167 bežcov, cieľovú čiaru ich preťalo 138. Na trať nastúpili zvučné mená ako Taras Ivaniuta, Dominik Bobalík či lokálne hviezdy – bratia Jandovci.
Väčšina bežcov si užila príjemné jarné ráno, no limit trate bol nastavený ostro na 8 hodín, čo pre mnohých predstavovalo poriadnu výzvu. Teplé počasie potrápilo účastníkov najmä za Beckovom a v stúpaní na Inoveckú chatu (K2) mnohí oľutovali, ak si so sebou nevzali dostatok vody. O zážitkoch z 55 kilometrovej trasy sa podelil Juraj Mátel v jeho blogu.
Muži do 40 rokov:
Taras Ivaniuta (SVK) – 4:16:05 (s vyše polhodinovým náskokom)
Peter Ceniga (SVK)
Dominik Bobalík (SVK) – 4:54:27
Ženy do 40 rokov:
Mária Danečková (SVK) – 5:10:06
Nikola Martiňáková (SVK) – 5:27:37
Lenka Hiklová (SVK) – 5:52:58
Muži 40 – 49 rokov:
Miroslav Bednárik (SVK) – 5:08:15
Jozef Vrbovský (SVK) – 5:19:29
Ladislav Minich (SVK) – 5:22:27
Ženy 40 – 49 rokov:
Lenka Hiklová (SVK) – 5:52:58
Marieta Zelenayová (SVK) – 6:33:14
Miroslava Navrátilová (SVK) – 6:43:39
Muži 50+:
Martin Hudák (SVK) – 5:16:50
Pavol Adamčík (SVK) – 6:19:31
Martin Kerekeš (SVK) – 6:28:37
Ženy 50+:
Mária Kubová (SVK) – 6:54:19
Slovo organizátora (Jiří Horníček)
"Dnes sme ukončili 12. ročník Leteckej stovky a po prvýkrát necítim únavu ani frustráciu, ba dokonca ani nejakú veľkú radosť. Som jednoducho spokojný, že to prebehlo presne tak, ako malo. Hladko. A to stačí.
V sobotu ráno sme vypustili cez bránu bez pár jednotiek 400 bežcov, ktorí si vybehli plniť svoje sny. Vonku na nich čakalo viac ako 70 dobrovoľníkov, ktorí obetovali svoj čas pre vec, ktorá dáva zmysel. Pre komunitu. Aj o tom je Letecká stovka – o komunite ľudí, ktorí sa každoročne stretávajú pod hradom Matúša Čáka a chcú to zažiť znova a znova.
Som nesmierne rád, že mám okolo seba tím, ktorý je ochotný na pretekoch makať niekoľko mesiacov v roku a celú túto prípravu dokáže pretaviť do zlata počas 25 hodín samotného podujatia.
Foto z roku 2026. Fotograf Peter Mečiar
We look forward to seeing you at the 13th Letecká stovka on 6–7 March 2027!
Jiří Horníček, Denis Lauko, Jakub Vrana, Richard Kuzma, Marián Jelenak, Dušan Bloudek, Pavel Trúchly, Tomáš Stiksa and the SLOVAK ULTRA TRAIL Association
Sources of information and text:
“A bit of history about the Letecká stovka” (article by Ivan Horniak in the Letecká stovka Facebook group)
Letecká stovka results from 2012–2019 (in the Letecká stovka Facebook group)