The competition starts in the northern part of the Pearl Gulf in Primorsko, on the beach near the “Lion Heart” base camp. It includes two laps of 1500 m each. The trace marked by buoys is parallel to the shore at distance of 100 m from it. For the safety of the swimmers teams of Bulgarian Red Cross Life Guards will watch over with kayaks and motor boats. The depth is about 4 m and goes above the ruins of the sunken ancient Thracian city of Ranuli, the main entrance to the former lands of the Asti tribe.
After finishing the swimming leg the athletes go through base camp and continue with the cycling leg.
Start: 07:00 AM
Distance: 3 km
Checking time: 2 hours
The cycling stage starts from “Lion Heart” base camp on Perla beach and goes along the coastal promenade in the city of Primorsko along the entire length of Iglika Street, turns right onto 3rd March Street, then at the roundabout takes a left on the road to Kiten and continues to the fork for the village of Pismenovo, where cyclists turn right for the village. Pismenovo marks the 11th km on an all-asphalt road of the route and the first support checkpoint providing water and food.
The route goes to the village of Vizitsa on a relatively flat road, hard at some places, soft and dusty at others, goes through the first steep descent along the track and reaches the water tap in the village of Vizitsa at the 27th km. From there, cyclists turn right on the asphalt road to the village of Zabernovo and follow it to the entrance of the village, which is the 36th km and offers a second checkpoint with water and food. A slight technical descent follows in a patterned shade with blind turns, sharp stones and deep tracks at places, leading to a collapsed bridge. The route goes around the bridge through a smoothed bypass on its left side, 50 meters before the bridge itself, then exits to the Veleka River and follows the road on the east side of the river to the Sboryana guest house – the third major check point enroute with a cut-off time of 3:30 from the start of the stage or 12:30 with a 7:00 o’clock am race start. This is the 52nd km of the track, which immediately before the bridge over the Veleka River in the Kachul area, a few meters after the Sboryana guest house, turns sharply to the left with an almost U-turn on a hill AND DOES NOT CROSS THE BRIDGE AND THE MAIN ASPHALT ROAD. The route takes the participants through fields, leads them into the forest and heads towards Yanchov bair and Stoyuv chukar areas. The road runs relatively parallel to the main road in the village of Gramatikovo – Malko Tarnovo, but without crossing the asphalt it continues in the direction of Brod and the chapel of St. Trinity. The route is forested and hilly. The entrance to the Brod area is along a steep and wide slope, followed by a steep but short climb immediately before the fourth check point on the route, chapel of St. Troitsa at approximately 75th km. After the penultimate point, cyclists follow a dirt road to the track leading to the village of Vizitsa, cross it with a right-left turn and take a slight uphill to the area of Rusevo. They pass through several fields and begin a long descent to the Oreshka Reka to the Kara Ivana area. They cross the river bed, then cross a small field with an observation tower and enter a steep climb in the direction of the village of Fazanovo, where the last point of the route awaits them at approximately 84 km. This point has a cut-off time of 7:30 hours or 4:30 PM. The cycling stage continues without entering the village back to the Base Camp through the fields of Fazanovo, with a smooth descent to the apiary, the last climb to the transmission lines and after a short forest section steps onto the asphalt 5 km from Perla beach. From there, it leads the cyclists to Base Camp on the same road they started the stage on for the final leg – running.
Checking time: 8 hours
Highest point: 380 m
Total Positive Displacement: 1750 m
Distance: 96 km
BASE CAMP – S. PISMENOVO – S. VIZITSA – S. ZABERNOVO – M. TRAKII CAMP – SBORYANA (M. KACHUL) – CHAPEL OF ST. TRINITY – S. FAZANOVO – BASE CAMP, PEARL BEACH
The final stage starts at Lion heart base camp in the northeast direction passing by the residency Pearl. The route crosses picturesque crags and fresh broad-leaved forests to cape Maslen nos and the sacred sanctuary Beglik Tash at the 9-th km. This is the last reinforcement checkpoint. The athletes follow the markings to the intimate beach of the gulf St. Paraskeva and back via forest pathway to the Ropotamo reserve. In 1929 the Bulgarian sailor Kostadin Georgiev sacrifised his life to save the crew of the French ship Jacque Frassine, crushed not far from this place. We bow our heads to his memory and after a short run on the asphalt we start the climb to the astonishing stone phenomenon Lavskata glava (Lion’s head).
This is the last trial for the lion hearts, however the prize is well worth it. After the uphill comes the most panoramic part of the competition. We stop to take a deep breath and enjoy the magnificent view of the whole Arkutino gulf, lying behind the Lion’s head to the north and the coast of Kiten and Primorsko to the south. Energy is literally swarming from these sacred lands.
What follows is a pleasant, long descend via the not-so-well-known parts of Ropotamo, where herds of roes and deer can be seen, back to the “Lion heart” base camp through a splendid final sprint.
Checking time: 3 hours
Total Positive Displacement: 453 m
Highest point – Lion’s Head: 213 m
Distance: 21 km
Base camp “Lion heart” – Maslen nos – Beglik Tash – Gulf St. Paraskeva – Mount Kitka – Base camp “Lion heart”
