After the regular preparation we were shot away at 9h00.
I knew that we would leave the village on a very narrow trail so I made sure to be upfront in order to not be caught in any "slow traffic". That first part is runnable but on a narrow path with loose stones so I run fully concentrated on my foot placement. After almost 2k we go down to the stream of the valley, which has hardly any water and then start the first and longest climb. I try to run up, but soon slow down to walking fast, since the path goes up surprisingly steep. I am still breathing heavily because of the fast start and the climb does not really allow for recovery. Once at the high part of the hills the path goes winding through man-high bushes alternating with forest, which is really nice and here I do recover from the fast start and start to feel more comfortable. Coming out of the forest on a wide path we pass the first aid station, but since I took liquids with me I continued without stopping.
The downhill is very technical and very steep, so I try to balance speed with security. I make it down without incidents and we continue over a more or less level path to the point were the 10k runners go back to the village and the 20k runners start the second steep climb. At the aid station there they tell me and the runner that passes there with me, that we are in 25th and 26th place (of a total of some 75 runners). From there on climbs and downhills alternate untill we go down a fire barrier, just straight down, no path, fun in a way, but once again trying to not twist any ankle there. The second part of that downhill is much like the first one, very steep and tricky, but I can keep rather good pace and soon we cross on a wide path the goes slightly down to an aidstation where the last steep climb starts. By that time I am tired but feeling quite ok and with strenght to push at good rhythm. From there on it is back to the village going mostly down on reasonable paths and I finish in good shape in 2h42m02s, 32nd overall and 4th of Master (50+) runners. As the name of the race indicates we have beer at the finish line from the local brewery Agullons, and also bread with a huge saucage to recover from the effort.
Many thanks to the organization and volunteers!! Excellent marking of the tricky course with many changes of direction, I have never doubted one second about where to go. All in all much tougher than I expected, and less runnable, but I had fun from start to finish!!!
