In preparation for the Matagalls Montserrat later this year I decided to run part of it by daylight. The MM starts in the afternoon, so most of scenery we never see and I know from other visits to the area it is really beautiful out there.
I parked my car near the small hermitage, Mare de Deu de les Arenes, the path passes nearby but at night we would not see this at all.
The first section is a winding path through the forest that slowly climbs up. At times you get a glimpse of "la Mola" though the route is not going up that far but passing on the left.
At some point it started to rain so I changed into the "bad-weather" gear quickly and continued. So far I have been running everything, at easy pace, but running, which during the MM most likely will be hiking on the uphills.
When I reach the highest point of this section it more or less stopped raining. The downhill is through a small village called Matadepera. For a training run it is not very interesting, during the race it is a welcome break of rocky mountain paths going down on asphalt for a while.
The section just after leaving the village is really beautiful, it is easy to run and the landscape is amazing and when you reach the highest point and cross into the next valley the views are amazing. At night you see the lights of Montserrat briefly.
The last part up to La Casa Nova d'Obac is relatively flat and very runnable. I take some time here to drink and eat and then turn back. I seems to be raining up ahead still and I see a rainbow very often and the dark back drop makes for spectacular views.
Near the end I of the training it is completely dark already so I get some running with a headlamp too during this training. Really happy to have gone out and do this, from now on it is a matter of taking it easy and prepare for race day, eventhough officially Matagalls Montserrat is not a race, but a resistance march.
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