I soon feel that I lack training hours in the mountains. I take it easy and just steadily walk uphill. At some point the fastest female runner, Judit Casas, passes by at amazing pace. Near the top the slope flattens out and the wind picks up, so time to put on a jacket.
Once over the top the trail is slowly downhill. After a few minutes of easy walking and breathing I start to run again. My waistpack turns out to be a bit too heavy and is not stable and as such disturbing while running at a higher pace. For the next run ultra it is time to try out some kind of camelbag. After a long but rather easy downhill and a short climb I arrive at Checkpoint 2 in 2h51m. I drink some water and fill my bottles and rush downhill, on to the next stop in La Molina. This part is rather steep but my knees hold out very well and soon we line up for the water fountain in this small town more known for being a great place to go skiing. I pick up some pieces of banana and cross a long foot-bridge across the railroad. On the other side we soon leave the village to go up through the forests on the lower slopes of the mountains. Soon we arrive at the ski stations above La Molina and than the steep climb to Coll de Pal starts.
At this point it seems like I have a blister on my left heel and once I make it to the top of this mountain pass I sit down to check it out and take care of it with a good patch of Compeed. Running down to Bagà starts with a paved road and once again I take it easy for some minutes to rest the legs from the uphill. Once back on the trail the part to the next checkpoint is nice to run and the mountain refuge where checkpoint 4 is set up is a very nice place with a huge cold water basin just before arriving to cool down head, neck and arms and fill up bottles. Shortly after arriving another runner stumbles down and complains about nausea and other typical problems. The people at the checkpoint take care of him and after eating some pieces of watermelon I am on my way again. 6h35m and going strong. Shortly after the first surprise checkpoint is set up where a man called Paco takes pictures and cheers on all runners coming by.
This area is very nice and I really enjoy running here.
The last part before Bagá is very steep down hill and rather technical. Half way my legs are still ok but I don't force this downhill remembering experiences from other ultras where I went down too hard. Just outside town, a mother and her little son are waiting for dad Enric, I hope he will arrive soon, since the sun is doing his job here. The entrance into Bagà is a very steep slide down to a small creek and then through some narrow streets to the village centre square. This is the first place where people decide to abandon. Not me though!!! More than half way and still ahead of the 18hrs schedule with 8h04m I fill up my bottles pick up more chunks of melon and head into the moutains on the other side of Bagà. The first part I climb up with a woman who told me she just went back to Bagà after some 15 minutes of climbing since she was not sure to have registered correctly at the checkpoint. After hours of running keeping your head clear and concentrated becomes more difficult. This part of the trail is very warm and steep and I have my first dip. Getting to the highest point takes a long time and has a lot pseudo tops that make you think you are there and 5 minutes later you go even higher. In spite of having a hard time I enjoy the place it self which is a real fairy tale forest!
After 10h29m I arrive at Gisclareny, still on 18hrs schedule even though I decide here to slow down and see how fast I advance if I just walk. The climb upto this checkpoint 6 has taken its tolll and I want to make sure to be able to arrive. After a good rest and more chunks of watermelon I continue my way on to Saldes with my headlight already in place since it will get dark soon. It's a pity to not have done that part by daylight. Even in the dark this is a very nice part, though quite hard, since it follows a small river that goes down. At some parts the trail leads through a narrow canyon where you have to dance from rock to rock. Arriving at Saldes is a great moment. It is well after midnight, but the terraces are still full of people that cheer and applaud every runner that gets this far. 12h28m still 30km to go but enough time to make it within 24hrs and the legs are ok. The next part up to checkpoint 8 is not as steep as I feared. It consists of small climbs and long stretches of a nice trail through the forest and soon the silence is interupted by the sound of a generator that supplies electricity to the lights of checkpoint 8. 14h06. The trail continues to climb and soon I am out of the forest and here it gets colder and more windy. I run with a group of some 3 or 4 other runners and a few some minutes ahead and others some minutes behind judging the lights dancing up the mountain. Where we expect to have to go to Refuge Ensija we find the next hidden checkpoint and we are told to follow the indications and not worry about the refuge, which keeps us puzzled for a while. All of a sudden the downhill begins, really really steep this time and I need hands and feet and full atention to slide down and also finding your way is not easy on this part that lasts quite a while and later on turns into a very narrow and winding path through the forest. Soon after the steep part voices and a generator indicate that the next checkpoint is nearby. The few runners gathered here are cheerfull. 16h42m. The toughest part is done and from now on it is just hanging in there untill the finish line. I take some time here to drink warm soup and eat more chunks of watermelon. The next checkpoint is two hours ahead at my current pace and I prefer to eat and drink enough. After some time the sky starts to show signals of a new day break and the birds start their goodmorning concert. The trail is wide and easy, going downhill and with enough daylight I start to run again. After 2 hours I run into a village but no signs of the checkpoint. I continue but at some point there are no signs at all so I check back in my memory what other paths I have crossed lately. Three runners arrive and they too are surprised to not have found the checkpoint yet, but we are sure of going in the right direction and after some 5 minutes we find checkpoint 9. 19h05m underway and some 8km left, one more steep climb and the rest is downhill. After a short rest and more watermelon I continue, with a good pace going uphill. I decide to more or less walk the downhill to the Queralt Monastery to enjoy the view since I am sure to finish well within 24hrs.
Just before the monastery the last hidden checkpoint is set up to clear any doubts about having missed it before and than the only thing left is the stairs down to Berga. My knees are still ok and I can sort of run them down. Once I enter Berga I check my watch and see that finishing within 21hrs might still be possible. Even though it takes longer than I expect with a last sprint I manage to put 20:59:56 on the clock. Shortly after it starts to rain and a thunderstorm passes over Berga. While walking to the busstop to go back to Barcelona other runners come down looking to the dark skies above, but luckily for those still up in the mountains it does not rain too heavily. In the bus on my way to Barcelona my thougths already go over the things to improve for the next ultra, happy to have finished this one, which is regarded as one of the tougher ultras in Catalunya.
Para los que se animen: Ultratrail Nuria Queralt-Berga
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