Overnight the weather had changed a lot, from being warm and rainy to being very cold and extremely windy, at some points near the east coast up to windforce eleven and I guess on top of La Mola at least windforce 6. For the first time this year I put on long sleeves, to protect against the cold. It was still dark when I drove through Sabadell and then onto the B124 a small and winding local road that passes through Castellar del Vallés and Sant Llorenç Savall where the race would start. I arrived nicely on time and walked to the sportscomplex where the Bib numbers were handed out. Among the runners that arrived early, I recognized Francesc Viladoms Coma since we met during the Nuria Queralt Berga Ultratrail just before summer. We talked about the run and other ones in the area, since he is an experienced runner living in the area. Around 7am we had a short briefing and then went outside to the starting area to warm up muscles and get freezing thumbs since it was still very cold when the day was breaking.
At 7h15 we started to run and this time I took it more easy in order to warm up more. The first kilometers went up and down on broad paths through the woods and after some 20 minutes we passed the first control. The water and pieces of fruit were freezing cold!!! We continued and soon ran through a creek for quite a while before starting the first steep climb where we slowed down to walking. At the end of the climb control 2 was set up and I passed there in 38 minutes.
Just before completing the hour I arrived at control 3 after another steep climb. The water and fruit was still very cold. In the short downhill afterwards we had a first glimpse of the top of La Mola.
And in general the area has beautiful sights.
In our approach to the bottom of the path up to La Mola we ran through some fields for a while.
But soon we had to go up again, and really steep from time to time
With flat parts in between, but all paths go up slightly.
The trail was very narrow and winding, though from time to time we could see runners in front or just back if the woods would open up a little.
At some point high enough we can see the Vallés valley and the sea under a crystal clear sky.
And up we went
while the terrain became more and more rocky
Near the top the steep climbs took me to the edge of having cramps on the inside of my thighs but I continued to walk on steadily
Untill I saw the chapel on top of La Mola.
The last part up was more runnable and from time to time we could see the chapel again, coming closer and closer.
After 2h45 I reached the top of La Mola. The wind here was indeed very very strong and I had to find shelter before I called home. After some pictures of the magnificent view I started the long downhill.
The view to the north.
The view to the south.
Another emblematic mountain "Montserrat" to the west.
The first part of the downhill is on the side where the wind had been blowing all night and also where the sunlight had not touched the ground yet and at some points the rocks were covered with an icy layer and we had to be carefull in order to avoid slipping and falling.
Up to checkpoint 8 I was going downhill fine, but then we went into a thick forest, where it was darker than it seems on the next picture. The trail down was steep, narrow and wet and full of loose stones and slippery patches and at some point I actually slipped, but luckily I could break the fall enough and I did not hurt myself.
Once we came out of the woods we had a nice view of the typical rocky formations in this area.
Control 9 was set up at a really nice building Marquet de la Roca. I arrived here around about 3h45, rather tired.
The landscape and the paths changed into a much more open terrain with red clay roads. After a while we started the next climb and the path changed into a trail again winding through bushes and crossing rocky patches.
At some point we could see control 10 and also tiny coloured dots of runners upfront going up the hill in the background. In spite of the sun it was still rather cold here and the people at the checkpoint were dressed for winter and if possible hiding from the strong wind. After a short call home I left here around 4h26. One more control left before the finish.
The next part involved steep climbs and downhills on a very narrow trail through waist high bushes. In spite of being tired I enjoyed the landscape a lot. At some points we have to jump down a meter but I had enough strength left to manage.
After checkpoint 11 we still went up and down and we continued on trails right upto the edge of Sant Llorenç Savall. The last meters the runners were cheered on and applauded and soon I crossed the finish line. Happy, but sore and tired.
My final time was 5h33m34s. With the arrival at La Mola around 2h45 the second half somewhat shorter and more downhill took me 2h48m. I guess that for such a real mountain marathon more specialized mountain training is necessary in order to perform well! Thanks to the organization and the volunteers for making this race possible and withstand the wind and cold.
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