Roures Extreme - 100k

In the race description is says... a leg-breaker... and between that and having Extreme in its name I guess that says it all.. oh wait!!! double that with bad weather. Last saturday at 6 am I went for what I thought would be "just another ultra", 100k and some 6500 D+, the weather forecast said, some rain in the morning and half way the afternoon and cold at night. After a good night sleep in the apartment we rented I got up early and it was already raining outside. So dressed up for rain I arrived at the start area in the church at the St. Francesc. Some ten minutes before I left the shelter and passed the material check and at six we were whispered away and off we went into the silent dark drizzling morning. The first kilometers we run on wide paths so it was easy to go at your own pace. The rain from time to time falls harder but never becomes uncomfortable. With the sight partially blocked by my capuchon I miss some changes of direction several times, along with other runners, loosing time that in the end became critical. In other races those changes were marked more clearly, but also my head was still with work and things that happened last week. Just before 30k we run into a very steep downhill on a rock slide. Up until then I thought I could make it near 6 hours for the marathon though I was behind on scheme but that downhill was really slow stepping carefully down from rock to rock. Not too long after we had to do the same upwards climbing a rock slide which is slightly more easy but slow nonetheless. And thus, after almost 8 hours we returned to civilization shortly to the village Capafons where I met up with my family who had been waiting there in the cold and rain.

My family waiting in the cold and rain in Capafons (Foto by Enric Camps)

Entering Capafons (Foto by Enric Camps)

Near the aid station (Foto by Enric Camps)

Downhill means cuadriceps!!! (Foto by Jordi Molevelt)

A quick hello and good bye (Foto by Montse Camps)

They soon left in order to find some warm place to eat and I quickly devoured some delicious pasta and refilled all fluids and then set of again on my way to the Live Bag Check point 20 kilometers away from there. Those 20 kilometers mainly were two long climbs up and a two long descents afterwards with  a river crossing in between. Just before the river crossing we had our first rappel down along a very slippery rock but I made it safe down and without hesitation stepped into the cold water. Little did I know of what was to come later that night. During this section the sun comes out a bit and from time to time we have incredible views of the surroundings of this area. Endless hills and endless forests with steep rocky crests towering above. Due to the rain of this morning and the past weeks in general the atmosphere is very humid and there were incredible many mushrooms in all varieties. Around 19h00 I arrived at Pinetell. It was still warmer than I expected so I did not yet change into much warmer clothes. I put on dry socks and had some more pasta and then prepared for the night to come.
It was dark soon, and after an easy winding path down we crossed the river at a point that by day must be incredible. The water is thundering here and we cross by tibetan bridges. At the other side I only see one marker but no more so it took me a while to check the area and understand that there was only one path leading out there. Minutes afterwards there is another marker. This part is rather easy though the rain has made the path very muddy and slippery so I do not advance as fast as I would like to. After a last very slippery downhill we arrive at Refugi els Masets. The volunteers ask us several times if we are sure that we want to continue. It had started to rain again and they warned us the next part, though only 3,5km long, was very difficult and we had to feel well and prepared for that to continue. This is a bit paradoxal since we already did 70km, so it feels like, "Yeah, I have come this far for the organization to tell me not to continue?" Together with a Norwegian runner I decide to continue (ofcourse :D) and the difficult part we tackle between the two of us, where he was leading since he had more pure mountaineering experience. It was mainly some sort of path in between piles of rocks and many places where you had go up and down jumps of more than one meter, and quite a few times rappeling up or down with a rope, all wet and muddy. The last part down is incredibly slippery and I fall a few times here, without really hurting myself. Also the promised cold wave is finally arriving, but I decide to wait until being at the next aid station to change into warmer clothes. I was happy when I finally got there, but forgot to do that change. Those 3,5km went by in almost 3 hours and I had to start and worry of the 26 hours you could finish the 100k in. The rain was still coming down steadily and any more muddy paths downhill would surely keep me from finishing on time. In spite of indications of the people at the small aid station I could not easily find my way in La Riba. The only crucial marker in the village had stuck on the pole of a lantern being all wet and you could not see it at a distance and the village had 2 entrances, so more delay. The next part according to the people at the aid station was easy, but soon I found myself in the mist looking for markers nowhere to be found on a rocky crest wading through bushes that torn my skin apart. Soon it starts to be really cold and at some place sheltered from the wind I quickly change clothes and continue. After what seemed an eternity I reach the highest point. The next part down is one long dangerous muddy slide where many times I just sit down and slide on my bottom to advance without falling. Once again my pace average was horribly slow when I arrived at Vilaverd. It was very likely I would need more than 26 hours to finish now, but with only 17km to go, at least I wanted to do just that, finish and get it done. Apart from a very steep climb just before Montblanc the rest was just a matter keep going and after 26:19:37 I crossed the finish line with Montse and Jordi waiting for me there. Since the idea was to gather 5 ITRA points for the UTMB with this ultra, the wait is now for finding out if I will get those points.

Entering Montblanc (Foto by Jordi Molevelt)

Almost there... (Foto by Montse Camps)

Look at all the mud!!! (Foto by Montse Camps)

I have never finished this dirty!!! (Foto by Montse Camps)

I think that with better markers at certain points I would have finished on time. I am now just hoping I will get my points!!! Many thanks to my family for being there to take pictures and cheer me on!!! And also many thanks to the organization and volunteers!!! The Roures Extreme honours its name in many aspects and dips into the adventure beyond trailrunning, which, though not at all easy in the moment makes for a great challenging experience.

Some weeks later: 5 ITRA points confirmed :D !!!