After the muddy adventure in Basque Country today it was time for a more high mountain race. During a pre-Xmas run with friends they mentioned this race and after a lot of reconsidering because of some lingering small aches I had decided to give it a try. Soon after I learned that in the week prior to the race I also had to travel for work and all in all preparation was decent but certainly not optimal and I still had some doubts about my right knee though the last training sessions were better. Also my left soleus seemed to have finally recovered probably with the more specific strength training for both the soleus and gastrocnemius muscles - the calf muscles in more generic language. After a long drive I arrived just before sunset in Vilamur, already to late for getting my bib-number so I had to pick that up early the next morning. Since this was a longer race the plan was to start easy and apart from moving articulations I did no running warmup. I had a chat with the friends that gave me the idea to consider this race and then at 7 o'clock we started our run. Bad weather was expected in the second half of the race and they made the course slightly shorter to avoid having people being exposed to lightning in the high mountains. They also told us to be prepared for the cold at the highest point of the race. With the windchill factor it might be less than zero degrees and cold is in general not a problem, but wind is.
away we go
After a short run through the small village we started a steep and technical descent into the valley de "La Siarb". Since I started way in the back of the group I found myself a bit trapped behind very slow runners and on the single trail down it was hard to make a pass without risks. Eventually I managed to do so and settle into a group that advanced at my pace. Just before the first hour passed I arrived at the first aid station, Tornafort, and without stopping started the long downhill to Sort, the biggest town in the area.
aid station Tornafort -
text
aid station Sort
text
aid station before top
text
just before top Pic de l'Orri
text
Pic de l'Orri
text
snow
aid station refugi
text
aid station Coll Cantó
text
Before LLagunes
text
aid station llagunes
text
top last climb
text
aid station Puigforniu
text
turning the last corner into the street with the finish line
text
arriving at the finish, tired but happy with the result
text
After finishing
Finished in 10:09:46
As always many thanks to the organization and all the volunteers!!!
Finally work and race calendars lined up and I was lucky enough to be able to run a race in Basque Country. The Kolazino Mendi Eguna is organized in a small town near Bilbao called Bedia and I opted for the 24k trail. The week leading up to the race it had been raining a lot and the day before we were sent an email regarding the obligatory material asking us to pack full bad and cold weather gear. Basque country is well known for harsh race conditions and it looked like this time would be no exception. Also this time one of my brothers, David, came over from the Netherlands to spend some days in the area and Saturday morning we woke up early to prepare for driving from Getxo to Bedia. On our way there it started to rain again. We parked the car and in the drizzling rain I made put on my rain jacket and backpack and then we walked to the start area looking for shelter. The race would start at 10 o'clock and we still had about an hour go, so some shelter would be nice.
getting ready
But first I picked up my bib-number 108 at the local "fronton" . In the goodie-bag there is a nice T-shirt and colour matching running socks.
picking up my bib-number
Then we go to the only bar in town to have to stay warm and for my brother to have a coffee and more breakfast. About half an hour before the start we said our "see you laters" and after some exploring I went for a short warm up run and the last preparations before having my gear checked and entering the start box.
checking out the start area
the start area in front of XXX church
The nice thing of my brother being at the start is that he has made a small video of the start and also the arrival. Since the start was a slight uphill and also had a right turn right after the start it was very easy for him to film us.
At 10am we were shot away, and as always some sprinted away and I settled into an easy jog. It stopped raining and was just a bit cold at that moment. After a loop through village we headed for the forest.
leaving Bedia, very soon we will run on a muddy trail
still clean
And after just over a kilometer we entered a muddy trail right away. With mud everywhere and up to our ankles trying to find the best path was of no use, getting wet and muddy was just unavoidable. I tried to unfold my running poles, to find out that one did not lock in extension. After trying a few times I just gave up and continued with only 1 pole. Not ideal, but without tools I would waste a lot of time trying to fix the other one.
most trails were like this or worse
going downhill slipping and sliding and trying not to fall
On the first section we had our pictures taken very often, which is always nice as a memory. It was slow going. I thought I would be able to do the 24km in about 3 hours, but the first 5k already took over an hour, so unless the long downhill at the end was less muddy it was more likely to take me over 4 hours in total. At some point at an almost flat section crossing a field my right foot slipped sideways and I hit the ground, luckily without any consequences.
the "one pole" hiker
At some point the skies cleared for a short while and had some sunshine. I did not bother to take of my jacket expecting the weather to change again.
one of the rare moments we had some sunshine
And so it did. In our approach to the highest point of the race, the Mandoia (638m) more and more snow was appearing and it started to be foggy and cold again. At the aid station just before the summit I had a quick chat with the volunteers while eating and filling up my water bottle. They we well prepared for the cold with a fire in a drum to stay warm.
the aid station just before the summit of the Mandoia, it is cold here
Before the actual summit it started to snow and at the top with a strong wind blowing conditions were not exactly pleasant. This summit is more or less the midway point and I arrived here just over 2 hours. So indeed I would need more than 4 hours to finish today.
near the summit of Mandoia in the fog with lots of snow
at the top of the Mandoia a strong wind is blowing snow in our faces
At some points the downhills were once again steep and slippery and I went down slowly to try and avoid falls. From time to time runners would pass that were doing the shorter loop and had started later. They moved quite a bit quicker than me, but it was of help to see where they were sliding and be more cautious. With about 5km to go we split up again, since the 24km course has an extra loop with 2 climbs in it. The climb is rather steep but not too muddy and in the downhill Sergio, a colleague of work in Bilbao, passes me. We both had been looking for eachother without seeing, so finally we did and had a chat while slipping and sliding down the hill. He was slightly faster than me and I did not want to force anything. One more uphill were I still more or less followed him, but he slowly dissappeared ahead of me on the last downhill. With everything muddy taking out my phone to tell my brother I was ok but going slow was problematic. So I just continued. The last part was the same as the path we started on, very very muddy and here I fell a second time though in a controlled manner so I got up and continued without issues. Then finally we are back on asphalt and after a few more minutes I finished in 4h31.
Since I arrived later than expected I have no idea how David spotted me to film the whole arrival.
I went straight for the hoses to clean my hands and running shoes. Then I chatted a while with my brother and Sergio who had arrived 3 minutes before me. Looking at the skies it was best to quickly go back to the car. On our way there it started to rain and the wind picked up, but all in all very happy with the adventure of today. More running in may.
after over four hours running through mud this is what you get
