Quite a bit of the race route follows the GR221.
Useful Cicerone guide to help can be acquired here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trekking-Thr...0922039&sr=1-2
Lots of hard ground underfoot by the look of it.
Printable View
Quite a bit of the race route follows the GR221.
Useful Cicerone guide to help can be acquired here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trekking-Thr...0922039&sr=1-2
Lots of hard ground underfoot by the look of it.
My preparation for this was interrupted 8 weeks ago with a back injury that lead to some knock-on complications. I managed little training between late Feb and the race.
So I wasn't expecting much from the trip.
440 started at midnight on Friday. 296 finished within the 24 hour cut off.
I managed 19.28.59 for 143rd place. The fitness base must have served me well.
Very tough day I must say, and the limestone cobbles were murder in the second half.
I'll post a bit more when I've ordered my thoughts.
Morgan
I have borrowed the short report I did for the Ilkley Harriers website:
With Alison Eagle confined to quarters with a doctor’s note forbidding both air travel and running, it was just Nicky and Ken Jaquiery and yours truly who headed for Mallorca to experience the delights of Mediterranean ultra running. The Tramuntana is a range of big, steep, rocky mountains, comprised entirely of limestone, running close to the north coast for pretty much the full length of the island. The race route, which follows parts of the recently devised GR221 long distance footpath, started this year in Andratx and finished in Pollensa. Alternate years it goes the other way, Pollensa to Andratx. The scenery is beautiful, sometimes lush and verdant, at other times quite severe, and the ground reasonably testing for long distance running.
My preparation for this race, the first of only 2 planned events this year, was rudely interrupted at the end of February by a back injury, which lead to a number of knock-on complications. I struggled to get ready for the race and the 8 weeks prior featured regular visits for chiropractic and sports massage assistance but very little of the necessary training to prepare for running 66.5 miles in the mountains in under 24 hours. But there was a good base under all that trouble. Still, 2 weeks before the event I was far from convinced I would start the race. A couple of 20 milers in the Lakes over the Easter weekend gave a glimmer of hope and for the first time ever I tapered for an ultra by doing exactly nothing!
A midnight start on Friday was something of an unwelcome novelty (not since my Bob Graham in 1985 have I started any kind of event on so little rest) but there was a certain elegance in knowing that the relevant ground had to be covered before midnight struck on Saturday. Did those still out at that time turn into pumpkins I wonder?
My primary recollections are of moderate heat (low 20s C), beautiful villages, incredible mountain scenery, the hardest ground I have ever covered on foot (limestone cobbled paths and tracks abound), wonderful sea views, occasional doubts about the route (never having been over almost all of the route, though the marking was first class), frustration with a couple of lengthy road sections, good care from aid station helpers, grumbles about some of the food on offer (no ramen noodle soup), and great comradeship from fellow competitors (mostly Spaniards). A shorter 62 km race, the one Alison was scheduled to run, started at 8.00am to cover the Valldemossa to Pollensa section and I was passed by the leader on a steep, rocky section high above the village of Deia, about 45 kms in for me. He was absolutely flying and his clear and simple enjoyment of his downhill speed brought a big smile to my face. (He covered the 62 kms in 5.40.56 and won by 58 minutes!)
I lost sight of Nicky after about the first half mile; it was dark of course. She ran on with Mark Townsend with whom she ran UTMB in 2011. Ken flew past me on the first long descent making use of his Petzl Ultra lamp, but I caught him at checkpoint 1 at Estellencs. We departed together but that was the last I saw of him.
There were many highlights along the way, too many to recount, but some dips too, none deeper than on the final 3 miles of road into Pollensa which was purgatory as the feet finally succumbed to the twin enemies of the very hard ground and the heat. The welcome at the finish was both enthusiastic and generous. Nicky had an excellent run. Performance of the day though, no doubt, was from Ken “the Hat” Jaquiery who on very limited training posted a very decent time and was nowhere near the back of the field. I was very happy with my own race, bearing in mind the poor preparation, and impressed with my reserves of strength and stamina. 440 started, 296 finished.
106 Nicky Jaquiery 18.23.46 6th lady and 1st lady veteran
143 Morgan Williams 19.28.59
223 Ken Jaquiery 21.33.04
Very happy to expand on this if anyone has any specific questions about the event.
Morgan
Some video footage here, shot on the day:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZAktWxVyzs
and a trailer for a forthcoming video due out on 15 May:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdZxO67y7Y0
Morgan
Full length race video now available here:
http://www.retransmitemeya.com/UMSDT2012/
Only happy memories now. :D
Good vid,some psyched guys on that start line.
Nice vids and great report ! I'm seriously considering this race for next year and have registered my interest to be notified when registration opens. If you have any tips/advice for the race that would be appreciated, a couple of quick questions: - it looked a mix of terrain, would road or light trail shoes be better ? - how rough is the terrain in the initial section before sunrise (wondering whether to supplement my Myo XP with my Fenix hand torch) ? Cheers !
Dougie
Full reply in due course. Back in the UK on 16 July.
Morgan
Thanks Morgan
Dougie
Yes, a mix of terrain, some rough stuff, some trail and some road.
I'd ensure you have adequate grip and protection for the rougher stuff (nasty sharp limestone cobbles,slabs and boulders) but choose a shoe that makes the transition to the flatter stuff well. The Salomon S Labs I used handle this about perfectly. Speedcross would be too much I think. Various Inov8s would be suitable if you fancy running 70 miles in them. The Brooks Cascadia 7s would also be a good choice, if a little heavy, but smoothing out the bumps in the later stages is something I would have welcomed. If the ground is damp at all, you would regret road shoes I suspect. The limestone which dominates the whole course would be lethal.
I was fine with my Myo RXP. Still plenty of runners close together in the hours through to dawn so you get light from others so to speak. Anything more would be overkill unless you were racing along with the lads and lasses at the sharp end.
Any other specific questions, let me know. I'm away abroad again for a week or so.
Morgan