Originally Posted by
LissaJous
A little travel/race report from the Pyrenees, specifically Catalonia; get that wrong and they probably won't let you in! The race is apparently supposed to help Catalonian independence! The feeling was so clear that I picked up on it well before Francesc and some of the team explained it to me, and they were highly enthusiastic about my Lancastrian/Northern separatist feelings! Francesc said I should bring a team (3 men AND 3 women), and we can put whatever we wanted for a country. Francesc, by the way, was over here for Coledale last year, due to its inclusion in the 'Mountain Running International Cup'.The location and the race itself are amazing. Nuria is a hotel/resort complex at almost 2000m and accessible only by rack railway (with supplementary hostel accommodation). It is surrounded by a horseshoe of mountains reaching almost 3000m, grassy on the immediate slopes and rocky on the tops, a lot like the Lakes. The race is around this circuit, and after the first ~1000m climb, involves many smaller but runnable climbs and descents, with some ridges in-between. It is moderately technical. And a lot of fun. Many of the runners were in road shoes, which didn't necessarily slow them down, although personally I wouldn't go without my soft rubber studs!Altitude is quite a factor, whereas in, say, the Dolomites, it's straight up and down, in this race you have to work pretty hard for a couple of hours at over 2600m, and despite some time in the Alps a fortnight ago, I struggled with this in the second half (and breaking one of my own rules of not pushing hard straight off a summit, I took a tumble and limped home...). Easily done when a bit light-headed and trying too hard, as apparently the second-placed man explained in his interview.So after acing the first climb, I thouht things were going well as I overtook some men on the following descent, and was a little surprised when I noticed that the next woman had closed up on me; obviously some very good descenders out there. Just to make sure I didn't win, I then worked (too) hard up the next hill, and immediately took the fall on the almost-flat, at which point it took me a minute or so to get my breath back. This girl was 15 years old, it turns out, so after winning the race she was DQed because she's under 16! The organisers said it was her fault for being from Basque Country and not reading the rules properly.. Yes, 16 year-olds can run ALs in Catalonia, and 15-year olds can be quite quick in a 3-hour race!!So, limping slightly, I switched down a gear and enjoyed the mountains, with a noticeable increase in energy when finally returning to lower altitude. I was in fact only about 10 minutes down on the official winner and 15 on the 15-year old.So anyway, a much-recommended race, with a great party atmosphere. Contact me or maybe Gary Devine (who didn't show up!) for info/contacts (regular race entries fill up in 20 minutes when they go live online but Francesc can probably help for visitors).As for Catalonian Independence, from the 'Yes' camp they tell me that support is 50/50 at the moment and that independence is therefore looking a certaintly before too long, although they do not have an independence referendum lined up. They are still hoping for Scottish independence and thought it was sad that the outlook there is tending towards a 'no' vote, but certainly their attitude is to never give up!
Reply With Quote
