A particularly tough first exposure to trail running! I had accumulated quite a decent volume in preparation for this race, with more than 400km in four weeks, but it proved of little impact as I hardly ran, given the nature of the terrain, where passing slower runners was near impossible and where steep slopes forced most participants to walk up (fast) and made me hyper-cautious on the way down. And periodically letting faster runners pass me. Especially after my first fall at kilometre 8 when I bumped into a rock and fell flat (with many scratches but nothing broken). As a result, I went from 141th to 161th to 187th at the successive check-points. The massive differential let me with sore tights the whole week, although not preventing me from jogging every morning. And still the weather was near perfect, cold with no wind, sunny most of the way and no rain till the finish line. The good side is that I did not suffer at all from the hindfoot tendinitis I had developed two weeks earlier. And which soon returned on flat, fast terrains like Ponte de la Liberta!
Particular & paternal congrats to my daughter Rachel, who finished less then 15mn after me and managed her race most strategically, gaining positions at each check-up and ending up 23rd woman! Great race, Ra’!!! And great views during the race that I mostly missed, tunnel visioning the track to avoid yet another fall…
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