“We made our goal and so we are very happy about our result.”
The race started in Obersdorf in Germany on 5th September with a 35km run with 2543m ascent and 1915m descent. The first part of the stage was running in a good path and after the first food/drink stop we started to climb up to the mountains. We used the rope already in the beginning in order to achieve the first control point on time. We were a little nervous whether we will make those cut off times as we had never done the race before but after the first check point we realized that there is nothing to worry about, we were in the top 6 teams, so no worries. We managed the first stage in a good shape without problems and arrived to Lech am Arlberg in Austria on 6th position in our category.
The second day led us to St.Anton in Austria. This stage was relatively short 23,8km and + 2014m ascent and – 2169m descent. The start was pretty “heavy”, we started climbing right after passing the village of Lech. Noora had hard times to get to the speed; the fast starts were not hers, so we took the rope again and went together the first mountain. After couple of hours she was like a new and didn´t felt puking as in the beginning so we were able to just speed up our rhythm. She has amazing skills to suffer and then suddenly recuperate and run like in the first day.
Third day was not quite ours. Both of us felt pretty tired and we had not recuperated from the previous day so the day from St.Anton to Galtür was tough. This stage was 32,97km with +2437m ascent and -2134m descent. Early start at 8am and cold weather made the tired legs even more tired and I personally felt very bad and ever since from the start was just wondering how we will arrive to Galtür. Somehow the hours passed and we were in the last ascent which was like a hell. The Swiss female team passed us and that was just putting the feelings even worst..We decided to put the rope again and climbed the last uphill together. I believe Noora was all the time fighting to puke or not..And once again she showed her strong mental skills, she was just hanging there and moving her sore body with my speed. Finally we were up and able to start the downhill which was our stuff! We ran the downhills very fast and with a great technique comparing to other teams, that was certainly one of our strong point in the race. Then the last 5 kilometers before arriving to the village made our lives a hell again. We didn´t feel our legs, we were exhausted and tired and only wanted to arrive and rest but the asphalt was just never ending. We ran together in the rope and were just hoping to see the End…which finally was there. Definitely one of the most horrible running days in my life and one of the worst stages during this race.
Luckily the organization had put us in a hotel instead of the camp so we were able to sleep in a quiet place and in a bed!! That´s a big thing in this type of race. You need all the rest possible to recuperate for the next day and you really need to take care of yourself in order to be “a new” person in the next stage. We had a little fear for the 4th day after the horrible 3rd day…but for our surprise the longest stage of the week was just a success. We decided to use the rope once again because we noticed that we go well as a team if we move the same speed. I probably felt better going up the mountains than Noora as I have possibilities to train more in the mountains than she does. So I tried to help her especially in the beginning of the stages to get to a speed without suffering too much and then the rest of the stage she felt better and was able to run faster. Many teams looked us a little strange because of the rope, but at the end I think we did a clever race as this was a team race. I didn´t go too fast in any point and Noora either didn´t go her maximum because of the synergy so we just helped to move us faster as a team. I really don´t understand those teams who were running separately and one of the team members was running hundreds of meters further than the other one. That doesn´t help the team move on faster !!! Anyway, the 4th day was a great day, we ran almost 40km and went up +2339m and down – 2734m. This descent was heavy one as we did it almost in a one shot.
The 5th day was supposed to be the relax day. We only had the “crono”, 6km up with +936m ascent. We decided to take it easy and not to do it 100% as the next three days still were long days. We did 9th position, 1h 6minutes and took it easy. This was a good choice, because actually the next three days were just getting better and better. We also decided to sleep again in a hotel to get a good sleep for the 6th stage from Scuol Switzerland to Mals im Vinschgau in Italy. In this stage we started on the 5th position and were a little scared whether the Swiss girls will catch us but for our surprise we were able to get 10 more minutes head from the previous stages and that was good. For some reason we thought we will lose our 5th position for them but the 6th day was a great day again for us and we approved to ourselves that we are still in the race and we have to fight for the 5th pos. during the last two days.
The 7th day from Mals to Schlanders was a long day, almost 35km with a +1817m ascent and -1894m descent. The day went fast and we were able to arrive before the approx.times the organization had set up. The last descent was just horrible and long..that´s pretty much all I remember from this stage. And of course that in this stage we arrived 4th in our category !! We were able to make almost 15minutes more distance between us and the Swiss girls so we had a great position to start the last stage with a 39minutes difference for them. We decided to do a “basic” day with all we can to arrive to the end before them even we knew it´s difficult for them to do the last stage 39minutes faster than us. The plan worked out and we arrived to the end with a time difference of 47minutes and won the 5th position. We were so happy.
I had setup a goal to be inside the first 5 teams while Noora just laughed for me..She didn´t believe we could do so well. I knew that I had trained a hell of a lot and knew her mental capacity and resistance so I trusted that with her we can do it. We showed that with a great team work you can achieve a lot ! We helped each other all the time, we talked all the time like “ remember to eat, don´t forget to drink, have you eaten in the last ½ hour, take it easy this uphill, let´s go together with the rope, try to breathe slower, let´s not get too excited, it´s a long way to go..Let´s try to get the first hill in an hour and then see how we feel, it´s only a one mountain left and then is our turn with the downhill, etc. ¨ The good communication and motivation helped a lot to survive the days.
The race was just great. The organization worked very well, they helped you all the time, the bags were moved to your place inside the camp so you didn´t have to move them after the race yourself, small but important detail from the organization!! The food was good and the atmosphere as well. I really recommend the race for everybody! The stages are beautiful, they allowed you to run as much as you can, they are not too alpine in case you are not too familiar with the mountains and the race is very well marked so no need to orienteer at all or even get lost. The stages were different, one day lot of running, other day long downhills, one day real mountain running and some cables, we even saw the first snow in the Austrian alps, even thought just some snow, but it was beautiful. And what was very nice was to see friends and people I know from Catalunya/Spain during the race, motivating each other, laughing etc. This made the week even better. The best race for ever and for long long time I´ve had !!
