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The Marathon in the Ultra Sierra Nevada 14 July 2018 Race Report

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Karl RichardsAug 26 2018, 12:11pmThe Marathon in the Ultra Sierra Nevada 14 July 2018 Race Report
Karl Richards

This all started in late June just before heading off on our annual family holiday to Spain when I felt I had recovered from the Wicklow way race and googled races in Spain. The Ultra Sierra Nevada race popped up, it looked amazing (http://www.ultrasierranevada.com/) . After some thought I signed up to the marathon as the longer races required a doctors certificate and I didn’t have time before registrations closed to get that in place. So a few minutes later I was registered. The marathon was one of the 4 races in the series which started at 10pm with an urban 10km race around Granada. That was followed by the main Ultra Marathon (100 km) which started at midnight. The 65 km Trail race started at 05:00 and then the marathon started at 07:00.
What I didn’t know when I signed up to the Sierra Nevada Marathon which is part of the Sierra Ultra Series is that there was no race day pack pick up. This meant that I had to travel down the night before the race but didn’t have a hotel booked so I decided my car would be my temporary hotel for the night. I left the comfortable side of the swimming pool surrounded by family and friends and headed on a 3 hour road trip from Murcia to Granada. Luckily the car had cruise control which was perfect for the long motorway drive, which was easy with google maps navigating. Nerves going through my head the whole drive as I questioned whether I had packed enough nutrition, electrolytes, were my runners up to it. And the biggest uncertainty were my legs up to this with only 4 weeks passing since my 130km Wicklow way race with close to 4000m of climbing? Eventually the traffic built on the roads as I got close to Granada, which didn’t really give me any time to be over thinking this race. Sure its only a marathon I had said when I left the pool side.
I made it to the Race pack pick up area in the centre of Granada, with neat lines of people for the different races. So at 10pm I picked up my pack and then looked around for somewhere to go for some grub and I spotted an Italian restaurant close to the registration area full of runners. Off I went and had a pizza and coke for €5, not bad. Now Google had to direct me for the one hour drive to the finish line in Pradollano where I planned to leave my car after sleeping in it. The road from Granada to Pradollano was your typical ski resort road with hair pin turns and steep drops which I knew were there but couldn’t see them in the dark. Thoughts going through my head were that I had to run this tomorrow! At midnight I pulled in to the car park at Pradollano where the bus would collect us as 05:30 to bring us to the start line. After a surprisingly good few hours sleep I awoke at 5am and got dressed and got on the bus with my race bag. I ate breakfast on the bus on the way to the start line in Quentar. The village was alive when we got there and the main restaurant was open for business with runners eating breakfasts of bread with jam and coffee. Lucky for me it was a perfect place to use the toilets!
The marathon started at Quentar which was CP4 (aid station 4) and was 47.3 km along the ultra route and located at 870m above sea level. A sea that I was swimming in the previous day. The start line was electric with ACDC playing loudly getting everyone all going! At 7am the marathon started, with a short 2km on the road around Quentar we appeared at the single track climb to start the real race. I learnt now why I should have gone a bit faster at the beginning as there was a massive line of people waiting to ascend the single track trail. The mountain trail snaked up a valley to reach Alto de los Jarales after 8 km at an altitude of 1453 m above sea level. This was a lung busting climb which was frustrated in part by the long line of runners/walkers on the single track. There was then a bit of relief with a 2km down hill section to CP5 which was 10.1km in to the race which I reached in 1 hour 20 minutes. My first aid station in a European race. It did not disappoint with a large selection of fruit, biscuits, sweets, crisps, nuts, coke, water and isotonic drinks. I could have stayed there a while but tried to fuel up and hit the trail again.
Now the second climb of the day to Alto de el Calar (1850 m above sea level) started with 2 km of relatively flat terrain. At 12km the climb started with the peak just 4.5 km ahead of us but 550 m climbing! Its 08:30 in the morning and its starting to get warm as the sun cleared the hills and penetrated the valleys. An hour later (2 hours 30 minutes in to the race) I am enjoying spectacular views across the mountain range and into the valley beneath.
After a bit of Facebook live its time for the 8km descend to CP6 at Guejar Sierra. The word descent sounds great after the long climbs but it soon becomes clear that there is no break on the descent which twists down very rough rock strewn train with a total elevation loss of 900m! By the time I reached the outskirts of this village my quads were on fire, I had drained by 1.5 litre bladder and it was hot. I got some relief when I spotted a spring that created a water fall on to the road, time to dunk my head to cool off. Wow that was refreshing. Now where was CP6? Running down this road was torture and I needed food and drink. Eventually there were some marshals ushering us in to a building which turned out to be a sports hall of some sort. There were tables and chairs and what can only be described as a small restaurant. The choice of food was amazing from spaghetti bolognaise to rice, sandwiches etc. Time to eat and reload by bladder with tail wind. After a brief trip to the toilet its time to hit the road again. It was 10:20 in the morning and we had made it 24 km in to the race.
That was the last piece of downhill in the whole race. From CP6 the route drops down to the river that feeds the large lake Rio Genil. Once you cross the river the climbing starts again from 950 above sea level to Monasterrio san Jerome (CP7) 11km later at 1665 m above sea level, a total climb of 715m. This section brings you up a river valley. I encountered a british runner on this section who was running his first marathon and his first trail run. I just look at him and think to myself, fair play to you, this will either make you or kill you. He then tells me he has signed up for marathon des sables, I nearly fall off the mountain side. I accelerate past him after a nice chat and continue onward and upwards. There are serious zig zags to climb where I became stuck behind lines of runners walking using walking sticks which made it particularly difficult to pass them on this single track. Its hot and a very dry atmosphere, I keep sipping on my tailwind as we climb and seek out whatever shade there is in this forested valley. At one point the trail crosses a mountain stream which gave me another opportunity to dunk my head and wet by bandana which I had wrapped around my wrist to wipe the sweat from my forehead. Trying to cross this point is tricky as a few runners have decided to stop for a chat! After 4 hours 25 minutes I eventually reach CP7 at 30 km in to the race at an altitude of 1665 m above sea level. Its now 12:15 in the afternoon and I hit the aid station hard and eat oranges and down a few cups of coke. No time to linger now as the race ascends the main road towards the finish at Pradollano.
The final section from CP7 to the finish at CP8 Pradollano climbs 435 m from 1665 m at 31 km to 2100 m above sea level at 42 km. We head up the tarmac road that links Granada with the ski resort of Pradollano. While the surface is not really for trail runners it was a nice section as I met another English speaker Gisela Gartmair who was German and living in Perth Australia and another girl who had travelled over from south America to run the race. We had a nice chat about the other ultra races they had been in before. I hear about last years Ultra Sierra Nevada when the temperatures hit 40 degrees forcing Gisela to drop out of the race at 34 km, this year with cooler temperatures she was going great at the 80km+ stage when I met her. Later I find out that she was the third lady in the ultra completing it in just under 17 hours. I run on ahead and focus on getting to the end. I am so glad that this year the temperatures were in the late 20s probably hitting 30 degrees on this road section.
I am uncertain of the route from here to the end as I didn’t think we ran on the roads so I resigned myself to run the last 10 km on roads. But no, at 37 km in to the race there was an unscheduled aid station offering water and other goodies. I was alright for food and water but the thought of ice cold water being poured on my head was too tempting and it took my breath away literally! Now we are directed off the road and enter a tunnel which brings us under the road and to another trail for the last 5 km. After we exited the tunnel there then followed the toughest section which was a scramble up a rock face. Although it was short, at this stage my hamstrings started to cramp as I was not expecting to be on my hands and knees going up with slope. At the top of the climb the trail meanders through a lovely pine forest all the way to Pradollano. This was my favourite section of the run, the air was slightly cooler and smelled of pine forest. The air was also thin as we were over 1800m above sea level. The end was in sight. After exiting the forest you enter the village and meander through the streets toward the finish. We are directed to the left to the finish line where as the ultra marathoners head to the right and up to the top of the mountain 1000m above us. My legs are relieved that they didn’t have to drag me up there to the snow covered peak! So 6 hours 29 minutes after starting this race I crossed the line, 131 out of the 349 marathon course runners. Delighted and tired I fuelled up and hydrated before I made it back to the my car where the adventure had started at 05:30 when we boarded the bus from Pradollano to the start line in Quentar. Now for the long trek back to the swimming pool and my family and friends.