Val d'Aran 105km Race Report

A CAUTIONARY PREFACE

I unfortunately had to write a preface to this race report. On Saturday evening, I became violently sick with GI problems, which I suspected was food poisoning from something I ate after the race. I somehow made it back it home (by the way, I had a negative Covid test before leaving and 2 more negative tests since returning), but it was not pretty. Upon landing, I was still in a rough state and quarantined in a hotel for 2 more days. While I improved somewhat, symptoms were still severe, and I lost 7-8% of body weight. I saw a doctor, who thought it was a norovirus but prescribed antibiotics to be safe. After taking them Wednesday night, I finally started to improve, though with lingering symptoms through Thursday.

Someone posted on the Val d’Aran Facebook page they were very sick along with several other runners and ended up hospitalized. Soon people were coming out of the woodwork with 400+ confirming they were seriously sick after the race. The aid stations had large water containers used by runners to refill their bottles. From hundreds of runner reports, I believe it was contaminated water from the second aid station in the race. Many runners dropped soon after that aid station and still got sick, only runners who drank there reported getting sick, and those who avoided the containers and skipped the aid or used bottled water avoided sickness.

There were also many odd reports of volunteers telling runners to dump their water and only fill from water bottles instead of the containers, chlorine being dumped into the water, “non-potable” signs on the side of the water container, how they were put out unattended well before the race to bake in the sun, and even a video of a cow drinking from one of the water containers.

Those who became infected were sick for at least 5-6 days. Right now, 6 days after the race, runners on Facebook report they are still violently ill. Antibiotics seemed to help significantly both for me and other runners, so it seems to be bacterial rather than viral.

The race was silent for days and days. I and others implored them to send a notification to all runners notifying of the potentially serious issue and encouraging runners to seek medical attention. Many like me did not understand the gravity of the situation and did not seek appropriate medical care. The race suggested it could just be due to the difficulty of the course and the heat. They sent out a form to gather information but did not acknowledge the situation, and this was only after 5 days and several days after they became aware of the issue.

It is very unfortunate this situation happened and made hundreds, perhaps thousands, of runners violently ill. It is worse that the race did not act appropriately and put the safety of runners first, more concerned with saving their own skin than making sure every had the right information and medical care.

Needless to say, I am deeply disappointed and think the race behaved irresponsibly at best. I would encourage anyone to NOT run this race. Any organization that does not put runner safety first should not be operating.

OK, rant complete. Onward to the better parts.

THE RACE AND EXPLORING THE AREA

I decided last fall to run the Val d’Aran 105km in the Pyrenees to get back to big European mountains after a 2-year hiatus, explore a new area, and get in a tune up before UTMB. The Val d’Aran region is a special place. It is a UNESCO world heritage site with wild, epic terrain and plenty of big mountains. I had a great discussion about it with an Aussie restaurant owner who has traveled extensively but called it home for the last 20 years. A good way to sum it up is that Val d’Aran is less “polished” than Chamonix but is also less discovered with lots of heart and soul.

I was able to explore the area a bit the day and a half before and had a blast, especially on my shakeout run near the halfway point of the race up around 6,000 feet.

START TO BERET

We started the point-to-point route in the village of Les at 7:30am. It was a cool morning with clouds slowly clearing, and I hoped for clear views as the day warmed up and we climbed into the mountains. I was in the first starting corral, and after some classic Euro-race fanfare, we were off!

We meandered through town and soon hit forest single track. Runners bunched up on the steep, narrow climbs and descents, but there was plenty of race left, so I wasn’t worried. After about 3 miles, we had a steep dirt road climb up to the first aid station, and I started passing people here as I typically do on the uphill sections. The skies were clearing, and it was shaping up to be a spectacular day in the mountains!

I blew through the first aid station, and we had several runnable miles along a ridge overlooking the valley. When we hit the next climb, we could start seeing the big surrounding peaks, and I was loving every minute! We descended down to the next aid station, and I was well ahead of my planned splits. I filled up my own bottles, which was part of the Covid protocol throughout, and popped in Precision Hydration and Nuun. I’d calculated this would be one of the longer sections without aid, so I also filled a third bottle that I’d keep in my Naked waistband.

From here we’d be climbing straight up 5,000 feet into the high alpine. The race was really starting now, and it was time to get to work! I moved well here, running the gradual sections (though there weren’t many!) and hiking the steeper parts. As we got above treeline the scenery was just incredible. We ascended steeply up to a col and dropped down the other side to descend to next aid.

One of the things I loved most along the course was people cheering “animaux”!!! (rough translation: you’re an animal!)

I was a good 30 minutes up on my planned splits here, which was a pleasant surprise. My tummy was a bit rumbly here, and I was hoping for a bathroom, but alas there wasn’t one. [Side note: this may have been due to the contaminated water, but I can’t be sure. Several other runners reported symptoms during the race as well as after the race.] When you have to go # 2 and are above treeline, things get … tricky. I guess I could make it to the next aid station? Here’s to hoping!

I refueled and was soon back out to tackle the next climb. This was longer than I thought, but I felt good and was powering up and passing people. It reminded me a lot of the Col du Bonhomme climb at UTMB. We eventually crested the top, and my jaw hit the floor. We had huge vistas of surrounding peaks, including the highest mountain in the Pyrenees, Aneto.

I thought we’d drop straight down, but we stayed up on the ridge for a while with some very technical running through rocks and boulders. The views were worth it though. We passed by an alpine lake and an old mine, with the trail going through some cool tunnels in the mountains. Of course my tall, uncoordinated self managed to hit my head hard on a rock in the tunnel. Classic.

Aneto, highest mountain the Pyrenees, in the background

Tunnel used by the old mine. There were still old mining cart tracks in spots!

We eventually hit the descent after our slow traversing (or at least slow for me!). We went from scree to steep and rocky trails to narrow cow paths, making it a pretty tricky descent. I now REALLY needed a bathroom and lost a few places as I had to slow down. We hit a gravel road, and I ran sub 9s towards the aid station, hoping for all I was worth there would be a bathroom there.

We arrived at the Montegarri Sanctuary, a very cool, old building nestled in a valley. I fueled up for the relatively short next section and was delighted to see there was a porta-potty after the aid station. Whew!

I had run near this area the day before and thought it would be mostly a gravel road up to Beret where I could make good time. It turned out to be a gnarly, often un-runnable track through the forest. It was difficult to navigate, and I got briefly lost several times. While the grade was fairly gradual, it was slow going. I lost most of the buffer I had on planned splits and arrived at Beret about on schedule.

This was the biggest aid station of the race and the only one with drop bags, so I spent some time here to get sorted. I had pre-filled my bottles with some drink mixes, and one of them leaked sticky liquid all over my bag. Woops. I ate some Pringles and a PB&J, drank a Fanta, and restocked my bag. I had to go to the bathroom AGAIN, which was not a great sign. After 10 minutes I set off, ready to tackle the second half of the race!

BERET TO FINISH

Next up was a runnable, gradual uphill across a grassy field with horses all around us. I bumped into a runner here from Northern Ireland and stayed with him for a bit. I hadn’t come across a single English speaker yet, so it was great to get some company and chat with someone! He was running TDS (sister race of UTMB), and we passed a few miles together.

We hit a long, runnable downhill section, and he took off fast. My stomach started really rumbling – again not a good sign and started to get me worried about finishing the race. I had to find a way to make a pit stop, which let’s just say wasn’t easy! I was able to run the downhill, but I was wiped out as I got to the town and towards the next aid station. I didn’t feel like eating or drinking with my stomach, but I knew I had to. I trudged through the town and hauled myself into the aid station.

I regrouped here for a bit. I knew if I didn’t take care of myself, this race was going to be over. I was not in the best state, and the terrain was about to get tougher. I somehow had to use the bathroom again. I got down some Coke and spotted a kind of bread covered in honey / salt. It went down well, and I set out back onto the trail.

Salardu was a beautiful and very “Chamonix-esque” town

We had a long climb on a dirt road coming out of town. Things were not going well. My stomach was not good, and I really didn’t want to eat or drink. It was the hottest part of the day, and we were in a low valley on a completed exposed road. We had 30+ miles left, and I knew that the rest of the course would be even tougher than what we’ve done so far.

It was the moment of the race where things seem impossible. The easy answer was to quit. I was still in town and could easily turn around and drop. But this is the time to draw on past experience and dig into your saddlebag of courage. I knew I could do this. I hiked this section to let my body regroup, even though I could / should have run at least part of it. I forced down food and fluids even though I really didn’t want to. We’d be going back to higher altitudes, which should make it at least a bit cooler. I just had to hope my tummy would turn around, but even if it didn’t, I could still get it done, albeit slower.

We turned off the road onto very steep forest trail. Then as so often happens, everything started coming back. My energy was good. I was eating and drinking. My stomach had settled down. I passed one person. Then two more. Then another two. We crested the climb, and I felt amazing, fully back in action!

Feeling good and back on some alpine single track

I bombed this downhill on what felt like fresh legs. I blew by another few people like they were standing still. I powered into the next station, still right on my splits despite the earlier slowdown. Woohoo! They had porta potties here, and I took what I am VERY pleased to say was my last pit stop of the race.

The next high alpine section would be our longest stretch between aid station. I again filled my third bottle and ate more of the amazing honey bread as well as some watermelon. I looked around for food I could take with me and spotted a salty looking trail mix. A kind volunteer filled my reusable baggie with some, and I was on my way. As it turns out, this trail mix would be my rocket fuel powering me through the rest of the race!

I ran most of the next uphill gravel road, feeling fantastic and passing people. Then we hit it – the thunderdome. It was a high alpine, rugged, technical, steep, gnarly stretch of trail the likes of which I haven’t seen before. I started out well, passing several other people. I bumped into my Northern Ireland friend again. He said he was struggling on the uphills, so we shared some words of encouragement. The trail got tougher and tougher until we were scrambling up these boulder fields. Two guys were moving very well, so I synced up with them, figuring it was better to work together than alone.

We pushed on, at some points feeling like I wasn’t even moving forward. It was boulders and scree fields everywhere. I figured eventually we’d go over a saddle and drop down the other side and out of the nightmare, but we kept doing this horseshoe loop through the boulder field, and it never ended!

OK, so I’m complaining a lot here. Blah, blah, blah. Given this was the first year of the race, hopefully this will help someone in the future know what to expect. And despite my moaning, I have to say this section was also AMAZING. It circles the largest collection of glacial lakes in the Pyrenees, with over 50 lakes. With the surrounding mountains and lakes as the sun slowly started to set, it was truly a magical place. So I guess it was worth it?

Looking back down on some of the alpine lakes we passed. Somewhere in this boulder field is the trail. Some challenging terrain, but worth it!

We finally crested a saddle, where there were race officials and mountain guides there for safety. I didn’t know if the joke would land in English, but I gave it a shot, saying “well that was easy” as I arrived at the top.

The descent wasn’t all that much better than the previous section. It was so technical and strewn with boulders and rocks that it was hard to do much better than 16-17 minute miles. I desperately needed an aid station after a long time out there, but we still had a while to go. We made it down to a refuge next to a dammed lake that I hoped was aid. It was not – rats! I kind runner who spoke English let me know we had another mile to go.

I finally made it to Colomers in the last remaining daylight. I repeated the routine here (refill bottles / electrolytes, eat some honey bread, drink coke, trail mix in a baggie). This time I put on my headlamp also. I debated a warmed layer as the night was getting cooler, but I figured I’d warm up on the next climb (and boy was I right).

The road climbed out of the aid station, and I made good time up it. I was getting my phone out to text Jen and update when there was a sign saying we go left. What? On the left of the road was a cliff up the mountain. I looked left and sure enough that’s where they wanted us to go. Are you kidding me? Another guy who was not speaking English dropped an f-bomb that translated perfectly. Here we go I guess?

This was a > 50% grade up loose, wet grass, rocks, and roots. I guess it is a shortcut to get from the road up to a trail higher on the mountain. It was just plain mean, but I got up it without killing myself. The trail continued a steep (but sane) ascent. At the top we had an amazing view of the last fading daylight with the mountain peaks silhouetted in the distance. This was one of those amazing moments I love so much that you really only get in a race. When else are you on to of a mountain in the Pyrenees at 10pm?

We had a long, technical descent down to the second to last aid station. My legs were certainly feeling it now, and it took a bit to get them turning over. As we descended, I started passing quite a few people. As we got down into the woods, I joined up with a few others who were moving well, and we bombed down the last part of the descent. I felt really solid coming into the aid station. I refueled (did I tell you how good the honey bread was?) and was quickly back on the trail.

With about 10 miles to go, it was game on and time to charge hard to the finish. I ran up the forest road and as it got steeper shifted to a walk / run routine. We hit single track, and it was a loooong, steep ascent up to the peak. I finally caved and threw on my jacket. We crested the top and now had a 1000 foot steep descent to last aid, a 1200 steep ascent, and then the final long downhill. I paused for a moment and turned off my headlamp. The stars were brilliant overhead. You could see headlamps snaking down the mountain and back up the other side. It was another magical moment in the mountains.

I pushed down to the bottom for a final quick refill. While the next climb was the last, it was real tough going. I slogged up, and it was finally time for the last downhill. My legs were trashed, but now was the time to pour it on. I didn’t know if any runners were close, but soon I came on someone and passed them. I managed to catch another 3 runners and soon was running through town towards the finish.

I hit the finish chute and crossed the line a bit after 2am in 18:48. I passed over 50 runners in the last 20 miles to finish in 82nd out of ~1,000 starters. It was an incredible adventure and tons of fun exploring the Pyrenees. Now onwards to UTMB!