Surprisingly, this is just the second edition of this event. How come there was nobody thought of this kind of race before while Fort de la Bastille is just sitting there, high up at the skyline of Grenoble. It is a 7km run, starting at the riverside of Isère at around 200m above sea level, and the finish point is the top of the Mont Rachais at 1000m above sea level. So there is a net 800m elevation of climb. For anyone who stays in Penang, Penang hill is just around 750m above sea level and Bukit Mertajam is merely 550m above sea level.
On the day of the race, the weather was terrible. Rain drizzling all day long, and it was cold. I was reluctant at first to go out, but I forced myself anyway. There was not many contestants for this race, around 200 contestants and around 50 people didn't show up, probably due to the bad weather condition. That is understandable because of the rain, the trail was muddy and slippery, thus very dangerous.
After getting my number and the magnetic tracker, I got changed and get ready, warming up. Seeing other people participating this event in groups of friends and families while I was just alone, made me just kinda sad. I had invited other Malaysians in Grenoble to take part in it together, but no one would join me. I can understand too why, because it is harder for them to participate in sportive events because all this kind of events needs a medical certificate from a doctor. So if they ever want to participate, they would need to consult a doctor and do this certificate. I had mine since this April, and it is mentioned I am able to participate in competitive triathlon in my certificate, so I can practically participate in all kinds of sportive events.
A quick briefing and the rain became heavy again. It didn't take long before we, participants, all got wet, before even starting the race. I had climbed up to Mont Rachais before, I knew it was going to hard. My target was to reach summit within one hour. I wore no watch, so my plan was to climb and climb, as hard as I could. Checking myself to see whether I was ready, and at the same time checking out other participants. Judging by physical appearance, I was in the middle. Many were very fitter than me, many not as fit as I was. Appearance can be deceiving as I am always told, but at least thinking so made me feel good in my own shell and feel ready. I thought at least I would not be the last to arrive.
The race started at exactly 10am. I had been to many sportive events by now, so I knew the adrenaline rush during the starting moment was always intense. I knew by now I had to suppress the rush, kept my own pace, and started off easy, but not falling too far behind at the same time. So it was exactly what I did, running with small steps but with faster pace than running on flat surface.
The race can be broken into three stages : riverside -> Fort de la Bastille, Fort de la Bastille -> Mont Jalla and Mont Jalla -> summit of Mont Rachais. I was only able to keep my pace up to Fort de la Bastille. Just before the ascent to Mont Jalla, I already slowed down and walked, just as most of other participants. I would consider this stage to be the hardest stage of all because the trail is narrow and steep, plus the rain, it was very slippery that day. It is so narrow that taking over is very difficult. And since it is very steep, trees are unable to take root, so this part of the trail is very exposed. I thought it should be a spectacular view on the trail from far away, while a hundred people climbing to Mont Jalla in line.
After Mont Jalla, the trail became flatter and rocky, but not that rocky that one cannot run on it. It seemed like everybody was back to running again and so was I. Actually reaching Mont Jalla meant reaching only the half way point. The trail that followed was sheltered under the trees, all the way to the summit. So along the way, there was only a few chances to have a clear view on the town of Grenoble. These chances were precious, because the view was breathtaking. The trail during these precious moments was just beside a very steep drop. By now Grenoble was so far down below, by looking at the road in front of me and then quickly looked at the building far down below, it almost made me dizzy. Probably because of exhaustion, my eyes didn't seem to be able to adapt fast enough to see the trail and then those buildings clearly. The switch in between was probably blurred for merely a second, but it felt longer than it should be and my legs were very light, almost as if I was going to fell off the hill. But nothing too serious was happened to me, at least not until I reached the finish line.
I reached the summit with the time 1 hour and 6 minutes. But there was no resting yet, because I had to climb down to the Bastille before I could get some food and drinks. And this was the time I suffered the most. It happened to me before, during the last few kilometers of the triathlon in Aix les Bains. I was hungry like hell, and no more reserve to be burned in my body. Probably low in blood sugar, my dizziness accentuated. The only thought in my head : I need food!!! I tried to get down as fast as I could, walking clumsily. Trying to run a little but I was afraid that the dizziness would kick in and I would loss balance and fall. Plus the rain and the cold weather, I was really in hell.
At last, I asked for help. I asked for food from another participant who was going downhill too. He carried with him a back pack and he gave me a chocolate bar. It was funny to think about, that I was almost like a beggar, begging for food. But seriously that chocolate bar was my life saver. I swear that it was the most delicious chocolate bar I have ever eaten. After a moment of digestion and recuperation, I was alive again, running this time, all the way back to Bastille, and ate like a barbarian.
Over all, the race was fun and it gave me an insight into the sport of trail running. If comparing this course to the famous UTMB (Ultra Trail of Mont Blanc), this is really nothing. To complete the UTMB, one must run 160km with 9000m of ascent in just 48 hours. UTMB is basically the synonym of insanity to me. Here is a video summary of this year UTMB.
(http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x14ynob_utmb-2013-by-eurosport-english_sport?start=1)
One important lesson to be learnt after this race and also triathlon Aix les Bains : my body is a V12 engine, burning fuel fast and violent, especially during cold weather. I should really bring some food along when the race takes longer than an hour to complete. It should be a good investment to start looking for some energy gels and bars, including them in my training sessions.
And here is the link to the full photo album of this race this year, by Wider Classic.
(https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.736187856406666.1073741826.296681357023987&type=1)
After getting my number and the magnetic tracker, I got changed and get ready, warming up. Seeing other people participating this event in groups of friends and families while I was just alone, made me just kinda sad. I had invited other Malaysians in Grenoble to take part in it together, but no one would join me. I can understand too why, because it is harder for them to participate in sportive events because all this kind of events needs a medical certificate from a doctor. So if they ever want to participate, they would need to consult a doctor and do this certificate. I had mine since this April, and it is mentioned I am able to participate in competitive triathlon in my certificate, so I can practically participate in all kinds of sportive events.
A quick briefing and the rain became heavy again. It didn't take long before we, participants, all got wet, before even starting the race. I had climbed up to Mont Rachais before, I knew it was going to hard. My target was to reach summit within one hour. I wore no watch, so my plan was to climb and climb, as hard as I could. Checking myself to see whether I was ready, and at the same time checking out other participants. Judging by physical appearance, I was in the middle. Many were very fitter than me, many not as fit as I was. Appearance can be deceiving as I am always told, but at least thinking so made me feel good in my own shell and feel ready. I thought at least I would not be the last to arrive.
The race started at exactly 10am. I had been to many sportive events by now, so I knew the adrenaline rush during the starting moment was always intense. I knew by now I had to suppress the rush, kept my own pace, and started off easy, but not falling too far behind at the same time. So it was exactly what I did, running with small steps but with faster pace than running on flat surface.
The race can be broken into three stages : riverside -> Fort de la Bastille, Fort de la Bastille -> Mont Jalla and Mont Jalla -> summit of Mont Rachais. I was only able to keep my pace up to Fort de la Bastille. Just before the ascent to Mont Jalla, I already slowed down and walked, just as most of other participants. I would consider this stage to be the hardest stage of all because the trail is narrow and steep, plus the rain, it was very slippery that day. It is so narrow that taking over is very difficult. And since it is very steep, trees are unable to take root, so this part of the trail is very exposed. I thought it should be a spectacular view on the trail from far away, while a hundred people climbing to Mont Jalla in line.
 |
| approaching the foot of Mont Jalla (photo credit to Sylvain Prévot) |
I reached the summit with the time 1 hour and 6 minutes. But there was no resting yet, because I had to climb down to the Bastille before I could get some food and drinks. And this was the time I suffered the most. It happened to me before, during the last few kilometers of the triathlon in Aix les Bains. I was hungry like hell, and no more reserve to be burned in my body. Probably low in blood sugar, my dizziness accentuated. The only thought in my head : I need food!!! I tried to get down as fast as I could, walking clumsily. Trying to run a little but I was afraid that the dizziness would kick in and I would loss balance and fall. Plus the rain and the cold weather, I was really in hell.
At last, I asked for help. I asked for food from another participant who was going downhill too. He carried with him a back pack and he gave me a chocolate bar. It was funny to think about, that I was almost like a beggar, begging for food. But seriously that chocolate bar was my life saver. I swear that it was the most delicious chocolate bar I have ever eaten. After a moment of digestion and recuperation, I was alive again, running this time, all the way back to Bastille, and ate like a barbarian.
Over all, the race was fun and it gave me an insight into the sport of trail running. If comparing this course to the famous UTMB (Ultra Trail of Mont Blanc), this is really nothing. To complete the UTMB, one must run 160km with 9000m of ascent in just 48 hours. UTMB is basically the synonym of insanity to me. Here is a video summary of this year UTMB.
(http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x14ynob_utmb-2013-by-eurosport-english_sport?start=1)
One important lesson to be learnt after this race and also triathlon Aix les Bains : my body is a V12 engine, burning fuel fast and violent, especially during cold weather. I should really bring some food along when the race takes longer than an hour to complete. It should be a good investment to start looking for some energy gels and bars, including them in my training sessions.
And here is the link to the full photo album of this race this year, by Wider Classic.
(https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.736187856406666.1073741826.296681357023987&type=1)
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