RedCrossTrail, Quiaios-Maiorca, 42 km, 1000 m acumulative elevation gain

photo José Carlos Melo

All five of us Run4funners participated in the longest distance, which is not even that terribly long considering all the constantly varying scenery and challenges we were faced with along the course. The trail started on the Praia de Quiaios with 1 km of sand, and after that, there was a long ascend to Serra da Boa Viagem, where we certainly had plenty of nice views opportunities and, to catch the breath, also more than enough time to appreciate it. And then rolling up and down towards Maiorca and its rice fields along Mondego. Although the course was not terribly technically demanding, 42 km is a long distance, and it must be hard running it unless you really enjoy trails - but this one is easy to enjoy...

Garmin track José Carlos Melo

Garmin track José Carlos Melo

The rain stopped just before the start and the fog lifted, but later there was more of a refreshing rain along plenty of sun. The temperatures were ideal for running, there was tone of mud and puddles and slippery slopes – it was definitively not a boring course, single tracks and forest roads, amidst autumnly colored nature. A memorable dicey steep muddy track around 27th km - directly up a steep hill where the only option was to go on all four, trying to get some grip on sharp prickly vegetation, hoping to avoid sliding back too often for too far... And a stretch on an old railroad, trying to find the right pace and step length among railtracks, and then quite a long rail tunnel with some weak illumination. But all these challenges are nothing but fun and good excuses to slow down… It was a day full of adventure and endeavor, getting to know the nature, the region, and yourself, while sharing the day with other athletes. Many thanks to the organization team for working hard to provide us all with this memorable experience!

photos OFFtel runners and José Guerra

All five of us successfully finished, in a good mood, and fully deserved the arroz doce waiting for us in Maiorca. Especially inspiring was Ruben, who after completing his longest trail by far, looked absolutely fresh and cheerful and did not mind to run up the finish hill again for a photo-op.

photos José Carlos Melo and OFFtel runners

Well, my experience... This is a very special trail for me, since last year this was my first "hard-core" adventure: for the first time I ran more than 20 km (last year the distance was 35 km), I learned then some hard lessons about chaffing, black nails, and proper hydration and fueling in practice and not just in theory... This year it felt like coming back to old friends and familiar setting, and I don't consider myself a complete trail rookie any more. The day started really well, I was full of energy, running confidently and enjoying myself, not holding back and not pushing too hard... kilometers were passing by suspiciously effortlessly. At one of the food stations I asked other runners how many kilometers are behind us, and I was genuinely surprised that there are less than 15 km left... but not much later all the euphoria was gone, suddenly I felt my knee hurting and notably swelling, and I had to walk practically all downhill stretches, and once cooled down, it was even harder to run. I was seriously contemplating walking all the remaining ten kilometers to Maiorca, but then Vitorino Coragem from Omundodacorrida came by, and he was encouraging just in the right way (not too much and not too little :-)), and he hold a nice steady pace, so I just followed him - and my knee and I both finished decently, and I have a good feeling it is not a serious injury. Because of my traveling agenda in the near future I was planning about 10 days of a run-break anyway, but I guess now it will have to start a little bit sooner...
Ana G.