Al Andalus Ultra Trail Race Report 2009

The Al Andalus 2009 by Colm McCoy

5 day, 230km, stage race in Andalucia, Southern Spain, July 13th – 17th, 2009
Having got the bug for trail running – 2007 MdS – 2008 Swiss Jura Marathon I was looking for an event in 2009. Favourite was the Gobi Desert race, but then the AAUT suddenly appeared on the horizon. This had the advantage of being considerably less expensive than the various desert races but promised to be just as hot and hilly. The AAUT was the brainchild of Paul Bateson, Team Axarsport (www.axarsport.com). Paul has lived in Andalucia for many years organising cycling and trail running training camps. A few email exchanges with him late in 2008 convinced me that he both understood runners and event organisation. Therefore I had no hesitation in signing up for the inaugural race.

My younger son, Andrew, and I duly arrived at Malaga airport on Saturday 11th July. Andy had just finished his GCSEs and was at a loose end. Paul was quite amenable to lending him a mountain bike so that he could ride the trails while we were running. We were collected at the airport along with several others and taken to the Manzanil Hotel, Loja, the race base. Over the course of Saturday and Sunday the other 50 odd competitors arrived. We whiled away the time by relaxing at the local swimming pools and cafes. If anywhere was too far to walk, the race crew were quite happy to transport us.

The majority of the competitors were British including 6 paratroopers, with a smattering of Spanish, French, Dutch, a Swede, an American and a Kiwi. On Sunday night we had the obligatory race brief. This consisted mainly of the race doctors warning of the dangers of heat. There was some confusion about mandatory kit particularly medical. In the end it was acknowledged that we were all experienced and could be trusted to decide for ourselves. The only essential was starting with 1.5L of water.


Stage 1 : Loja to Alhama de Granada - 56km
At 9am, 54 nervous competitors lined up outside the Manzanil. Widy Grego and Steven Epstein look pensive at the start. Already it was hot, about 30C, and it was only going to get warmer. This was to be the theme for the week. The first 1.5 km were neutralised. We walked from the Manzanil to the Font Natura bottling plant, the main race sponsor. Finally, at 9.30 we got going properly. Day 1 was the longest stage and also had the biggest climb of the week, a 900m ascent, which came right at the start. I found myself in the lead group but as the climb developed the group fragmented and local Granada boy, Raul Lopez takes control. Raul went on to win the first 4 stages and the overall race.

The first CP and a welcome 1.5L of water awaited us at the top of the climb. Generally there were 4 CPs per stage. The next 10km was the desert section - a dusty plain utterly devoid of shade. The temperature must have been close to 40C. I thoroughly enjoyed this stretch, running mainly on my own. At CP2 I was 4th, but was soon joined by Claudio Marsilla, another Spaniard. We ran together, but conversation was limited as neither of us had much of a grasp on the others language.

Not long after the CP we came to the edge of the plateau and descended to the town of Zafarraya and CP3.This was a small village with a very pretty square where the CP was situated. I found Andy repairing his only puncture of the week. Had I had my wits about me I would have bought a cold coke or similar but I was caught up in racing, which was not very intelligent given my level of experience.

The next section was unpleasant – along a dry river bed which seemed to have been used for fly tipping by the Spanish equivalent of “travellers”. I believe Paul plans to take this out for next year. I spend most of it catching glimpses of the 3rd placed runner, Mark Woolley, about 2 minutes in front of me. Although Mark was British by birth, he had settled in Spain many years ago. He had advised me before the race to wear road shoes in preference to trail shoes. This proved very sound advice.

By CP4 I had been running for about 4.5 hours. It was 2 pm in the afternoon and no sign of the heat abating. I set off with Widy with Mark about 20 seconds in front. Effectively we were competing for 2nd, 3rd and 4th. A lot of the last 12km was downhill and we were doing a brisk pace. Widy bridged the gap to Mark. After 5 or 6 Km of this I was too tired to race and they imperceptibly pulled away.
Andy had caught me this stage and told me the next runner was about 10 minutes back. He offered to stay with me, but I send him on ahead. When I suffer, I like to do it alone.

Eventually, I reached the entrance to the gorge leading to Alhama and 2km to go. In ordinary circumstances this would be a sight to behold, but I was well past critical appreciation. I fell apart in the gorge and seriously doubted if I could make it to the finish. It later transpired that the same thing happened to Widy and several of the following competitors. The gorge must have acted as a heat trap.

Grant, the event photographer was tracking the race on an MTB. He made the mistake of leaving the bike in the gorge and both inner tubes exploded. It was no surprise that it finished us off. The final shock was finding that we have to climb the steps cut into the wall to reach the finish.

I finished 4th in just under 6 hours. The others finished in dribs and drabs. It was a very tough opening stage and the heat had taken its toll. The last competitor took over 11 hours and 4 didn't finish at all. Camp was set on a local football pitch. The organisation had transported all of our kit and set up 2 man tents, but it was so warm that most of us slept outside on top of our sleeping bags. We had all
brought freeze dried meals and we supplemented these eating in the local tapas bars. We spent many happy evenings enjoying the local cuisine and socialising with each other and the race crew.


Stage 2 : Alhama de Granada to Jatar - 47 Km
The first 15 km to CP1 was routine. After the excesses of day 1, the pace was a bit more sedate. Widy had taken too much out of himself and struggled to CP1 before retiring from the stage. A lead group of 7 formed which I gradually became detached from. Shortly after CP1 came the centrepiece of stage 2 the climb known as Hell's Path – approximately 700m over 5 km.

This was a very rough, stony track through spectacular mountainous terrain. This was my favourite section of the whole route. Although at the time I found it back breaking, I enjoyed the silence, the sense of isolation and the ruggedness of my surroundings. Early in the climb I overtook Claudio. He was very quick on the flat, but loathed climbing. The summit was the high point of the course at 1630m. The view extended all the way to the sea. I was told that on a clear day, North Africa could be seen. Now came a long gradual descent through a forest and some welcome shade. Apart from the CP volunteers and an occasional sighting of the motor bike trail riders who patrolled us, I had been on my own for about 3 hours. At CP3, Joe Green (7th on day 1) was having a rest. We set off together for the last 17km. There was a short, but vicious climb, before another long gradual descent on a chalky path.

Before we knew it we were at CP4. The last section was mostly flat, but there was one last taxing climb just before the end. Joe and I crossed the line in 5.21 for joint 5th. Although Widy had dropped out, Paul Hewitson had leapfrogged me in the GC, so I was still 4th, with Joe in 5th, 30 minutes behind me. It had been another hot tough day. Probably as a consequence of day 1, 11 people either failed to start
or finish the stage.


Stage 3 : Jatar to Jayena - 42km
This was supposed to have been a 48 km stage, but because of the attrition rate the organisers took the sensible decision to shorten the course by 6 km. It was clear by now, that there were 8 of us of similar ability with a significant gap to the rest. Widy had failed to finish stage 2, and could be ignored for GC purposes. One of the Spaniards, Juan Peres, had somehow got lost on day 1 - he followed directions from a local on leaving Zafarraya which cost him getting on for 2 hours. So for GC purposes we could ignore him as well.

The best of the rest was the leading lady, Mimi Anderson who finished 8th overall. She claimed to be worried by Catherine Dubois, a French lady. But by stage 3, Mimi had a 2 hour lead, and it was obvious to the rest of us that it would be no contest. A lot of the first section was on road and downhill, and consequently quite fast. I couldn't match the pace of the other 7 although I managed to keep Joe in sight. After CP1 came a steep dirt road climb to a forest airstrip. I caught Joe half way up and we stuck together to CP 2. As we arrived, Paul and Claudio were just leaving. Paul was clearly struggling and I sensed an opportunity. Immediately after the CP was a very long, straight uphill drag of about 3km. I dropped Joe, then caught and dropped Paul. I overtook Claudio just before the descent which was a long one through a forest. There was no chance of me staying in front of Claudio on this and we worked together to CP3.

Another steep forest climb after CP3 enabled me to drop Claudio. Ignoring Jan and Widy, I was effectively 3rd on the road. At the top of the climb was a long undulating section, Andy caught me along here. We had a short chat then he pushed on. When I looked back I could see Claudio, but more importantly, no sign of Paul. This was followed by about 2km of descending then a flatish 6km to the finish. At the bottom of the descent I started to flag which allowed Claudio to catch me. With 4km to go we hit a tarmac stretch. There was no holding him on this and he put a couple of minutes into me, but as he was 40 minutes down on the GC I could live with it. I crossed the line in 4.09 (6th). Paul lost 15 minutes to me and was now only 3 minutes ahead on the GC.

There was a slightly bizarre incident that evening. The local children decided it would be fun to lob pebbles at us while we were trying to sleep. They obviously didn't know we had 6 paratroopers with us. It only took one of them to scare them off.


Stage 4 : Jayena to Santa Cruz del Comercio - 50km
We had a split start for this stage. There had been some lobbying for an earlier start. By starting at 9am we didn't avoid any of the heat (which I thought was part of the point of the race). The fastest 11 were going at 9 am, everybody else at 8 am. We had the usual big climb up to CP1 where we caught the first of the tailenders from the early start. The pace was very relaxed - time gaps were such that overall placings were virtually settled and a collective decision to enjoy the day seemed to have been made.

A long, gradual descent took us to CP2. Along the way we picked off the early birds and it was pleasant to have little chats with people we normally wouldn't see on the trail. Things kicked off a bit at CP2. Paul was keen to reestablish his gap on me and didn't linger. I decided to buy a coke, take my time and see what developed. The section to CP3 was hard going and I ran most of it with Mark. He was suffering a bit, but looked secure in 2nd. The section was series short steep climbs and a final very steep long descent on a partly concrete track which tested the quads. Going down here we passed one of the paras from the early start. Mark told him he looked strong. When we were out of earshot, I pointed out that he looked terrible. Mark agreed, but added that wasn't the point of the conversation.

After CP3 came very long, tough climb which took us up to CP4. Mark fell away and I caught Joe and Widy. After this CP was an equally long steep descent took us down to the finish which we ran together.

I finished joint 5th with Joe & Widy in 4.50.


Stage 5 : Santa Cruz del Comercio to Loja – 37km
Final Stage. The organisers are keen for as many to start as possible, and apart from those whose feet are beyond repair, we have the greatest turnout since stage 1. An early start - 7am - meant that for once we could look forward to UK like temperatures for at least part of the stage. The first few kilometres were flat and a couple of the French lads went off like it was a 5km. However we soon reached the obligatory big climb and they went backwards. What goes up must come down, and and the route took a long descent to a spectacular valley and CP1. The pace was quite fierce, but since I was guaranteed an overall 4th, with no realistic prospect of gaining or losing a place, I made the conscious decision to back off and enjoy the day. Things weren't quite so straightforward for some of the others. With Mark struggling (passing blood) Paul was in with a sniff of second.

Joe and Claudio were almost dead heated for 5th. I had a very pleasant solo run along the valley to the second and final CP at the village of Salar. Here I was joined by Andy on his bike for the last section. Up until now we had been meticulous in ensuring that he hadn't ridden with me I had wanted to avoid any suspicion of receiving unfair support.

One last climb out of Salar then it was mostly all downhill to Loja and the finish. The climb out of Salar was quite sharp and normally I would have walked, but since it was the last section I “ran” it. Half way up I passed a local coming down the hill on a horse. I was blowing hard but managed a polite “Buenos dias”. I got back an incredulous “Loco!” Once over the top we were into the agricultural hills above Loja. The farmworkers regarded us curiously, but we always got a smile and a wave when we waved to them.

Finally into Loja proper. There was a crowd of primary school children lined up along the finish straight to cheer us in. I savoured the moment by highfiving them as I made my way to the line. Joe won the stage and his battle with Claudio. Mark did just enough to hold Paul off by 2 minutes.

Total cumulative time - 23:19, 4th

There were 54 starters. 34 completed all 5 stages, and a further 8 completed 4 stages.

The heat was a big issue for this race, Most of the dnfs were caused by inability to cope with the heat. Several competitors collapsed and needed IVs. Blisters and foot trauma was also a problem for a lot of competitors.

Almost everybody had at least one bad day. It wasn't until stage 4 that I and some of the other Brits felt that we had acclimatised to the heat.

The trails were generally double track and passable by a 4wheel drive. They were nontechnical.

Although only a small fraction of the course was on road, I had been advised by one of the local
runners to use road shoes and this was sound advice.

Route marking was excellent, and there was no excuse for going wrong, although somebody managed
it on stage 1.

The organisation was definitely competitor centred.

We were very well looked after. CP crews were enthusiastic and helpful; two trail bike riders patrolled us making sure we were OK; there were two doctors; massages and showers were available at the end of each stage.

English was the principal language.

Village finishes meant that we could eat in the local bars or restaurants ( which were generally inexpensive ).

It was a very hot, hilly, tough race. If you've fancied one of the desert stage races, but are put off by costs then give this race serious consideration. I am already thinking about doing it again in 2010.

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