Trail running

I started trail-running in Gran Canaria, and it came naturally: after I explored part of the island walking, one day I though:

Let’s do the same, but running!

The cool thing about running is that you can see much more in the same amount of time, at the cost of being a little bit more tired at the end of the day. The map below show most of the tracks between 2013 and 2018 (before I had no GPS device). There is still a lot to explore, but I’m working on it!

After Gran Canaria I ran in the other Canary Islands and now I try to run everywhere I go, either for work or on holiday. Not only can I discover new places and tracks, but also I made several friends that share the same passion for the sport. Here is where we’ve been running recently around the Sart Tilman (Liège).

Prior to that, I’ve been organizing trekking and running activities in Mallorca with friend and colleagues, especially in the Tramuntana.

We used to say that Mallorca is a closed island, because you could follow a signalized track and perfectly end up in a private property.

Past races

Just a few lines, whenever possible a link to my non-professional blog is provided.

2019

Trèfle à 4 feuilles, Olne. 42 km in the form of four loops (12, 11, 10 and 9 km), allowing everybody to select the distance according to the mood or the fitness.

2018

Parelelo 28, La Aldra, Gran Canaria. Just being in La Aldea is not frequent, hence having a race there is even better.

Artenara Trail, Gran Canaria again, this time in spring and in the north, for a distance of 30 km. I felt well prepared in terms of training volume, even if I could not have very long sessions this year so far. The first 20 km were OK, but then it was hard to eat so the rest became a calvary. At the end it’s only you against yourself, even a small bump can be seen as an Everest. I finished mentally destroyed but happy.

Trail des Lucioles, Soiron. De retour au pays après de chouettes vacances, je prends le dossard d’un ami qui a dû laisser sa place pour cause de blessure. Beaucoup de pépins techniques (frontale en panne, lunettes couvertes de pluie, …) sur un parcours justement très technique. Globalement je ne suis pas fan de ce type de parcours où j’ai l’impression qu’on cherche le D+ en descendant et remontant par le même endroit, ou quasi. Aussi l’impression que le passage de 600 coureurs va laisser des traces dans le paysage… Points très positifs: l’organisation locale parfaite et les bénéfices au profit d’aides humanitaires à Bandiagara au Mali.

Pilancones Tunte Trail, San Bartolomé de Tirajana, Gran Canaria. I always try to participate to new race when I’m there and this one was a good surprise. The track was just amazing with deep ravines and horrible slopes. I remember after a long descent, another told me :

My legs are dead, I cannot run anymore.

Still, it was strange to run in the mountains in winter.

2017

La Redoutable, Sprimont, 29 km (we did 2 extra km, because we like it). Running in Wallonia is always a pleasure. This one was very cool as we had to climb the famous Redoute. With some other 15 runners we got lost around the 23rd km and had to look for our way for at least 10 long minutes, at least we could reach the finish line.

TransGranCanaria, Gran Canaria, 125 km. The longest race I did. The motivation dates back to 2007 or 2008, when I saw finishers along Las Canteras beach in Las Palmas. I skipped it for many years because of the registration cost (quite expensive considering the sponsors they have and what the organizers provide us), finally I did it because of my attachment to the island.

2016

Mallorca K42, Mallorca, 44 km. Probably the least pleasant race for me. The first 20 km or so were cool, mainly in the mountains around Puig de Galatzó and Mola de s’Esclop, then back at the starting point we had to follow a stream, then back on the road almost until the finish line.

Take 5 in the Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs (Colorado), 5 miles. As I was in Colorado for a meeting, I tried to find a nice race during the weekend. The only possibility turns out to be that one: a short but amazing race in the so-called Garden of the Gods. The altitude around 2000 m makes it somewhat difficult. Results: 9th overall, and also the only runner not from Colorado! As I did not expect that result, I had already left the place when they did the podium, so I did not get anything.

2015

TransVulcania, La Palma: my 3rd participation to that race. Probably the one for which I had the best preparation and training. A lot of good sensations, until the top of the island, the Roque de los Muchachos. The rest was painful but the good thing is that I could finish in a decent way. I really really have to do it again, I have a revenge to take.

Tomir 42, Pollença, Mallorca: I knew about the race beforehand and really felt I had to give it a try. The distance is reasonable (42 km) but the elevation (> 2000 m) and the technical parts make it a tough race. Tomir is one of the hills above 1000 m in Mallorca.

Maratón de les muntanyes d’Artà: I enjoyed the edition the year before, hence participating again was almost mandatory. Good feelings during the 4 hours 37 minutes of race. I thought it was my best time for a marathon (I never participated to a flat one), unfortunately we were slightly below the 42 km. Probably the race I would recommend to runners visiting the island.

2014

Utra Tramuntana, Mallorca, 112 km: crossing an island from side to side is always fun and symbolic: it’s you against the hills (or against the gravity). I missed the registration for the 2013 edition and had time to be well prepared for that one. The plan was to cross the finish line in about 18 hours. It took me one hour more. After the race I was sure I didn’t want to repeat, not for the difficulty, but rather for the route (boring roads), the registration cost and for the race atmosphere.

Maratón de les muntanyes d’Artà, Artà, Mallorca: nice distance inside of quite remote place in the island: the Parc natural de la Península de Llevant. The race I enjoyed the most during the time I spent on the island.

2013

TransVulcania (2nd time): a good training program while living in Mallorca helped me improve my time and condition. Still hard to properly run the long descent from the top of the island to the beach of Tazacorte. The greatest public, once again!

2012

Trail des Crêtes de Spa: I had a mixed success in my participations to the classical 21 km in Spa and I decided to try the 1st edition of that trail. Lot of fun, good legs, cool atmosphere. The visibility was so bad that the day after I went to take pictures of some places we’ve been passing by.

2011

Grand Trail des Lacs et Châteaux: why not a race a few kilometers from home? 18 km on Saturday and then 45 km on Sunday, a nice experience to re-discover my own region. I’m not sure why I didn’t try longer distances that year.

2010

TransVulcania (1st time) , La Palma, 73 km: often considered as the hardest race in the islands, the Transvulcania is now famous around the world, thanks to the beauty of the landscapes, to the famous participants and to its exceptional public. In 2010 for the 2nd edition we were very few to challenge the insane elevation profile of La Palma. The training was better than for the Challenger, but still very basic. The day after the race I said that it was the toughest thing I did in my life.

2009

Gran Canaria Challenger, Gran Canaria: it’s funny to think that my first trail ever was a race of 75 km. I’m not sure how I did to finish with this zero experience. The first part until the top of the island went not too bad, then going down to sea level was painful in the end. We did it!