4.30 am on Sunday, up for the morning ritual before picking up Mario at 6.00 to make it to Cercedilla with plenty of time to get our race number without any hassle.
The weather is perfect, sunny with a bit of wind and surely up at the top it will be windier, but we’ll actually be grateful for that. And by the time we get to the finish line it will be quite hot.
All is well, today I’m not nervous, there is only one thing on my mind, you’ve made it…enjoy. Countdown and we’re off at 8.00 as planned.
The group of runners stretches along the streets until they reach the first ramp where there is now only a single file and every one picks up their own pace. This is where my trainer told me that until the Navacerrada Pass, I should try to go at a steady pace because later there would be plenty of walking.
But I must have accustomed my legs to being lazy at the beginning and not want to suffer, I can feel them swelling demanding oxygen inside their compression socks, “blessed invention”. During these first kilometres I do a mental check of all the aches I’ve had in the last few weeks and I’m surprised to see they have eased up.
My master of ceremonies, whom I’ll talk about later, is my guide, warning me of unforeseen events or the best routes. My goodness, it’s like having a GPS hanging in front of your glasses.
The ascent to La Bola is step by step and at my pace, there are no excesses, this is the beginning and with so many runners around I might heat up unnecessarily. At the top, as we imagined, the wind is strong but appreciated, and going down to Cotos we are careful not to suffer any mishaps.
We stop for “fuel” at the Cotos Pass, just oranges, bananas and fluids to take on the climb to Peñalara where the slopes become steeper and I start getting more cautious, walking more than I should in this stretch while “the machine” wanted me to trot even if very slowly.
Come on, just a little bit more, the next food stop is up there!, my personal guide keeps encouraging me and giving me advice to be able to continue with the race. The people taking care of us cheer us on and admire the effort we are making.
The mission of the race volunteers deserves a separate comment. They have been at their post for hours, putting up with weather conditions which have become more adverse for them because it’s windy. The wind has actually helped us because from here to the Navacerrada Pass and through the tube of Cabezas it has spared us from feeling as if we were in an oven.
We reach the top of Peñalara, walking sticks in hand, and we can feel the altitude, strong wind, some pictures for our sponsors and a two-minute stretch before starting down again towards the pass of Cotos, which we do carefully given the great amount of loose stones along the path. We regain our strength with some food and drink and head towards Cabezas de Hierro.
Now is when the marathon begins! says Mario, I look at my watch and we’ve covered over 25 kms. But now we’re starting a stretch where the slopes are very uneven. I carry on at my turtle pace and when we get to a rather more demanding ramp I start to walk, at least my “Jiminy Cricket” gives me a break and suggests we cool off in a stream, I rinse my mouth, because from here to the top it is nothing but uphill.
Now I get tired all at once, my strides are very short but I remember to put my whole foot down for traction and use my walking sticks to pull on my arms, but I’ve run out of strength. This part of the course is the area of suffering, the one where you have to remember all the hours of training to be able to make it all the way to the top.
A short rest, some meltwater to fill a bottle, a few pictures and looking around, always gazing at the landscape around us. Now it’s time to put away our sticks and become Spiderman for the last stretch, which are stone blocks where you need your hands and arms to move on. This is a good mental and physical break because the pace and the effort required are different, but my strength is at a minimum.
At the top, at last, the view is impressive and the wind is our ally because I can’t imagine this ascent under scorching, stone-melting heat. Down to Navacerrada Pass very carefully because it is easy to fall and ruin the whole day’s, or even the whole season’s, efforts.
Along the way we pass two steep slopes that force me to pace myself because I have barely any strength left and we still need to walk down from Guarramillas to the pass where my quadriceps are suffering to hold up the rest of my body.
We are now down and we have to continue the drop down to Cercedilla, it looked like it was going to be easier but as I move on towards the end of the race the finish line seems further and further away, I’m getting worse all the time, but I know I am near and I make one last effort fooling my head to continue.
I can hear the sound of the PA system, I’m near, one last hill without stopping, without walking, without looking back, suddenly all my fatigue disappears and a tingling and feeling of satisfaction runs through my body with the last strides. When I cross the finish line I can’t take another step, I need to stop and stand on my legs, it’s been really tough but I made it, I’ve completed my first high mountain marathon and have garnered the first point I need for my big challenge. I survived the MAM!!!
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