Transalpine Run – DAY 6 Written on September 11, 2009, by andys.
Transalpine Run â DAY 6
Length: 37km
Climb: 1332m up / 1474m down
Andy & Tom: 1st team / 1st overall / 3hours 9min 10sec
Ben and Angela: 1st mixed team
Heart rate: ave = 149bpm / max = 168bpm
I guess you know youâre in a tough event when a three hour run seems like an easy day. The course was pretty long distance wise at 37km, but the climb was a mere 1300m which made for a very fast (relatively) trail race. Tom and I sat in with the group for the first 8km of gentle downhill and then gradually pulled away once we started going up the forest tracks. Some nice sections through an impressive canyon with caves cut into the sides for the footpath (surprisingly no sign of Ricky with his headtorch!) and then a long run through grassy meadows, carefully dodging the cows who werenât in any hurry to get out of our way, before dropping down trail, footpath and a section of tarmaced cycle path into the finish. I wasnât on top form today. Suspect Tom wouldâve rather run a bit harder on the climb had I not been suffering a bit for leg energy â I always find the less exciting stages harder going. In fact the easier the stage profile the harder Iâll probably find it â bit odd! A bit below par but certainly nowhere near a proper bonk â we still finished up with a six and a half minute lead from the next team by the finish in Mals. Ca commence à faire mal à Mals!
Andy
