We were finally off. We started at a good, solid pace, maybe even a bit too fast. By the 3rd km, which we passed just below 15min, Mayde tells me that she's definitely not recovered.

We slowed down a bit. I was pretty sure that she'd recover by the time the climbing began, because she's a much better climber than I am. But she was still struggling a bit. In spite of all that, we were actually going at a good pace and not getting passed.

An hour and a half into the race, she gets a couple of steps ahead of me and begins to push the pace. I was surprised but happy that she dug herself out of that hole.

Then I start worrying whether I would be able to hold that pace she was now pushing. Fortunately, I felt tired only while adjusting to the new pace and then we fell into a groove and passed a bunch of people.

We get to the 19km sign, but my Garmin's already saying that we've covered 20.5. I'm thinking that it's a good thing because we can probably catch some other people over the next 2k. And we do. Sadly, no girls.

With the finish line in sight, Mayde trips hard on a rock. She gets up and isn't laughing it off. I asked her how she felt, but got no reply. She got up, walked for 10 secs and then sped off.

We crossed the finish line together as planned after covering 22.5km and were happy it was over. I was proud of Mayde because she did well even though she wasn't feeling great since the start. Had I been in her position, I probably would have been on the course a whole lot longer.

Maybe not start so fast. Also, I think it would probably have been better for our recovery from the ultra to wait another couple of weeks before racing again.

Still, I felt really good and Mayde showed tough character. She still surprises me after all these years. She finished 5/10 in her AG and 9/26 female overall.

Having finished a 92k mountain ultramarathon just three weeks before. LOL.


I sure hope the organization works around the rough patches. It was a beautiful place to run in, and that's what I'll remember.

But I know a few people who run road races, who were extremely unhappy.