In many of my posts on my trail races, I mentioned many times that I am seriously not a good trail runner simply because I am not so dedicated to put in a lot of time for the elevation and for some they make weekend trips to Malaysia to clock those terrain and elevation trainings. I am just not the type and I want to do too many things. But I feel ultimately, I do love trails a lot and would like to keep doing it until I cannot.
Lavaredo Ultra Trail
For this I took up the 50km challenge which most worrying thing was the rather tight cut off time. The elevation was about 2600m. I felt a more comfortable time will be 15hr but the race has a cut off of 12 hours. It could mean that I will need to run at least 80% of the time. I passed through the mountain region of Italy last year , Trento, by train and never got down, but the scenery was breath taking and when I balloted for the race, I was really praying hard with my small 1 stone , I could get it. Cortina D Ampezzo is a Winter Olympics village. There are many winter sports catered here like ice skating, skiing and all things related to snow. During summer time, it is a good getaway from the heat in the main cities. This time round, I came here directly from Milan although coming here is nearer from Venice. I went to Milan to see my friend Catherine, who was studying here. I was glad I met her and also spend sometime in Milan walking about and doing some Pole Dancing.
The race was to take place on 27 June , a Friday morning, not very common. There were not many participants only 1.7k of us for the 50 K, they spread out all the categories in different days so that the course will not be overcrowded. I paid about $155 SGD for the race which included the bib , a la sportiva jacket and if you finish, the certificate and medal too. Information can be found at the UTMB world series website.
From Milan there is one direct bus by Flix Bus morning 6:30 am from the Lampugnano Bus Station. To get there I got a Taxi from my hostel. It cost about 25 EUR, more expensive than my ticket to Cortina but there were no public transport from the town earlier than that. Later I found out that there was another stop at a later time.
This was my Itenary, the second place was the last stop before heading all the way to Venice. There was one stop at Venice for toilet break and then all the way to Cortina. The bus stops at the very centre of the town in front of the church tower. This time I splurged on the hotel and stayed at hotel Alaska costing S$370 , could not find any Air BnB around and also any sharers for the room so I ended up paying the hefty for this one. But that’s okay as I stayed in a hostel in Milan and saved some there. The hotels in the town area are all pretty expensive but its most convenient to absorb in the race vibes where all the sports shop in the street has everything to do with the race and also bars and restaurants were bustling with runners. You could also cameo with the celebrity trail runners too as they were doing some familiarisation runs with the participants.
Race Pack collection was at the Stadio olimpico del ghiaccio ice skating rink. It does not open in summer period so it was the best place for the bib collection and race expo. The expo is crazy with a lot of stalls selling trail sporting good and running gear. There were also marketing for other Italian trail races. I met my tortoise run friend, Pei Hua there as she was going for a hike with her friends. It was fun, me her and her friend, Joanna met at the expo and the both of them end up more shopping than me! Then we made our way to the main strip where the start line was. We saw the flag off for the 10 km as it was summer the sun does not go down till 9pm, the flag off was 6pm so there was ample time to finish before the sun goes down. The whole town was bustling with runners and all the trail vibes. Many of the Italian brands like La Sportiva , Scarpa etc were handling swags and also giving big discounts for their items. Can say the feeling is very different especially when almost everyone in the town is joining the race. Can feel the exhilaration.
Race Report!
Because of the expensive accommodations, I only booked a 2 night stay which the second day was mostly at the race. The room is actually not bad, with a balcony and it felt like a suite with the bed room separated from the living and another corner for the toilet and bath area. The hot water is really strong and good also. The only bad thing is the whole town does not seem to have a super market , I end up going into a gourmet shop getting my dinner as the hotel was too expensive. Thank god the shop sold food by the weight so I do not need to get one full portion. I got some mashed potato and meat balls, went back to the hotel packed for the race and slept early. As my hotel is very near the finish line, I decided not to bag drop just head straight back after running.
The flag off was 8 am, and since start line is very near, I could sleep more before heading out. It is really not cold in the morning despite a rain and thunderstorm the night before. The mandatory equipment check was not carried out at the race pack collection but they will be doing random checks at the water and food stations.
The starting line was not too crowded and all flag off at the clock tower in the city centre. Total there were 4 stations, the first one is just a water station without any food. The first part were just road and not so challenging. I was quite happy to see so much of the road, the rest of the course were more of rocky than the usual type of forest we see here in ASEAN region. The rocks can be dangerous and slippery and I fell down one big time causing a big bruise on my back side and pain on the left leg, but since it was past the third water station, I felt that there is high chance to finish the race despite the tight time line, I decided to bite the bullet and keep going on.
Rest Points
Beside the first one is which is just a water station, the rest were real stations with some food. Unfortunately, despite saying there will be hot food served, I did not see any hot food around. The food station served mostly dried food and fruits, dried food included power bars from Naak brand, biscuits and dried dates. While there were a good selection of fresh fruits like apricots, banana, oranges. I think the last 2 station had some other things like steamed potato and hard boiled eggs. Drinks wise was good too, with sparkling mineral water being my number 1 choice, I realise that it was really refreshing and does not have the sweet taste like the coke and other fizzy drinks. They also served the Naak isotonic drink and of course water. There were hot coffee and tea too but I only took it once.
All the food and drinks stations were manned by the volunteers and crew, and as far as possible they will serve you and even had a plastic cover to separate the servers from the runners. I guess it is not the contaminate the food and drinks also. The rest points were all sheltered with ample space for you to rest. There is a also a strict do not litter rule for the race and if caught you can get disqualified from all UTMB races. For that they even give runners a small plastic bag at the race collection to ensure that you keep your rubbish to be disposed at the right places.
There was one toilet in the 1st water point, but for the rest of the check points, I did not really scout for it as time was tight and I had not time to do some business. Along the road was also quite barren to do field toilet, but towards the end I had another toilet break in the forest out of no choice.
Just one mention for a station which was not part of the organiser set up, I think it was at Passo Giau, there was a rest stop with shop and cafe and the cafe staff actually set up a hot lemon tea station for the runners, it was really heart warming and they cheered us on also.
Course
The weather start to get really hot once we hit the national park area, as it was very open there were no shades, luckily I had the buff with me to cover the face, it was hot scorching sun , I personally felt stronger than Singapore’s heat. One lucky thing was around 3pm, the weather turned cooler and a bit greyish, making it a little better to be in the trails, there were not much vegetation once we reached the elevated areas, and we can also see the Tre Clime Di Lavaredo the iconic highlight of this trail. For the 50K category, you do not get up close and personal with it but I think for the longer ones you get to run past it. However, I managed to get some photos of myself with the rocks.
The Cut off time for 50K is really challenging for me , I personally take about 13 hours usually but this race is 12 hours. If the terrain is totally all forested then I might even need more time. However, was quite lucky to have the beginning and the ending part having some road conditions which is good for running. I also find pretty challenging at the ending part where its all down hill and I really sucked at it. Somehow this time the fear of DNF and trying to keep within the timing, got my guts out and I charged downhill a few times before becoming worried about falling down.
The ending part was running through the town ship and right into the clock tower finish. The road into the finish line is exhilerating, with banners and a beautifully lined out cobble stone road for you to run through. The passer bys and supporters were also very cheerful and when they see you run past they tell you to ALLE ALLE , or they give you a Hi Five boosting the morale especially towards the ending point.
The last road part I ran as fast and as much as I can, trying not to stop as I was passing the 11:30hr. Once I crossed the finish line I was so relieved that I did not DNF. Already quite crossed eye and soon the sun is going down. Quite happy there is not headlamp involved as it can be quite tiring to wear that thing bobbing around. Pei hua and her friends were all having dinner at a pizzeria nearby , I was really quite tired but went back to wash up and join them as it is not always the time I get Singaporean friends to come with me. I would say that this was a very memorable race and somehow, I manage to pluck myself and believe that I can be better in trail also. So now I have 4 stones in the bag, maybe its time for CCC but … we shall see.
The pick up zone for Flix buses
I’m totally impressed by your fitness and endurance. It was a mountain of a task but u overcome it. And along the way, those breath taking sceneries. Salute, petite lady!