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TransEspana Day 4: Castejon de Valdejasa to Fuendejalon (61km)

TransEspana Day 4: Castejon de Valdejasa to Fuendejalon (61km)

A tougher day today. An extra 10km doesn’t sound like much, but it means an earlier start (6.30am today), an extra aid station, and a fair bit more sun exposure from being out longer. Leaving the sports hall in the pre-dawn, we formed a tango line along the long road, shuffling along, not really stretching out that much for the first section. I left with a thermal top under my shirt, thinking it was cold but that only lasted about 30min. I had to strip down to remove it (which proved entertaining for a few other runners, ooh la la!) I settled into an early walk/run routine, trying to temper my enthusiasm to move faster. Had a great chat with Thomas, who’s here for his fourth TransEspana event, and is the organiser of several events in Germany, including Deutschland Lauf – 18 days across Germany, a little longer than this race. Next edition 2026. Note to self to completely forget that conversation as soon as possible. We travelled mostly through farmland again today, quite a few pig farms too, the main change being that much of this land was irrigated, with viaducts criss-crossing through the fields and across the roads. It was interesting to see a number of fields that might have been growing rice (or something else very water-intensive) – many fields had been levelled out to create a stepped landscape. Still extremely green. Shortly before Aid 3, we went through a small town and passed a Pharmacy. Yay! I bought a couple of tubes and some after-care lotion. Cost a small fortune, but I’m sure it’ll be worth it. The sunscreen I had been given was the spray-on-clear kind, which I’ve never felt all that great about (you just don’t know if you’ve got good coverage). It was great to get a decent application on, and honestly I just felt a lot of relief in knowing that my sunburn shouldn’t get any worse. It was fields, small towns, aid station, fields etc etc today. The aid station food is working well for me & I’m eating a lot of bananas. My plan is pretty much to just eat as much of everything as I can. I completed today in 8:17, with a target of 8:45. Maybe pushed the last leg a little harder than I needed to, but I’m also trying to ensure I can just keep in a nice slow running rhythm rather than get stuck doing long stretches of walking. Tomorrow it’s 75km. Same the day after, with targets of 11h and 12h15 respectively. I think we have a 6am start, so it’s going to be a tough couple of days without a lot of down-time. I may not post the next couple of days, R&R is more important. Starting to find a bit of a rhythm to this whole adventure.Wake 1h45m before the start, take pills & get dressed in my running gear start packing away my bedding etc, poo eat breakfast (available 1h15 before start) poo finish packing everything up poo & lube application run (the important bit … but doesn’t happen without all the other stuff!) finish find bags find accomodation (if sports hall, find a corner for myself and get bedding setup) shower (please let there be warm showers tomorrow, last two days it’s been cold brr) eat (there’s a “salad” after each day’s run, today it was potatoes, egg, veggies, with bread) have two Bix recovery drinks (really good for avoiding nighttime cramps) get organised for the next day (clothes ready, electrolyes etc, notes on course) do this internet stuff (if time permits) main meal (time varies). We’ve been fed really well so far. lie down to sleep stare at ceiling go to the loo stare more at the ceiling go to the loo eventually drift off (but loo at least two more times through the night, generally after being woken by snoring)

TransEspana Day 3: Ayerbe to Castejon de Valdejsa (51km)

TransEspana Day 3: Ayerbe to Castejon de Valdejsa (51km)

Today was good. Slept really well last night (in a sports hall in Ayerbe) — there was a little bit of snoring, but I was just so darn tired I reckon I had 4 x 1.5h blocks of decent sleep. We were up at 5.30am, for a 6.15am breakfast and 7.30am departure. Breakfast was simple enough – coffee (served in bowls, I like these French ideas!), cereal, bread with butter & jam, and some fruit. We kicked off at 7.30, heading out of town and it was pretty much downhill 14.6km all the way to the first aid station. The road was a minor one (sealed), but not much traffic, and very straight. We were heading through farming country, with fields on both sides, and passed a couple of very small villages and farms along the way. Everyone seemed to be moving well, and I ran the majority of this first leg. The aid station was the usual fare, and I threw on my arm & neck sleeves, and applied some sunscreen (“borrowed” from one of the other participants). This leg was had some small, sharp, bumps but was generally downhill. We remained on the same road with fields left and right, and could see a wind farm coming up ahead. Through aid 2 at the 28km mark. After a right turn onto a smaller road, we made our way to aid 3. Generally uphill, but very runnable for the most part. As we approached aid 3, I passed a couple of guys, and there were maybe 3 or 4 people or just leaving the aid station. For reasons unknown, I’d had enough of looking at people in front of me, so went through this station very quickly (just grabbing bananas and muffins and chips), and went out rapidly. The course profile showed this leg as a steep uphill for about 7km, then downhill for 6. But it was quite runnable for the first 2.5k or so, and then I engaged “uphill walk mode” and powered up the hill. I was really enjoying this climb and didn’t want it to end — the views of the farmland and wind farm(s) were incredible as we got higher up, but all to soon it switched to downhill. I’d not seen any of those behind me for a while, but decided no-one was catching me and ran down the final 6.5km. Urgh. Into the finish line in 6:22, well ahead of the planned 7:07. Whoops. Might end up paying for that later. Note to self: take tomorrow super easy — we have 61km tomorrow, that looks like an easy descent to commence, and ascent at the end, nothing too steep. My plans have me really slowing down, which I will because following that it’s two days of 76km. We are starting tomorrow at 6.30am, not sure why but it’s likely a combination of “smart people will take longer” (per above), and maybe to give us more time to rest tomorrow night. Accomodation is again at a sports hall, this town looks really small – didn’t see any sign of shops on the way in. On arrival it was a cold communal shower (there was a fair bit of shrieking, it was so cold), then I washed the last three days of running gear and hung that out. Today’s post-run “salad” was a pasta salad, couscous and chicken drumsticks. Naturally, I ate a lot of the pasta. We have Apéritif’s at 6pm, dinner at 7pm, and then an early to-bed. Breakfast tomorrow is at 5.15, eeek!

TransEspana Day 2: Jaca to Ayerbe (60km)

TransEspana Day 2: Jaca to Ayerbe (60km)

Sunday night we stayed in a hostel, five to a room. The meal wasn’t anything to write home about, but I did eat two full serves (risotto, chicken drumsticks & salad). As the Europeans seem to do, it was a late meal (starting at 7.30), and once everyone had eaten it was pretty much straight to sleep. Because I was the last one there, I ended up on a top bunk, and found it nearly impossible to sleep: a combination of worrying about tossing & turning (thus disturbing the guy under me), the snoring (it was next level … not from me), and the guy under me getting up 5 or 6 times during the night for a toilet break (which was actually handy, as it gave me an opportunity to slip out of the bunk knowing that I wasn’t disturbing him). My earplugs are great, but, uncomfortable when lying on my side. And I can only sleep on my side … so yeh, I’d say maybe 3h sleep in total. Never mind – it seems to just be a thing for me, running when tired! We woke at 5.30, breakfast at 6.15, and then prepared for the 7.30am start. Clear skies and warm weather were forecast (8 degrees at the start, 21 for the end), so I left only wearing a shirt and carrying a rain jacket “just in case”. We started with a very brief downhill before a ~6km climb. The climb wasn’t as challenging as yesterday though, and I was able to maintain a reasonably good run/walk rhythm. We had some great views of the mountain behind Jaca, and then the view back to Jaca. From the summit, it was ~8km to the first aid station, all downhill, and other than stopping for photos it was all running (oh, and my first race-poo). The same fair at the aid station – fruit (bananas, watermelon), bread (with cheese spread, cheese spread & brie, cheese spread & sardines, cheese spread & tuna), mini-muffins, sandwiches and chips. I’m trying to consume as much fluid between aid stations as is practical, so fill up my two 600ml bottles and popping an electrolyte into one (or both), so it takes me a few minutes at each. We’d been in cool temps to this point, but I decided to throw on my arm sleeves and neck protector at this point, as yesterday I’d really suffered in the afternoon from sun exposure. Through to aid 2 at 30km it was all downhill, and I ran the whole way — not quick, but just kept turning the legs over. Through to aid 3, the views weren’t much to write home about, it was just left foot/right food shuffling along, a lot of twisty road, generally downhill but I’d settled into a good run/walk rythym at this point. And it was warming up. We were running alonside a river that had the most beautiful clear (blue/green) water, and it was continually filling, presumably because of the mountain streams on the other side. But other than that I was beginning to think “meh” regarding the scenery until we were about 2km from the aid station when the landscape really opened up. At this point I saw a bridge across the river, and a tunnel, disappearing into the mountains. I was really hoping that’s where we were headed … and yep! Just after the aid station, it was across the bridge, through the small tunnel, and onto a busier, narrower, twisty road that was rather undulating. Christian caught me up here and mentioned that there were some spectacular views to come, and my goodness was he right. There was this amazing mountain and rock face to our right (Punto Común), and then another 2km along Riglos came into view on our left. Absolutely mindblowingly spectacular. It loomed larger and larger as we continued on, and looks to be a very popular destination (rock climbing perhaps?) We were still following a river and had been thinking “that looks like it’d be awesome to raft along”, and sure enough just before aid 4 I spotted a bunch of rafts setting up to head downstream (the direction we were running). Over the next couple of kms, a few vehicles with rafts passed us, stacked high and weaving through the air — I worried at one point , when a vehicle swayed around the runner in front and then moved back into his lane, that the rafts might fall off and take me out. I’m still here, so I guess they didn’t (I might think back to this in a few days and wish they had!) Through aid 4, and it was just 10km left to end the day. At this point I saw our first olive trees (actually, might have been a little earlier), with the landscape changing, but still a number of fields filled with wheat (oats? barley? and canola crops that were just starting to flower. The green-ness was amazing. Christian was around 500m ahead of me, and I spent that 10km gradually chipping away at his lead until I caught up with him maybe 500m from the finish line. We ran to the end, and crossed the line, together. Overall, a great day. The body is still feeling good (though, it “feels” like I’ve just run a couple of ultras). In town, I tried to track down some sunscreen but the pharmacy and supermarket were shut because the whole town is without power, doh! I’ll see if one of the run-supporters, with a camper, can source me some tomorrow. In the meantime, I’ll run in calf compression socks tomorrow to provide a little more protection for my legs. (update: have been able to “borrow” some sunscreen from one runner which will hopefully be enough until we hit the next decently-sized town) I had a planned target time of 8:30, and finished the day in 7:54 ; there was a lot more downhill (running) than I’d anticipated, and I made good use of the opportunity to just keep moving. Yet, I’m still near-enough to back of the pack, which is fine. Not here to win or set any records, I just want to ensure I can get up tomorrow and the day after and get those runs done. We had our first DNF today (“young” Tristan), and there’s a lot of people in the sports hall tonight moving around awkwardly. I just gotta stay nimble enough to keep on moving!

TransEspana Day 1: Urdos to Jaca (46km)

TransEspana Day 1: Urdos to Jaca (46km)

Wow, what a day. Everything I hope for, and more. My expectation was that this would be the day of snow-capped mountain vistas. I was not disappointed. After a 7am breakfast, everyone was fidgeting around getting ready for the 9am start (the only day to start so late, from here it’ll be 7.30 or 8.30 for the faster folks). The weather was as expected — cold and wet, so everyone was rugged up in their thermals and wearing rain jackets. It’s good to know that I wasn’t the only one slightly freaking out regarding the weather on day 1, but it turned out to be a non-event. We gathered in the town square for a very quick pre-race briefing, and the count-down to 9am went by quickly. And we were off. Starting with a quick lap around town (possibly the most exciting thing to happen in Urdos each year), we then hit the road for the long (1000m, 15km) climb to Col de Somport and the French/Spain border. It was a fairly steady climb, so it was just run-a-bit, walk-a-bit, and do whatever was necessary to maintain a good body temperature (run too much, it got hot, walk to much it got cold). It wasn’t so much rain as light drizzle — just enough to get the phone wet, but really not enough to otherwise worry us. There wasn’t much in the way of traffic to worry about, which was great, and I snapped dozens of photos every time the view changed. Then, about 200m before the first aid station (at Col de Somport) I looked up to see my first snow-capped mountain. MIND BLOWN. I’d been smiling a lot before this, but this really stretch my smile from ear to ear. There was a fair amount of low-level fog around the place so the views at this point weren’t perfect, but I wasn’t complaining. The first aid station (14.8km) was a welcome sight. Different to anything I’ve experienced before: yes, the usual oranges & bananas, but this one also had lindt ball chocolated, boiled potatoes, boiled eggs, chunks of brie on big chunks of bread, cheese sandwiches, and cheese/fish sandwiches. There was some salt next to the orange, and I was thinking “oh, they’re into the salted oranges thing”. But no, there were looks of surprise when I sprinkled on the salt! Pretty damn good tho. I left that aid station with Thomas & Nina, but they soon disappeared ’cause I kept stopping to take more photos. I didn’t spend a lot of time running with anyone, Thomas and I went back and forth throughout the rest of the day, and I saw one or two other runners, but I think I was so far towards back of pack all the action was unfolding out ahead. It was a very cruisy run down to Canfranc Estation (once the largest train station in Europe, it’s now a 5* hotel). I met Stephane who was taking some photos, and did a quick strip-down removing my heavy thermal. Just out of there, we left the road and joined the Canfranc trail … that was slightly harder going with a lot of rocks and quite a a bit of mud (which my road shoes weren’t particularly good for). A couple of kms further along was the second aid station (26.8km). I again stuffed my face with brie and eggs and potatoes, and dropped my jacket and thermal to lighten the load a little. From there it was trails, trails, trails. The downhill was replaced with steady ups and downs, easy enough going, and there was a nice wind to my back. We meandered along the river at times, and the big mountains were slowly replaced by meadows and lower hills. Lots of running on, or nearby, the Camino de Santiago (the Camino Aragones route). Just after aid 3 (35.6km) I came across a hiker (Xavier, from Spain) and had a good chat about his adventure. He had been following the Pyrenees route, but there was a bit too much soft snow and cold weather, so he’d decided to abort that and head for the lowlands. He had a good 800+km left to walk yet, but seemed to be loving it. Gotta say that doing a multi-day run on the Camino de Santiago sounds like a fun future destination! The last 10km from aid 3 followed some back roads, not a lot of great scenery to talk about here. It was just a matter of getting the day done, but doing it easy and not pushing myself too hard. I did feel a little short on energy through here — note to self: eat more at the aid stations. Into the town of Jaca for the finish line. We had to run through the whole town pretty much, and then finished at the bottom of a hill. Greeted by many smiling faces, and it was straight into a beer and some finish line food (which I thought was a meat dish, but no, it was fish… whoops). Had a chat with a few of the other runners, and then made my way to the hostel. It’s five to a room tonight, and ’cause I was last in I get a top bunk (apologies to the guy under me … I’ll be up and down all night!) I finished today in 6:26, my plan was for 6:30, so really happy with how that went. Tomorrow we have just under 60km planned, so a longer day for sure. Looking forward to a feed and (hopefully) a better night’s sleep tonight.