It’s strange how things sometimes have a circular feel to them. On Saturday 7th September I found myself lined up at 5am in Lans-en-Vercors, back where it all started, and where fingers-crossed it should all continue. I’ve only been running seriously for just over 10 years, and for the first few years of that time I was pounding the streets…
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Tag: trail
Race Report: FestiTrail d’Autrans
Fun and muddy run around this Vercors mountain town was a great end to the 2018 season.
Race Report: Trail des Cimes du Buëch 2016 – 42km
May 22nd, 2016 La Faurie, France The Trail des Cimes du Buëch is now in its third year, and I had ran the 2014 and 2015 versions which comprised of a quick 17km circuit with some amazing views. This year the 17km version was included in the Challenge Trails 05 competition, but on top of this was added a 42km mara’trail event…
Race Report: Bayard Snow Trail 2016
With the exception of ultra marathons with early starts/late finishes, I’d never really done any night racing so I was looking forward to this evening trail race on the snow trails of the southern French Alps. I had some eye surgery at the beginning of the year which meant I had to take it easy on physical exercise for a…
Race Report: Trail de la Traversée des Aiguilles
The skyline above my village is recognisable by the distinctive shape of the Col des Aiguilles, the pass that connects the La Jarjatte valley with the Dévoluy range of mountains. It’s this col that gives the name to last Sunday’s race so this race felt pretty local to me. Unfortunately, despite just being a few KMs as the crow flies,…
Race Report: Trail des Balcons de Châteauvieux
When: Sunday, 17th August 2015Where: Châteauvieux, Haute-Alpes (05), France Another Challenge Trails 05 race – this time south of Gap in the hills around the lovely village of Châteauvieux. I didn’t see many old castles, but then I was too busy running up and down steep hills to pay much attention. There’s a writeup from the race organisers (in…
Race Report: Trail des Passerelles du Monteynard 2015
South of Grenoble lies Lac de Monteynard-Avignonet, a huge artificial lake created in 1961 after EDF dammed the Drac river to create a hydro-electric power station. Long and narrow, and bordered on all sides by mountains, it’s great leisure destination and popular for kite and windsurfing. In 2007, two Himalayan-style suspension bridges, or passerelles, were constructed to give an awe-inspiring, if vertiginous…
Race Report: Trail EDF Rousset
Where: Lac de Serre-Ponçon, Haute-Alpes (05), France When: Sunday 7th June 2015 It was a wonder I ever made it to the start line of the Trail EDF Rousset, since I’d managed to add it to my training calendar for the wrong week, expecting it to be the following weekend. Luckily my wife noticed and reminded me which is a…
Race Report: 2nd Trail des Cimes du Buëch
Where: La Faurie, Haute-Alpes (05), France When: Sunday 24th May 2015 The Trail des Cimes du Buech is a short trail race now into it’s second year. I ran the first event last year and was pleased to place 6th, but lining up on the start line this year I realised that word had got round, and some serious competition had…
Race Report: Trail des Contreforts de Piolit, Haute-Alpes, France
After my first race a couple of weeks ago in snow and fog, I was looking forward to a drier and brighter run in the southern Alps, and last Sunday’s Trail des Contreforts de Piolit didn’t disappoint. The race was 17km of pretty much straight up then straight down racing along the foothills (the contreforts) of Le Piolit in the Haute-Alpes of southern…